The Arunachal Pradesh government on Wednesday (Sept 27) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) to explore feasibility of harnessing geothermal potentials that the state's numerous hot springs offer.
The MoU was signed by state science and technology secretary Repo Ronya and Dr Rajinder Bhasin, technical expert from NGI, in presence of Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Science and Technology Minister Honchun Ngandam, chief secretary Dharmendra and senior advisor of Norwegian embassy in New Delhi, Dr Vivek Kumar.
Congratulating the NGI and the department of science and technology, Khandu termed the signing of the MoU as a right step towards green and clean energy production especially in the light of global warming concerns.
"It is a great coincidence that this MoU is being signed on World Tourism Day as its theme this year is Tourism & Green Investment' that perfectly goes in tandem with this new initiative," the chief minister said.
He expressed optimism that the study would lead to development of renewable geothermal sources in the state and increase energy supply to meet present and future demands.
"Many of the hot springs are located in mountain areas where generators run on fossil fuel for electricity and heating. These can be replaced by geothermal energy with no CO2 emissions," Khandu said.
Admitting that this is completely a new technology for the state, the chief minister expressed hope that NGI, with its expertise in the field and experience in successfully implementing a project in Ladakh, will give a new direction to energy production that would be beneficial not only to the local populace residing in the high mountains, but also to the army personnel posted there.
Khandu also expressed hope that Arunachal's relation with NGI will go beyond harnessing geothermal resources, especially in the fields of road construction and tunneling.
"Arunachal Pradesh is geographically and geologically completely different from rest of the country. Therefore, a tailor-made technology is needed for construction of roads and tunnels here. As Norway, with similar geological features, has one of the world's best road infrastructure and world class tunnels, we can benefit from its technology," he said.
Dr Bhasin agreed with the chief minister and informed that Norway, despite being a small country, has about 7000 km of tunnels that shorten road distances eventually enhancing government revenue.
Dr Bhasin, who visited a few places in West Kameng, said the state has tremendous potential for development of infrastructure to make it one of the best tourism states in the country.
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