GEG drills first well for geothermal cooling project in Northern India

GEG CRO Vijay Chauhan (third from the left) and the local drilling team at the first drilling site (source: GEG)

Icelandic geothermal developer and technology company GEG ehf. has announced tapping into a resource at the threshold temperature needed for the planned geothermal cooling project in the state of Himachal Pradesh in Northern India. This was achieved only a few days after the official kick-off of drilling on August 31. With this development, GEG and the local drilling team will progress to the next drilling site.

The project team reports a measured surface temperature of 78 degrees Celsius and temperatures close to boiling point towards the bottom of the drilled well. This is very exciting news for the cold storage project and points to the possibility of the area’s potential being greater than initial estimates.

The GEG Cooling Project aims to prove the economic viability of exploiting low-enthalpy geothermal systems for cooling or cold storage. The possible uses for geothermal cooling include storage of agricultural produce, air-conditioning for buildings and datacenters, and for operations of chillers and freezers.

Geothermal cooling will ideally contribute to increased food security in the Northern India region and will support the overall economy. More specifically, this geothermal direct use project will provide a cold storage solutions for the product of the local apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh.

The collective efforts of GEG’s geothermal cooling project in India reflects the company’s commitment to social sustainability. his project has also been supported by a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iceland, through their Business Partnership Fund for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Source: GEG Power