India Notifies New Policy to Secure Net Zero 2070

Introduction

In a significant move for the nation’s energy independence and environmental goals, the Government of India has officially announced the National Policy on Geothermal Energy (2025). This initiative is a robust commitment to the ambitious 2070 Net Zero Goal, strategically diversifying the country’s energy sources with a clean, reliable, and continuously available form of renewable power.

India possesses substantial, largely untapped geothermal potential. This new policy provides a thorough, unified framework to push the exploration, development, and use of this essential resource across the country.

Driving Real-World Impact

The Geothermal Policy is designed to generate benefits well beyond just power plants, ensuring the Earth’s natural heat can improve daily life and industry:

• Clean Power and Heat: Utilizing the heat for both generating electricity and for direct-use applications.
• Diverse Applications: Key areas of focus include:
  • District Heating: Providing centralized, efficient heating in specific urban areas.
  • Agriculture & Aquaculture: Powering greenhouses, cold storage facilities, and aquatic farms.
  • Space Conditioning: Promoting Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) for energy-efficient cooling and heating in buildings.
• Technological Advancement: The policy actively supports research and development (R&D) into advanced systems like hybrid geothermal-solar plants and cutting-edge Enhanced/Advanced Geothermal Systems (EGS/AGS). It also champions the ingenious concept of retrofitting abandoned oil wells for heat extraction.

The Roadmap: Partnerships and Progress

The strategy emphasizes collaboration and capacity to ensure the sector’s long-term success:

• Ecosystem Building: A major focus is on cultivating a strong public-private ecosystem involving developers, industries, and researchers.
• Global and Local Collaboration: Encouraging joint ventures and partnerships with international geothermal experts and pioneering nations, alongside essential cooperation with state governments and domestic oil & gas firms.
• Stewardship: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) takes the lead on regulatory and stewardship responsibilities, ensuring inter-ministerial coordination and the implementation of global best practices.

Pilot Projects Underway

In an effort to put policy into action, the Ministry has already approved five pilot projects. These important projects carry out preliminary resource assessments and pilot demonstrations to assess the technical and commercial feasibility of geothermal energy in different parts of India. The MNRE will still oversee and keep supporting the sector in order to ensure that geothermal energy contributes to India’s rapid move toward clean energy self-sufficiency.