SCCL signs tripartite agreement for Godavari geothermal power project

Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), a state-owned coal company, has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and Telangana Renewable Energy Development Corporation Ltd. (TGREDCO) for the Godavari geothermal power project.

An MoU has been signed for exploration and development of Manuguru geothermal field in Pranahita Godavari (PG) basin in Telangana through collaboration, SCCL sources said. This will help promote renewable energy generation through efficient utilisation of hot water springs in the coal belt of Manuguru area. The joint effort is expected to transform Manuguru into a major geothermal energy hub in the country.

SCCL has already set up a 20 kW geothermal power plant, funded by the Union Ministry of Coal, at Pagideru village in Manuguru mandal on an experimental basis. According to SCCL sources, a recent study by a leading scientific agency has shown that the hot springs at Pagideru have the potential to generate 122 MW of geothermal energy.

The MoU was signed on Friday evening at Singareni Bhavan in Hyderabad by SCCL Chairman and Managing Director N. Balram, ONGC Chief Exploration Officer Sushma Rawat and TGREDCO CEO Satya Varaprasad.