Discuss the potential and challenges of harnessing geothermal energy in India in the context of its Net Zero 2070 target.

Geothermal energy — heat stored beneath the Earth's crust — is among the few renewables capable of round-the-clock baseload supply. With the Geological Survey of India's Geothermal Atlas of India (2022) placing the country's theoretical potential at about 10,600 MW across 381 thermally anomalous areas [1], the sector offers a small but strategically valuable lever for the Net Zero 2070 commitment, even as it remains largely untapped.

Potential

• Baseload clean power: unlike solar and wind, geothermal is weather-independent, aiding grid stability as variable renewables scale up [2].
• Direct-use beyond electricity: the National Policy on Geothermal Energy (2025), notified on 15 September 2025, covers space heating and cooling, greenhouses and cold storage, tourism and desalination [2] — critical for cold-desert regions.
• Identified resource base: Puga and Chumathang (Ladakh), Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh) and Tattapani (Chhattisgarh) are proven provinces, with 42 manifestations flagged as promising [3].
• Demonstrated feasibility: SCCL's 20 kW pilot plant at Manuguru, Telangana shows PSU-led viability [1]; five RDD&D projects, including a solar-geothermal hybrid, have been sanctioned [4].
• Technology access: MNRE's collaboration with Iceland, the USA, Australia and Saudi Arabia enables transfer of drilling and reservoir expertise [5].

Challenges

• Pre-commercial stage: despite exploration since the 1970s [3], India has no utility-scale plant — decades of pilots have not converted into capacity.
• High upfront and exploration risk: deep drilling is capital-intensive with uncertain reservoir yields, deterring private investment.
• Locational and ecological constraints: the richest sites lie in seismically fragile Himalayan and border terrain with weak grid connectivity and evacuation infrastructure.
• Institutional gaps: exploration rights, tariff frameworks and Centre–State coordination across Ladakh, Himachal, Chhattisgarh and Telangana remain unsettled.

Geothermal will not rival solar in scale, but its firm, dispatchable character makes it a useful complement in a decarbonising mix. The 2025 policy marks a welcome shift from scattered pilots to a structured framework; converting it into results requires risk-sharing instruments for exploratory drilling, faster resource assessment by GSI, and integration with transmission plans such as the Green Energy Corridor. Anchored in this approach, geothermal can meaningfully reinforce India's Net Zero 2070 pathway.