The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is advancing international collaboration to support the implementation of India’s National Policy on Geothermal Energy.
The policy promotes bilateral and multilateral partnerships, joint research and development (R&D) and knowledge transfer to adapt proven geothermal technologies to Indian conditions. The MNRE currently has cooperation frameworks in place with Australia, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. According to the Geological Survey of India’s (GSI) 2022 Geothermal Atlas, the country has a theoretical geothermal resource potential of 10,600 MW. GSI has mapped 381 hot springs and identified 42 high-potential geothermal sites, which have been included in the National Policy for targeted exploration and development. The policy also encourages repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal recovery, with provisions for pilot demonstrations and regulatory support. As part of this initiative, MNRE has sanctioned an R&D project to IIT Madras for exploration of geothermal energy in decommissioned oil wells.