At more than 14,000 feet above sea level, Puga Valley in Ladakh is now home to a project that could change how India thinks about renewable energy.

In July 2026, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena commissioned two 1,000-metre-deep geothermal wells at Puga. Drilled by the ONGC Energy Centre, the wells are part of a 1 MW pilot geothermal power project, which is expected to become India’s first demonstration-scale geothermal power project.

The wells have already recorded temperatures of up to 135 degrees Celsius at a depth of 400 metres, with further testing under way. The project is being developed in one of the country’s most difficult terrains, where extreme weather and a short working season make drilling particularly challenging.

But generating electricity is only one way to use the heat beneath our feet.

India has a tentative theoretical geothermal potential of around 10 GW, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Unlike solar and wind, geothermal energy can provide heat and power continuously, without depending on sunlight or wind conditions.

So, what else could India do with this naturally occurring heat?

1. Heat homes and public buildings

In cold regions, keeping homes warm can require large amounts of energy. Geothermal heat could offer another way.

Hot water from underground reservoirs can be brought to the surface and used directly for heating. Geothermal systems can also provide heating and cooling through heat pumps.

This could be particularly useful in places such as Ladakh, where winters are severe, and heating is an essential part of everyday life.

The International Renewable Energy Agency lists district heating and geothermal heat pumps among the established direct uses of geothermal energy.

For a region trying to reduce its dependence on........

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