A new report by Project InnerSpace in partnership with the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) estimates India has a geothermal heat potential of 11,000 gigawatt (GW) and a possible geothermal power generation capacity of about 450 GW, highlighting sizeable untapped resources. The analysis indicated that these resources could support growing industrial, cooling and electricity demand while easing pressure on the power grid across regions with favourable subsurface conditions.

The study mapped geothermal hotspots across Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra, noting that deployment to date has been limited largely to pilot projects because of exploration risks and the high cost of deep drilling. It said geological diversity and temperature gradients in identified zones offer opportunities for direct heat use as well as electricity generation where temperatures and permeability permit commercial extraction.

Unlike solar and wind, geothermal energy provides a continuous renewable energy supply that is largely independent of weather conditions, making it attractive for grid stability and round the clock power provision. The report suggested that geothermal systems could be deployed to supply steady baseload power and to meet process heat, industrial heating and large scale cooling requirements in manufacturing and data centre clusters.

India has prioritised rapid expansion of solar, wind and hydropower so far, leaving geothermal largely underexplored despite its complementary attributes. The authors argued that unlocking significant capacity will require stronger policy support, increased exploration investment, modern drilling infrastructure and measures to de-risk initial projects for private investment.

The report concluded that if commercial and technological challenges are addressed, geothermal energy could become an important pillar of India’s long term clean energy transition and energy security strategy, offering firm low carbon power and industrial heat. It recommended coordinated action between central and state authorities, research institutions and industry to develop exploration frameworks, fiscal incentives and pilot scaling programmes.