50 years ago: Electricity from Hotwater Springs

1. At a Glance

• The archival story: A Hindu "50 years ago" piece, datelined Manikaran (Kulu), 27 September 1976. It reports a Geological Survey of India (GSI) geothermal project drilling for steam near hot springs to generate electricity [1].
• The link to today: The same site, Manikaran, is still listed with Puga (Himalayan Province) and Tattapani (Son-Narmada-Tapi Province) as a potential area for geothermal power generation [2][3].
• Why it matters for UPSC: The topic ties together renewable energy diversification, Himalayan geology and tectonics, non-electric uses of geothermal heat (such as greenhouses in Ladakh) and a 50-year delay between exploration and India's first geothermal power demonstration [1][2].
• Themes it touches: GS-I (geography: hot springs, tectonics), GS-III (energy and infrastructure, science and technology) and Prelims (sites, provinces, policy dates).

2. Why in the News

• 28 September 2026: The Hindu (Chennai edition, page 13) reprinted the 1976 report "Electricity from Hotwater Springs" [1].
• July 2026: The ONGC Energy Centre commissioned India's first two geothermal wells in Puga Valley, Ladakh [2].
• September 2025: The Government notified the National Policy on Geothermal Energy [2][3].
• September 2026: PIB published a backgrounder, "Geothermal Energy: A New Chapter in India's Clean Energy Journey" [2].

3. Background & Evolution

• Driving rationale in 1976: Local people used the hot springs for bathing, washing and cooking. The GSI project aimed to find underground steam, which "once we hit… can be harnessed to produce electricity" [1].
• Before 1976: The Manikaran project had been running for over a year. Workers had bored about a dozen holes, up to 200 m deep, in Manikaran and neighbouring Rasoi, "with little luck" [1].
• Non-power uses already recorded in 1976:
• In Ladakh, researchers used spring heat in hothouses (greenhouses) to grow cauliflower and strawberries in snow-bound areas [1].

• Elsewhere, spring heat ran refrigeration plants in place of electricity [1].

• Chronology:

• 1975–76: GSI drilling at Manikaran and Rasoi [1].
• Later: Puga, Manikaran and Tattapani identified as potential power-generation sites [3].
• September 2025: National Policy on Geothermal Energy notified [2][3].
• July 2026: First two geothermal wells commissioned at Puga by the ONGC Energy Centre [2].
• Next step: a 1 MW demonstration geothermal power project [2].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Geothermal energy (concept)	Heat from the Earth's interior, extracted as hot water or steam for power or direct use
1976 implementing body	Geological Survey of India (GSI) [1]
1976 drilling chief quoted	Mr. Zahir Alam [1]
1976 drill sites	Manikaran and Rasoi, Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh [1]
1976 drilling scale	About 12 holes, up to 200 m deep [1]
Possible heat sources listed in 1976	(i) underground radioactivity, (ii) a strong chemical reaction, (iii) movement of the earth's crust, (iv) water contacting magma [1]
Himalayan Province sites	Puga (Ladakh), Manikaran (HP) [3]
Son-Narmada-Tapi Province site	Tattapani [3]
Theoretical potential	About 10,600 MW [2][3]
Policy	National Policy on Geothermal Energy, notified in September 2025 [2][3]
2026 implementing agency	ONGC Energy Centre (Puga wells) [2]
Puga well depth	1,000 m each; 2 wells [2]
Puga altitude	More than 14,000 ft above sea level [2]
Target	India's first 1 MW demonstration geothermal power project [2]
Nodal ministry for R&D projects	Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), which runs geothermal RDD&D projects and global collaboration [4][5]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Scientific / Technological

• Power needs a steam-dominated reservoir. The 1976 holes were shallow (200 m) and failed to reach steam. The 2026 Puga wells go to 1,000 m [1][2].
• Of the four explanations offered in 1976, crust movement and magma contact point to tectonic activity, which fits Manikaran and Puga being in the Himalayan geothermal province [1][3].
• The 2026 wells are for reservoir evaluation before any power project is built [2].

Economic

• Geothermal can supply baseload power, unlike variable solar and wind. That makes it useful for remote, off-grid high-altitude areas such as Ladakh [2].
• Direct heat uses (greenhouses, refrigeration) were shown in 1976 and can reduce dependence on grid electricity [1].

Environmental

• It is a low-carbon, renewable source that supports India's clean-energy transition [2].
• Risks include hydrothermal fluids and disruption of fragile Himalayan ecosystems and springs that people depend on. Drilling needs environmental safeguards.

Social / Cultural

• Manikaran's springs are woven into local life and belief: bathing, cooking, and the Shiva–Parvati–Vasuki legend explaining the boiling water [1].
• Development has to respect pilgrimage and customary uses of the springs.

