JOIN USChhattisgarh government will establish the first Geothermal Power Plant of the country in the newly formed Balrampur district of the state.
A Memorandum of Understanding in this connection was signed here on Saturday between National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA).
“Government has granted permission to install of a Geothermal Power Plant at Tattapani area of the Balrampur district to the NTPC. It will be first Geothermal Power Plant of the country,” a government official said on Sunday.
Geothermal generation refers to harnessing of the geothermal energy or the vast reservoir of heat stored in the earth’s inner core. “The MoU was signed by CREDA director Shailendra Shukla and NTPC’s executive director Ajit Kumar in the presence of secretary-energy Aman Singh, regional executive director-NTPC S N Ganguly and MDs of electricity companies of Chhattisgarh,” the official said.
NTPC has already started exploratory and preparatory work in this area. It has also started talks with ONGC and other international organisations for drilling operation.
It expects to start the activities within the next 24 months after finalisation of detailed project report, the official said.
In the proposed project, CREDA will act as a facilitator while the responsibility of designing and running of the project will be overlooked by the NTPC, the official said.