ITANAGAR, 24 Mar: The Centre for Earth Sciences & Himalayan Studies (CES&HS) here, along with Oslo-based Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) and Iceland-based company Geotropy, conducted “investigation studies for harnessing geothermal energy and geology structural mapping of hot spring sites in Dirang, Mago, Thingbu and Grenkhar from 18-24 March,” the CES&HS informed in a release.
“After the signing of an MoU between the CES&HS and the NGI in Oslo, Norway, in September 2023, the first-ever feasibility studies have been conducted for harnessing geothermal energy, beginning Monday,” the release stated.
“The trilateral cooperation between India, Norway and Iceland aims to identify and quantify the geothermal potential in various regions of Arunachal Pradesh, with the aim of demonstrating its utilisation for various applications, such as cold storage and drying agricultural products, using geothermal energy, heating and cooling of households, hotels, hospitals, water tourism, and production of green energy sources for electricity in the future,” the release stated.
The trilateral team, under the guidance of CES&HS Director Tana Tage, carried out geothermal field investigations at different potential sites in West Kameng and Tawang districts “to obtain samples for geochemical studies and conduct structural geological studies,” it added.
Following the field studies, Geotropy chief executive officer Dr Vijay Chauhan said, “There exists a huge potential for harnessing geothermal energy in Arunachal Pradesh and in the Himalayas in general,” and
added that “the potential of geothermal energy in the Himalayan region depends upon various factors, including fluid rock interaction and the structural geological conditions at a given location.”
NGI geotechnical expert Dr Rajinder Bhasin highlighted “the successful pilot geothermal demonstration project carried out earlier in Chumathang village in Ladakh region, where geothermal energy was successfully harnessed for space heating of a hotel building, which is being utilised by both civilians and military personnel in the area,” the release said.
Former union science & technology department head Dr Bhoop Singh, who is currently associated as a scientific adviser to the CES&HS, said that “a planned pilot geothermal demonstration project in Arunachal will pave the way for large-scale utilisation of untapped renewable energy sources that are available in various regions of the state.”
“Due to heavy snowfall, the team was unable to carry out field investigation in Damtheng and Tsechu hot springs. However, during field studies, it was observed that Mago, located at an elevation of 3,614.58 metres, has huge potential for harnessing geothermal energy as every house is built on it and already utilising for household purposes,” the release added.