Historical / Governance

• About 50 years passed between GSI exploration (1976) and the first commissioned geothermal wells (2026). This shows long gaps in policy and investment [1][2].
• A formal policy framework only arrived in September 2025 [2][3].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• September 2025: National Policy on Geothermal Energy notified [2][3].
• 2025–26: MNRE stepped up global collaboration to advance geothermal energy in India [5].
• July 2026: ONGC Energy Centre commissioned India's first two geothermal wells (1,000 m deep) at Puga Valley, Ladakh [2].
• September 2026: PIB backgrounder calls geothermal "a new chapter in India's clean energy journey" [2].
• 28 September 2026: The Hindu reprinted the 1976 Manikaran report [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• India's first geothermal wells were commissioned at Puga Valley, Ladakh, in July 2026 [2].
• The Puga wells were drilled by the ONGC Energy Centre [2].
• Each Puga well is 1,000 m deep. They lead toward a 1 MW demonstration plant [2].
• Puga Valley lies at more than 14,000 ft [2].
• India's theoretical geothermal potential is about 10,600 MW [2][3].
• The National Policy on Geothermal Energy was notified in September 2025 [2][3].
• Puga and Manikaran belong to the Himalayan Geothermal Province [3].
• Tattapani belongs to the Son-Narmada-Tapi geothermal province [3].
• The 1976 Manikaran exploration was run by the Geological Survey of India [1].
• The 1976 drilling was at Manikaran and Rasoi (Kullu), with about 12 holes up to 200 m deep [1].
• By 1976, geothermal heat in Ladakh was already warming greenhouses to grow cauliflower and strawberries [1].
• Geothermal heat can run refrigeration plants directly, without electricity [1].
• MNRE supports geothermal RDD&D (research, development, demonstration and deployment) projects [4].

8. Why India's Underground Heat Is Not Hot Enough — Yet

• Power needs very hot water. Puga's water is only warm by power-plant standards.
• The hottest water found under Puga Valley is 135°C [2].
• A turbine (the wheel that turns to make electricity) needs strong steam. Cooler water gives weaker steam, so each well makes less power.

• This is why the first target is only a 1 MW demonstration plant, not a big power station [2].

• Low-temperature sites make very little electricity

• At Gandhinagar, Gujarat, three wells bring up fluid at 70–80°C [2].
• Together they make only 50–90 kilowatts [2]. That is less than one-tenth of 1 MW.

• So most Indian sites are better for heating and cooling than for electricity.

• The 1976 failure and the 2026 caution have the same cause

• In 1976, about a dozen holes at Manikaran and Rasoi found "little luck" [1].
• Heat comes close to the surface only where faults (cracks in the rock) let hot material rise [2]. You cannot know where these are until you drill.

• In 2026 the Puga wells are still only for reservoir evaluation (testing how much hot water is down there and for how long) [2]. After 50 years, India is still at the testing stage.

• The government itself admits it

• The PIB backgrounder says "commercial-scale power generation is yet to be established" [2].

9. What the 10,600 MW Figure Does Not Tell You

• The number is an estimate made from maps, not from wells
• It comes from the GSI's Geothermal Atlas (2022) and is called a "theoretical" potential [6].

• Theoretical potential means the heat that may exist. It does not mean the power that can be sold at a fair price.

• Out of 381 hot springs, only 42 are worth a closer look

• GSI has mapped 381 hot springs [6].
• Only 42 sites are called "promising" for power or direct heat [6].

• Even these 42 are only listed for "further exploration". None is a proven power field yet [6].

• Compare it with the whole world

• The entire world had only 15.67 GW (15,670 MW) of geothermal power installed at the end of 2025 [2].
• India's 10,600 MW on paper equals about two-thirds of that world total.
• Even countries with much hotter ground have taken decades to build what they have. So read 10,600 MW as a ceiling, not a target.

10. What the 2025 Policy Promises and What It Leaves Open

• The policy is a list of good intentions
• It supports research, drilling, a national geothermal data repository (one shared store of all drilling data), pilot projects and Centres of Excellence [2].

• It welcomes both public and private companies [2].

• The biggest problem is drilling risk, and no official document says who carries it

• Drilling risk means you may spend a lot on a deep well and find nothing useful. Manikaran in 1976 is exactly this story [1].
• A private company will not pay for wells that may be dry unless someone shares that loss.

• The PIB backgrounder and the Rajya Sabha answer describe partnerships and pilots. Neither gives a capacity target, a deadline, a funding amount or a power tariff (the price paid for each unit of electricity) [2][6].

• So far, the public sector does all the drilling

• The Puga wells were drilled by the ONGC Energy Centre [2].
• MNRE sanctioned five R&D projects between July and August 2025 [2]. These are research grants, not commercial projects.
• Until private firms see a fixed price and shared risk, growth will depend on government money.

11. Is Geothermal Worth Chasing When Solar and Wind Grow So Fast?

• The strongest case against
• The first power plant will be just 1 MW [2]. The Gandhinagar test made only 50–90 kW [2].
• India's water is mostly not very hot (135°C at best, at Puga) [2]. So each rupee spent on deep wells may give less power than the same rupee spent on solar or wind.

• India took 50 years to go from Manikaran's test holes to its first power wells [1][2]. This is not a fast route to Net Zero.

