India notifies National Policy on Geothermal Energy 2025 to boost clean energy transition

In a move to diversify India’s renewable energy portfolio and achieve its Net Zero 2070 target, the government on Wednesday notified the National Policy on Geothermal Energy (2025). The policy seeks to harness the country’s largely untapped geothermal resources, positioning this clean and dependable energy source as a key pillar of India’s sustainable energy transition.

Geothermal energy – which can be used for both power generation and direct applications such as district heating, agriculture, aquaculture, and space cooling through Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) – is expected to play a growing role in reducing dependence on fossil fuels. The newly unveiled policy lays out a comprehensive framework to encourage exploration, development, and utilization of geothermal resources across the country.

The policy focuses on promoting research, fostering inter-ministerial collaboration, and adopting global best practices for geothermal energy development. It also aligns geothermal deployment with India’s broader renewable energy and Net Zero objectives, emphasizing applications beyond electricity generation – including space heating and cooling, greenhouse farming, tourism, desalination, and cold storage solutions.

To spur innovation, the policy encourages research and development of hybrid geothermal-solar plants, retrofitting of abandoned oil wells, and deployment of Enhanced and Advanced Geothermal Systems (EGS/AGS). It calls for strong collaboration with state governments, oil and gas companies, international geothermal bodies, and research institutions to build a robust ecosystem for the sector’s growth.

As part of its first phase, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has sanctioned five projects focused on pilot demonstrations and resource assessment. These initiatives aim to evaluate geothermal potential and pave the way for commercial-scale deployment in the coming years.