Project to produce power from geothermal energy soon, says Minister

India will soon start a project to produce electricity through earth heat or geothermal energy, Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister of New & Renewable Energy, said here on Monday

Inaugurating the two-day Northern Regional Science Congress here, Abdullah said the country was planning to produce 80 per cent renewable energy through biomass, sun and ethanol, to reduce dependence on coal imports from Australia, Africa and Indonesia.

He said wind energy was another area where there were plans to increase generation by 300 MW every year. For this, tie-ups with Denmark for projects are under consideration, he added.

The congress, organised by the Indian Science Congress Association, Delhi, in association with the Department of Science & Technology, is being attended by school and college students from Delhi, Jammu, Kanpur, etc.

V.M. Trehan, Chairman, ISCA-Delhi, said the meet will focus on topics such as alternative path for India’s energy crisis, genetically modified products as well as the importance of R&D in science and development.

aditi.n@thehindu.co.in