Dirang to get Northeast's first geothermal-powered drying unit on Nov 10

Arunachal Pradesh is set to open the North East's first geothermal-powered drying unit at Dirang in West Kameng district, giving high-altitude farmers a clean source of heat to dry fruit and livestock products, the Deccan Herald reported on Sunday.

The unit is scheduled to be inaugurated on November 10 in the presence of Chief Minister Pema Khandu, according to the report.

What the unit will do

The facility runs on hot water from a geothermal production well at Dirang, which became operational in May 2025 and has recorded temperatures of roughly 50 to 54 degrees Celsius. Geothermal energy taps heat stored beneath the earth's surface.

"This marks a historic breakthrough in our mission towards utilisation of geothermal power for providing a green and renewable source of electricity," Tana Tage, director of the state's Centre for Earth Sciences and Himalayan Studies (CESHS), told the newspaper. He said the unit could help farmers dry produce grown around Dirang, such as apples, kiwis, tomatoes and persimmon, as well as yak meat.

The unit can dry 60 to 70 kg of produce in seven to eight hours, Tage said. It would be the first such geothermal unit in the North East and the second in India, after one opened at Manuguru in Telangana in 2024.

Years of groundwork

The project is being carried out by CESHS with technical help from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Oslo, and Geotropy, an Iceland-based geothermal firm. The production well, drilled in 2025, was the first of its kind in the region. A pumping test to check how much hot water the reservoir can sustainably supply began in November 2025, India Today NE reported at the time. That test was meant to judge whether the site could support building heating and cooling, hot-spring wellness tourism and agro-processing units for drying fruit and meat.

In March 2026, state Science and Technology Minister Dasanglu Pul released a CESHS publication on geothermal exploration in Dirang.

Dirang sits at about 5,000 feet and is home mainly to the Monpa community. Summers are warm, but winter temperatures fall to zero or below, and nearby Sela Pass can drop to minus 15 degrees, which makes a steady natural heat source useful for both farming and buildings.

Wider potential

The Geological Survey of India has estimated about 10,600 MW of geothermal potential across several Indian states, and geologists have identified more than 30 hot springs in Arunachal Pradesh. CESHS says the Dirang project could lead to further uses such as greenhouse farming, space heating and small-scale power generation.

The opening comes as the state sees strong protests against large hydropower dams, including the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.