GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY RESOURCES OF INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TAMILNADU:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY RESOURCES OF INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TAMILNADU B. KANISHKAN Director(Rtd) Geological Survey Of India bkanishkan@gmail.com

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Geological Survey of India(GSI) - ORGANISATION AND ITS FUNCTIONS

Geological Survey of India(GSI):

Geological Survey of India(GSI) Geological Survey of India(GSI) is the third oldest geological surveys in the World. Second oldest scientific organisation in the country Established in the year 1851. Organisation is making phenomenal contributions to all round development of the Nation. Locating and evaluating various mineral resources required for various industries. Rendering geotechnical advice for major river valley and communication projects.

Geological Survey of India(GSI):

Geological Survey of India(GSI) Management of the effects of Natural Hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, floods etc., Proactive role in environmental degradation. Functions of GSI encompass a wide spectrum of activities such as geological and geochemical mapping, ground and airborne geophysical surveys, marine surveys, geoenvironmental , glaciology, geothermal,geotechnical and seismotectonic studies. GSI is a permanent member in all Antarctic expeditions.

Geological Survey of India(GSI):

Geological Survey of India(GSI) The First Indian Expedition To South Pole A geologist from Antarctica Division made GSI proud by being part of the first Indian scientific expedition to South Pole, Expedition to South Pole is unique as it took the least traveled rugged land route to South Pole from the Indian Base Maitri. The Indian team started its arduous journey aboard four Arctic trucks (Hilux) carrying the entire expedition team along with luggage and equipment at 0900 Hrs on 15th Nov 2010. The team had an ambitious scientific program to be carried out en route to South Pole. They were equipped with dual frequency ground penetrating radar (GPR), shallow ice coring machine, digital flux-gate magnetometer and vehicle mounted weather station. On 16th November 2010, the team reached Polar plateau at 74°06’S & 10°54’E and got the first feel of Antarctic Chill with -40° Celsius temperature which was compounded by severe wind chill factor. Going was tough but the determination was high on agenda. Ashit mounted the GPR equipment at the back of the vehicle and started his work. On 18th November 2010 the team reached the midway point at south 83° latitude which was at an altitude of 2800 meters. The team finally reached the South Pole on 21st November 2010 after covering a distance of 2240 km from Maitri, the Indian Base (see map). The average temperature faced by the team was between -20 degree and -30 degree with minimum reaching to -40 degree. On reaching the South Pole the GSI member carried out GPR survey primarily to determine the ice condition and bed rock profile in the region. Geological Survey of India 2 Some interesting observations were made using GPR in the vicinity of Polar Plateau at South 72 degree latitude throwing light on magnitude of snow accumulation and relief of polar ice cap. In the vicinity of the South Pole at 89° 47.795 S: 230 38.126 W the profile obtained showed subglacial layers due to snow accumulation. The huge amount of data collected will be analyzed later. The team, after a halt of three days at the South Pole, started the journey back via the same route and reached Maitri on 1st Dec 2010, thus creating a history. By then the team had covered a total distance of 4680 km during the expedition and braved the Antarctic climatic vagaries and uncertainties. Shri Rasik Ravindra and his team were accorded a warm welcome at the Indian Base Maitri. GSI is proud of this expedition as it is a milestone achievement and the first of its kind in the realm of our scientific pursuits. Geological Survey of India 3 Geological Survey of India 4

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On 18th November 2010 the team reached the midway point at south 83° latitude which was at an altitude of 2800 meters. The team finally reached the South Pole on 21 st November 2010 after covering a distance of 2240 km from Maitri, the Indian Base (see map). The average temperature faced by the team was between -20 degree and -30 degree with minimum reaching to -40 degree. On reaching the South Pole the GSI member carried out GPR survey primarily to determine the ice condition and bed rock profile in the region.

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The team, after a halt of three days at the South Pole, started the journey back via the same route and reached Maitri on 1st Dec 2010, thus creating a history. By then the team had covered a total distance of 4680 km during the expedition and braved the Antarctic climatic vagaries and uncertainties.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY THE BASICS

Sources of Earth’s Internal Energy :

Sources of Earth’s Internal Energy 70% comes from the decay of radioactive nuclei with long half lives that are embedded within the Earth Some energy is from residual heat left over from Earths formation. The rest of the energy comes from meteorite impacts.

Availability of Geothermal Energy :

Availability of Geothermal Energy On average, the Earth emits 1/16 W/m 2 . However, this number can be much higher in areas such as regions near volcanoes, hot springs and fumaroles. As a rough rule, 1 km 3 of hot rock cooled by 100 0 C will yield 30 MW of electricity over thirty years. It is estimated that the world could produce 600,000 EJ over 5 million years. There is believed to be enough heat radiating from the center of the Earth to fulfill human energy demands for the remainder of the biosphere’s lifetime.

