SRINAGAR: A Nordic country’s geothermal company has stated that it has tied up with ONGC for setting up a power plant in Ladakh’s Puga Valley. The remote region has huge thermal power potential but is too distant to be harvested.
The Iceland government-owned company Iceland GeoSurvey (ÍSOR) has announced last week that it has secured an agreement with ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Company) for the preparation of a geothermal power plant in the Puga Valley in Ladakh.
“The project is not only ONGC’s first venture in this field but is in preparation for India’s first geothermal power plant. If successful, it will likely mark the company’s further development of geothermal energy in India,” a report that appeared in a European news portal said. “The contract includes consulting in the preparation of the drills, research, monitoring, measurements, performance measurements and data processing and is one of the largest single contracts that ÍSOR has made abroad.”
In the first round, the report said two 1,000-meter, narrow exploratory wells, which, if successful, can be used for small-scale power generation. Two experts of ÍSOR have arrived in Puga, as drilling will begin in the next few days, it added. The report identified the ÍSOR’s subcontractors and partners as Verkís, the Icelandic company North Tech Energy and the Indian company Techon Consulting. The company has earlier implemented a small house-heating project in Chumthang.
