Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences
Title : | Joint interpretation of geophysical datasets over medium enthalpy Bakreswar geothermal province, Eastern Indian Shield: Exploring the energy transition potentials in India |
Area of research : | Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences |
Focus area : | Geothermal Energy |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Roshan Kumar Singh, Indian Institute Of Petroleum And Energy, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh |
Timeline Start Year : | 2023 |
Timeline End Year : | 2025 |
Contact info : | roshan_rms.es@iipe.ac.in |
Details
Executive Summary : | India’s current dependency on fossil fuel is 80-85% which is likely to increase by 1- 1.5%. Combustion of coal, gas and oil contributes 89% of CO2 emissions and unfortunately deliver 78% of primary energy needs. The worsening effects of existing climate change requires a rapid energy transition towards very-low or zero-carbon sources. Indian government targeted to produce ~40% of electricity by using non-fossil sources by end of this decade (UN Climate Change Conference, Paris, 2015). Energy transition is the path along which the global energy sector transforms from fossil to renewable and clean energy sources. Therefore, exploring potentials of renewables and clean energy sources, for decarbonizing the environment is needed. Geothermal energy being cost-effective low-carbon potential is recognized as world’s green-energy future. According to an estimate, U.S. generates 3.7 gigawatts (GW) of geothermal electricity, sufficient to power more than 1 million households. The geo-thermal resources in India have potential of ~10 GW of geo-thermal power as mapped by Geological Survey of India (www.mnre.gov.in). The Bakreswar geothermal province (BGP) is a medium enthalpy geothermal system located in the eastern Indian Shield. The high heat flow and high geothermal gradient in the region shows its utility in generation of power and heat. Several geophysical studies in the region have been performed in the vicinity of the Bakreswar hotspring, these studies were unable to map the reservoir and/or the fluid conduit in the region. The two important physical parameter, which are characteristics to geothermal settings, are conductivity and density. Electrical conductivity increases with concentrations of dissolved salts in the geothermal fluids and the temperature of the subsurface. Subsurface density variations in geothermal settings are caused by increase of stratum density owing to mineral deposition, faults and dykes, intrusive rock, porosity variations etc. Magnetotellurics (MT) method measures the variation of natural electric (E) and magnetic (H) fields along perpendicular directions on the Earth’s surface which ultimately gives the sub-surface conductivity. The 2D/3D conductivity models from inversion of MT data helps in demarcating geological domains based on their electrical properties, which is a function of the composition of the rock types in the area. Modelling of gravity data maps the subsurface density variations in the region. Geophysical data suffers with non-uniqueness, which results in interpretational ambiguity. A geophysical study based on single dataset explains only certain geological observations while other observations are approximated. Therefore, the proposed research incorporates joint interpretation of MT and gravity data. |
Total Budget (INR): | 32,01,000 |
Organizations involved