Different Geothermal Energy Sources :

Different Geothermal Energy Sources Hot Water Reservoirs : As the name implies these are reservoirs of hot underground water. There is a large amount of them in the US, but they are more suited for space heating than for electricity production. Natural Steam Reservoirs : In this case a hole dug into the ground can cause steam to come to the surface. This type of resource is rare in the US. Geopressured Reservoirs : In this type of reserve, brine completely saturated with natural gas in stored under pressure from the weight of overlying rock. This type of resource can be used for both heat and for natural gas.

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Normal Geothermal Gradient : At any place on the planet, there is a normal temperature gradient of +30 0 C per km dug into the earth. Therefore, if one digs 20,000 feet the temperature will be about 190 0 C above the surface temperature. This difference will be enough to produce electricity. However, no useful and economical technology has been developed to extract this large source of energy. Hot Dry Rock : This type of condition exists in 5% of the US. It is similar to Normal Geothermal Gradient, but the gradient is 40 0 C/km dug underground. Molten Magma : No technology exists to tap into the heat reserves stored in magma. The best sources for this in the US are in Alaska and Hawaii.

GEYSERS:

GEYSERS

GEYSERS:

GEYSERS

GEYSERS:

GEYSERS

GEYSERS:

GEYSERS

GEYSERS:

GEYSERS

Geothermal’s Positive Attributes:

Geothermal’s Positive Attributes Useful minerals, such as zinc and silica, can be extracted from underground water. Geothermal energy is “homegrown.” This will create jobs, a better global trading position and less reliance on oil producing countries. US geothermal companies have signed $6 billion worth of contracts to build plants in foreign countries in the past couple of years. In large plants the cost is 4-8 cents per kilowatt hour. This cost is almost competitive with conventional energy sources.

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Geothermal plants can be online 100%-90% of the time. Coal plants can only be online 75% of the time and nuclear plants can only be online 65% of the time. Flash and Dry Steam Power Plants emit 1000x to 2000x less carbon dioxide than fossil fuel plants, no nitrogen oxides and little SO 2 . Binary and Hot Dry Rock plants have no gaseous emission at all. Geothermal plants do not require a lot of land, 400m 2 can produce a gigawatt of energy over 30 years.

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Geothermal Heat Pumps: - produces 4 times the energy that they consume. -initially costs more to install, but its maintenance cost is 1/3 of the cost for a typical conventional heating system and it decreases electric bill. This means that geothermal space heating will save the consumer money. Electricity generated by geothermal plants saves 83.3 million barrels of fuel each year from being burned world wide. This prevents 40.2 million tons of CO 2 from being emitted into the atmosphere. Direct use of geothermal energy prevents 103.6 million barrels of fuel each year from being burned world wide. This stops 49.6 tons of CO 2 from being emitted into the atmosphere.

Geothermal’s Harmful Effects:

Geothermal’s Harmful Effects Brine can salinate soil if the water is not injected back into the reserve after the heat is extracted. Extracting large amounts of water can cause land subsidence, and this can lead to an increase in seismic activity. To prevented this the cooled water must be injected back into the reserve in order to keep the water pressure constant underground. Power plants that do not inject the cooled water back into the ground can release H 2 S, the “rotten eggs” gas. This gas can cause problems if large quantities escape because inhaling too much is fatal.

Direct uses of geothermal energy is appropriate for sources below 1500C:

Direct uses of geothermal energy is appropriate for sources below 150 0 C space heating air conditioning industrial processes drying Greenhouses Aguaculture hot water resorts and pools melting snow

How Direct Uses Work:

How Direct Uses Work Direct Sources function by sending water down a well to be heated by the Earth’s warmth. Then a heat pump is used to take the heat from the underground water to the substance that heats the house. Then after the water it is cooled is injected back into the Earth.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY GLOBAL SCENARIO

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Geothermal production of energy is 3rd highest among renewable energies. It is behind hydro and biomass, but before solar and wind. Iceland is one of the more countries successful in using geothermal energy: -86% of their space heating uses geothermal energy. -16% of their electricity generation uses geothermal energy.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY POWER GENERATION

Ground Heat Collectors :

Ground Heat Collectors This system uses horizontal loops filled with circulating water at a depth of 80 to 160 cm underground. Borehole Heat Exchange This type uses one or two underground vertical loops that extend 150 meters below the surface.

Generation of Electricity is appropriate for sources >150oC :

Generation of Electricity is appropriate for sources >150 o C Dry Steam Plants : These were the first type of plants created. They use underground steam to directly turn the turbines.

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Flash Steam Plants : These are the most common plants. These systems pull deep, high pressured hot water that reaches temperatures of 360 0 F or more to the surface. This water is transported to low pressure chambers, and the resulting steam drives the turbines. The remaining water and steam are then injected back into the source from which they were taken.

