Green Energy Corridor

In year 2012, a study was conducted by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) wherein it was found that power evacuation and transmission infrastructure in near vicinities of potential sites was less and therefore, dedicated transmission infrastructure for large scale solar and wind power plants was planned.  The Green Energy Corridor (GEC) report was submitted by PGCIL in FY 2012-13 and the implementation work started, after due approval process, in 2015. GEC comprises of both Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) and Intra State Transmission System (InSTS) along with the setting up of Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMC) and the control infrastructure like, reactive compensation, storage systems, etc. 

Inter-State Transmission System Green Energy Corridor Phase-I

The ISTS GEC project with total 3200 ckm inter-state transmission lines and 17000 MVA substations was commissioned in March 2020. The project was started in year 2015. The project was implemented by PGCIL. The project cost is Rs. 11369 crore with funding mechanism consisting of 30% equity by PGCIL and 70% loan from KfW (EUR 500 Million) & ADB (approx. Rs. 2800 crore). The project was implemented to evacuate approx. 6 GW of RE power. Further, MoP vide letter no.11/64/2014-PG dated 8-01-2015 has assigned works related Transmission schemes for the solar parks viz. Ananthapur (1500 MW), Pavagada (2000 MW), Rewa (750 MW), Bhadla-III (500 MW), Bhadla-IV (250 MW), Essel (750 MW), Banaskantha (700MW) &Fatehgarh (1000 MW) to be implemented by POWERGRID. The transmission system for all 7 Solar parks assigned to POWERGRID have been commissioned. Transmission system for 1000 MW AREPL solar park at Fatehgarh is also commissioned by M/s FBTL through TBCB under ISTS.

REMC have been installed at the following 11 locations:
1. REMC-SR (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka SLDCs & SRLDC).
2. REMC-WR (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh SLDCs and WRLDC),
3. REMC-NR (Rajasthan SLDC, NRLDC and NLDC

Intra-State Transmission System Green Energy Corridor Phase-I

The InSTS GEC scheme with total target of 9700 ckm intra-state transmission lines and 22600 MVA sub-stations was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in 2015. The InSTS GEC scheme is currently under implementation by the State Transmission Utilities (STUs) of 8 RE rich States, i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan & Tamil Nadu. The project cost is Rs. 10,141.68 crore with funding mechanism consisting of 40% central grant by MNRE (Rs. 4056.67 crore), 40% loan from KfW Germany (EUR 500 Million) and 20% equity by the STUs.

The projects are being set up for evacuation of approx. 24 GW of RE power in the above 8 States, of which about 16.6 GW RE has been commissioned and connected to the grid through the projects setup under InSTS GEC. As on 31.12.2023, 9060 ckm of transmission lines have been constructed and 21303 MVA substations have been charged. Out of the 8 States, 4 have completed all the projects, viz. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The remaining 4 states have requested for further extension up to 30th June 2024. The projects have been delayed mainly due to delay in land acquisition, Right of Way (RoW) issues and forest clearances

Intra-State Transmission System Green Energy Corridor Phase-II

The InSTS GEC-II scheme with total target of 10,750 ckm intra-state transmission lines and 27,500 MVA sub-stations was approved by the CCEA in January 2022.
State-wise details is given below:

State

Estimated project cost (₹ Crore)

Central Financial Assistance (CFA)
(₹ Crore)

Length of transmission lines envisaged (ckm)

Capacity of substations envisaged (MVA)

RE addition envisaged (MW)

Gujarat

3636.73

1200.12

5138

5880

4000

Himachal Pradesh

489.49

161.53

62

761

317

Karnataka

1036.25

341.96

938

1225

2639

Kerala

420.32

138.71

224

620

452

Rajasthan

880.92

290.70

1170

1580

4023

Tamil Nadu

719.76

237.52

624

2200

4000

Uttar Pradesh

4847.86

1599.80

2597

15280

4000

Total

12,031.33

3970.34

10753

27546

19431

 

The project cost is Rs. 12031.33 crore with central financial assistance from MNRE of Rs. 3970.34 crore (i.e. 33% of project cost). The balance 67% of the project cost is available as loan from KfW/REC/PFC. The transmission schemes would be implemented by the State Transmission Utilities (STUs) of seven states, i.e. Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh for evacuation of approx. 20 GW of RE power in the seven States. Currently. The STUs are preparing the packages and are in process of issuing tenders for implementing the projects. The scheduled commissioning timeline for the projects under this scheme is March 2026.

Subsequently, some states had requested for revision of projects under the GEC-II Scheme and the same has been approved by MNRE.
The State-wise brief considering revised projects under the scheme is given below:
 

State

Estimated project cost

(₹ Crore)

Length of transmission lines envisaged (ckm)

Capacity of substations envisaged (MVA)

RE addition envisaged

 (MW)

Gujarat

3667.29

2470

7460

5100

Himachal Pradesh

489.49

62

761

317

Karnataka

1036.25

938

1225

2639

Kerala

420.32

224

620

452

Rajasthan

907.61

659

2191

2478

Tamil Nadu

719.76

624

2200

4000

Uttar Pradesh

4847.86

2597

15280

4000

Total

12088.58

7574

29737

18986

Even though the project cost has increased in case of some states after revision of the projects under the schemes, the CFA shall be limited to the CFA as approved by CCEA for that particular state.