India Commissions First Deep Geothermal Wells at Puga Valley, Ladakh
On 17 July 2026, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor V. K. Saxena commissioned India's first and deepest geothermal wells at Puga Valley in eastern Ladakh. The two production wells, drilled by the ONGC Energy Centre, each reach a depth of 1,000 metres at an altitude above 14,000 feet. A maximum temperature of 135 degrees C was recorded at 400 metres depth. The wells pave the way for India's first demonstration-scale 1 MW geothermal pilot power project at Puga.
Puga Valley is in the Changthang region of Ladakh | Geothermal energy = heat from Earth's interior | India geothermal hotspots: Puga & Chumathang (Ladakh), Tattapani (Chhattisgarh), Manikaran (Himachal) | Iceland & USA lead in geothermal power
India commissioned its first and deepest geothermal wells (1,000 m deep, 135 C) at Puga Valley, Ladakh on 17 July 2026, drilled by ONGC Energy Centre — a step toward a 1 MW pilot plant.