India's 1st geothermal power plant to come up in Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh government has decided to establish the first Geothermal Power Plant of the country in the newly formed Balrampur district of the state. A memorandum of understanding in this connection was signed here yesterday between National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA). "State government has granted permission for the installation of a Geothermal Power Plant at Tattapani area of the Balrampur district to the NTPC. It will be first Geothermal Power Plant of the country," a government official said today. Geothermal generation refers to harnessing of the geothermal energy or the vast reservoir of heat stored in the earth's inner core. "The MoU was signed by CREDA director Shailendra Shukla and NTPC's executive director Ajit Kumar in the presence of secretary-energy Aman Singh, regional executive director-NTPC S N Ganguly and MDs of electricity companies of Chhattisgarh," the official said. NTPC has already started exploratory and preparatory work in this area. It has also started talks with ONGC and other international organisations for drilling operation. It expects to start the project activities within the next 24 months after finalisation of Detailed Project Report (DPR), the official said. In India, studies for locating this renewable energy source were undertaken by the Geological Survey of India over the last three decades after which around 340 hot springs were traced, a government release here said. The Tattapani geothermal field is the most promising geothermal resource in central India, the release said. (More)