• The honest answer: the critics are right about grid power, but that is not the main point

• Concede: geothermal will stay a very small part of India's national electricity supply for a long time.
• But it works round the clock. Solar stops at night and wind stops when the air is still. Geothermal does not depend on the weather [2]. In a cold, remote, off-grid place like Ladakh, that matters more than cost per unit.
• Most of its value is heat, not electricity. Warm water can heat greenhouses. Ladakh was already growing cauliflower and strawberries this way in 1976 [1]. Today's projects include geothermal cooling for air conditioning in Hyderabad [2] and Ground Source Heat Pumps (machines that use the steady temperature of the ground to heat or cool buildings) [2].
• Heating and cooling use electricity when they are done the normal way. Geothermal heat does the job directly and saves that electricity, even when the water is too cool to run a turbine.

12. Who Should Do What Next

• ONGC and oil companies: use old oil wells instead of drilling new ones
• The policy allows unused oil and gas wells to be turned into geothermal wells [6].
• This reuses holes that are already dug, along with their rock data. It cuts the drilling risk that sank Manikaran in 1976 [1][2].

• A pilot is already testing this at Ankleshwar, Gujarat [2]. IIT Madras has an R&D project on abandoned oil wells [6]. These should be scaled up if the results are good.

• GSI and MNRE: make the data repository public early

• The policy promises a national geothermal data repository [2].

• If the results from Puga, Gandhinagar and Tawang are shared openly, private firms can judge a site without paying for their own test wells [2].

• MNRE: fund heat projects first, big power later

• Most Indian sites are low-temperature, as Gandhinagar shows [2].

• The RE-RTD scheme (MNRE's programme for home-grown renewable technology) can back cheap direct-use projects like cooling and greenhouses [2].

• Learn from countries that have done it

• Indonesia, the US, the Philippines, Türkiye and New Zealand hold about 67% of world geothermal capacity [2].
• India already has geothermal cooperation with Australia, Iceland, Saudi Arabia and the USA [6]. These links should give India drilling skills and reservoir-testing methods, not only MoUs.

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: India's theoretical geothermal potential is about 10,600 MW, from GSI's Geothermal Atlas (2022) [6]; 381 hot springs mapped, 42 promising sites [6]; highest temperature recorded under Puga is 135°C [2]; world installed geothermal capacity was 15.67 GW at the end of 2025 [2]
• Report/Committee: GSI Geothermal Atlas (2022) [6]; National Policy on Geothermal Energy, notified 15 September 2025 [6]
• Comparison: Indonesia, the US, the Philippines, Türkiye and New Zealand together hold about 67% of world capacity [2]; the Gandhinagar solar-geothermal pilot made only 50–90 kW from 70–80°C fluid, which shows the limits of low-temperature sites [2]
• Scheme: MNRE's RE-RTD programme funds home-grown geothermal technology [2]; IIT Madras R&D project on abandoned oil wells [6]; Ankleshwar oil-well retrofit pilot [2]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-I: Physical geography (distribution of geothermal and volcanic phenomena, tectonics), and where energy resources are located.
• GS-III: Infrastructure (energy); science and technology (renewable energy tech); environment (clean energy transition).

Possible Mains questions:

1. Despite early exploration in the 1970s, geothermal energy remains marginal in India's energy mix. Examine the constraints and assess the prospects under the National Policy on Geothermal Energy, 2025.
2. Discuss the geological basis of geothermal provinces in India. How can direct-use geothermal applications support livelihoods in high-altitude regions like Ladakh?
3. Baseload renewable sources are critical for a reliable clean-energy grid. Evaluate geothermal energy's role in this context.

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• Plate tectonics and the Himalayan orogeny: explain why hot springs cluster in the Himalayan province.
• Son-Narmada-Tapi rift / lineament zone: the second geothermal province (Tattapani).
• MNRE's renewable energy targets: the context for adding geothermal to the energy mix.
• ONGC Energy Centre and oil-and-gas drilling know-how: how petroleum-sector skills transfer to geothermal wells.
• Ladakh's carbon-neutral / off-grid energy goals: why Puga is the pilot site.
• Geological Survey of India: its role in mineral and geothermal exploration.
• Global geothermal leaders (Iceland, USA, Indonesia, Kenya): benchmarks for policy and collaboration [5].
• Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS): the next-generation technology for low-enthalpy regions.

16. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Agencies: The 1976 exploration was by GSI. The 2026 wells were by the ONGC Energy Centre. The policy and R&D lead is MNRE, not the Ministry of Power or the Ministry of Earth Sciences [1][2][4].
• Province mix-up: Tattapani is in the Son-Narmada-Tapi province, not the Himalayan one. Puga and Manikaran are in the Himalayan province [3].
• "First" claim: July 2026 marks the first geothermal wells commissioned for a power demonstration. It is not an operational commercial plant. The 1 MW demonstration plant is still to come [2].
• Policy year: The National Policy on Geothermal Energy dates from September 2025, not 2026 [2][3].
• Potential figure: About 10,600 MW is the theoretical potential, not installed or exploitable capacity [2][3].