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Binary Cycle Plants : This system passes moderately hot geothermal water past a liquid, usually an organic fluid, that has a lower boiling point. The resulting steam from the organic liquid drives the turbines. This process does not produce any emissions and the water temperature needed for the water is lower than that needed in the Flash Steam Plants (250 0 F – 360 0 F). Casa Diablo

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Hot Dry Rocks : The simplest models have one injection well and two production wells. Pressurized cold water is sent down the injection well where the hot rocks heat the water up. Then pressurized water of temperatures greater than 200 0 F is brought to the surface and passed near a liquid with a lower boiling temperature, such as an organic liquid like butane. The ensuing steam turns the turbines. Then, the cool water is again injected to be heated. This system does not produce any emissions. US geothermal industries are making plans to commercialize this new technology.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY INDIAN SCENARIO

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-INDIAN SCENARIO:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-INDIAN SCENARIO In India Active Volcanoes and geysers are absent. However, 340 “Hot Springs” have been recorded in diferrent parts of the country. First attempt to list the hot springs was carried out by GSI in the year 1862. During late 60’s a Hot Spring Committee was constituted by the Govt. Of India to examine the possibility of development of some of the hot springs for Power Generation and other uses.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-INDIAN SCENARIO:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-INDIAN SCENARIO Geothermal resources has got various operational and technical constraints. GSI embarked upon systematic geothermal exploration and utilization (on a pilot scale) in 1973 with the launching of ‘PUGA PROJECT’ in Jammu and Kashmir. ONGC also collected significant geothermal data in different sedimentary basins both in ‘off shore’ and ‘on land. NGRI formed a ‘Geothermic Group’ for carrying out studies o ‘heat flow values’ in some of the country.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-INDIAN SCENARIO:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-INDIAN SCENARIO Central Electricity Authority(CEA) took active interest in the geothermal exploration under UNDP Geothermal Projects of India. CEA has collaborated with GSI in PUGA and Parbati valley projects for power generation. Geothermal Energy has been recognised as one of the alternate renewable source of energy which is technically, commercially and economically viable for generation of electricity in many parts of the world. Geothermal plants have minimum negative impact on the environment.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-INDIAN SCENARIO:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY-INDIAN SCENARIO

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA:

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA I. Himalayan Geothermal Province -Large number of thermal springs occur in this province.Thermal activity is strongest adjacent adjacent to Indus-Tsungbo Suture Zone(Plate margin). Puga and Chumathang areas are examples of this type with temperature gradient in excess of 100`c/km with heat flow in excess of 200mW/m2. Hot springs of the Parbati valley of HP show temp.gradientof 60`c/km gradient with heat flow in excess of 130 Mw/M2

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA-PUGA Hot Spring, J&K:

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA-PUGA Hot Spring, J&K

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA -Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh:

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA -Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA -Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh:

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA -Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA -Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh:

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA -Manikaran, Himachal Pradesh

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA:

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA II. Naga Lushai Province in Northeastern India bordering Burma. III. Andaman-Nicobar Islands Province - Barren and Narcondam Islands constitute the geothermal province-Potential sites for the extraction of geothermal energy. IV. West Coast Province – series of thermal springs along the Maharastra coast. V. Cambay Graben Province -200km long and 50 km wide belt.Steam blows outs have been recorded in some of the oil wells drilled below 1500-3400m.

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA:

GEOTHERMAL PROVINCE OF INDIA VI.Aravalli Province in parts of Rajasthan and Haryana. VII. Son-Narmada-Tapi Province in Central India-a number of hot springs along the fault zones. VIII&IX. Godavari and Mahanadi Province . X. South Indian Province in parts of Andhra Pradesh and coastal tract of TamilNadu.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY:

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY TAMILNADU SCENARIO

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Geothermal province Geological Map Of TamilNadu

HUGE LIGNITE DEPOSIT IN MANNARGUDI AREA,TAMILNADU:

HUGE LIGNITE DEPOSIT IN MANNARGUDI AREA,TAMILNADU Lignite at 200 m level FENCE DIAGRAM SHOWING THE OCCURRENCE OF LIGNITE IN MANNARGUDI AREA Estimated reserve of lignite is around 18 billion tonnes

Coal Bed Methane from Mannargudi area,TamilNadu:

Coal Bed Methane from Mannargudi area,TamilNadu

Geothermal springs along the coastal tract of Arantangi, Tk.TamilNadu:

Geothermal springs along the coastal tract of Arantangi, Tk.TamilNadu

Geothermal springs of Mannargudi-Thiruthuraipundi Area,TamilNadu:

Geothermal springs of Mannargudi-Thiruthuraipundi Area,TamilNadu

Artesian Hot spring in Thiruthuraipundi area,TamilNadu:

Artesian Hot spring in Thiruthuraipundi area,TamilNadu

Conclusion and Recommendations:

Conclusion and Recommendations Geothermal studies so far carried out in TamilNadu is of preliminary nature. Further detailed studies are warranted to tap the geothermal energy by carrying out deep drilling beyond 3km in the potential areas of Mannargudi-Thiruthuraipundi belt. Once the coal bed methane (CBM) project proposed in Mannargudi area is through, additional data on geothermal potential can be established. Lastly, it is not out context to mention that there is immense potential to tap the geothermal energy in India in particular in TamilNadu as an alternate source of non-conventional energy next to Wind energy and the day is not far.

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Thank You