‘PM Modi’s US trip to boost NTPC geo-thermal project’

The country's first geo-thermal project by power major NTPC may get a boost with the proposed visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the USA. NTPC Chairman & Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury said that they are contemplating cooperation from America to harness the geo-thermal project, for which it has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chhattisgarh government.

‘We may need to send a team to the US to identify agencies for collaboration. But this will be taken at the government level after the Prime Minister's visit to the USA. At present, the geo-thermal project is at an exploratory stage and the DPR is being prepared," Choudhury said on the sidelines of The Bengal Chamber-organised environment and energy conclave here on Friday.

Discussions on Indo-US cooperation for harnessing India's geo-thermal potential are expected to take place with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US. NTPC first signed an MoU with the Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency to set up the project at Tattapani. It signed the second MOU in January this year with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for preparation of a detailed project report.