NEW DELHI: India has launched its first national geothermal energy policy to develop the country’s largely untapped resources, as New Delhi seeks to further its transition to clean energy.
Geothermal, which currently meets less than 1 percent of global energy demand, is considered a clean source of power that harnesses heat produced by the Earth from underground reservoirs for heating, cooling and electricity generation.
India has identified potential sites to explore and develop its geothermal energy sources, which include 381 hot springs and 10 geothermal provinces, including Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.
“India’s renewable energy growth is vital for achieving ambitious climate change targets and the 2070 net-zero goal. India’s geothermal potential, rooted in its unique geological settings, remains largely untapped,” the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said in the policy announcement on Monday.
The policy is aimed at establishing geothermal energy as “one of (the) major pillars in India’s renewable energy landscape” through incentives, regulations and improving capabilities for geothermal research, exploration, development and deployment.
It promotes joint ventures between geothermal developers and oil, gas, and mineral companies, and encourages such projects to be funded through foreign direct investment, concessional loans and international collaborations.
To support the development of the geothermal sector, the MNRE also suggested fiscal incentives, such as tax holidays and exemptions from import duty and property tax.
The government’s move to unlock the potential of geothermal energy comes amid its popularity as a source of low-carbon electricity for Big Tech companies to fuel artificial intelligence growth that provides continuous, around-the-clock power and does not depend on the weather, unlike solar and wind.
The policy was also launched amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to make India a global AI powerhouse.
India is already one of the fastest-growing markets for OpenAI, the US-based startup behind the popular ChatGPT application, which is set to open its first office in New Delhi later this year, targeting the nearly one billion internet users in the world’s most populous country.
Next to India’s AI boom, concerns have been growing about how data centers fueling AI, which consume staggering amounts of water and electricity, are straining India’s already scarce resources.
India is home to nearly 18 percent of the world’s population, but holds only 4 percent of its water resources, making it among the most water-stressed globally.
Increasing demand for water from AI, quantum computing, and high-performance computers may further compound the problem, especially as demand also increases with India’s growing population.
Yet India also has an opportunity to “leverage AI to enhance resource conservation while enforcing strict environmental standards” for data centers, according to Varundeep Kaur, chief information officer of the Indian fintech platform Spice Money.
“Incentives for water recycling and renewable energy adoption can align AI growth with sustainability,” she said in a commentary, “AI’s Hidden Thirst: The Water and Power Crisis in India’s Digital Boom,” published in late July.
“India’s AI ambitions must not come at the expense of its environmental future … By adopting cutting-edge cooling technologies, prioritizing renewable energy, and implementing robust regulations, India can lead in sustainable AI development.”
