Geothermal Resources of India

Scope and Problems of Future Utilization

Abstract

Geothermal resources discovered in India consist of warm/hot water systems. The main geothermal manifestations are distributed in three areas: (1) a Continental collision zone, Himalayan region, marginal depressions, and Himalayan fore deep, (2) Peninsular shield areas, and (3) Coastal areas. There are three different types of thermal manifestations in India de-pending on meteorological, topographical and geographical conditions. The temperatures of the geothermal springs in the Himalayan regions are medium temperatures (max. temp. of 107°C) and are found in steep remote terrains with cold-dry conditions and seasonal temp. variations from -40 to 20°C. In peninsular and coastal regions, the thermal manifestations have generally low temperatures (55°C-90°C) with seasonal variations from 15°C to 45°C under hot-dry and hot-humid conditions, respectively, with the exception of the Cambay, West coast and Tatapam-Salbardi areas which are of medium temperature (108°C-120°C). Such thermal manifestations may be utilized for non-electrical purposes.