New Delhi, Sept 30: The Union Cabinet today approved the ₹1.86 trillion Green Energy Corridor Phase-III (GEC-III) scheme for development of intra-state transmission system with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
It is aimed at strengthening the country’s intra-state transmission system (InSTS) to enable the evacuation of 135 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy and facilitate grid integration.
The scheme also provides for the deployment of 50 gigawatt hours (GWh) of BESS at the renewable energy developer and generator end, or any other location of importance for grid flexibility, to address intermittency, congestion, peak-hour curtailment and meet demand during non-solar hours.
“The scheme is targeted to be set up by 2032-33 with a total project outlay of ₹1,86,405 crore, comprising ₹1,36,378 crore for the development of Intra-State Transmission Systems (InSTS) under GEC-III and ₹50,000 crore for 50 GWh of BESS,” said a statement issued by the official spokesman.
The renewable energy ministry said the programme is estimated to leverage around ₹1.32 lakh crore of investment, besides enabling investment associated with 135 GW of renewable energy, estimated at ₹4.6 lakh crore, along with additional investment in BESS and Pumped Storage Projects (PSP).
The government said the scheme will generate significant employment in the power, manufacturing and construction sectors. BESS manufacturing and deployment will additionally generate employment in the domestic energy storage industry.
The scheme involves a total Central Financial Support of ₹54,082 crore. The Central Financial Assistance (CFA) will help offset intra-state transmission charges and thus keep power costs down.
This includes ₹45,005 crore for intra-State transmission systems, ₹6,000 crore for BESS through Viability Gap Funding (VGF), ₹3,050 crore towards committed liabilities of earlier phases, and ₹27 crore for programme management and grid studies.
Under the scheme, all greenfield projects under the InSTS component will be implemented through the Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) mode, while brownfield upgradation and network-strengthening works will be executed on a Cost-Plus Basis (CPB).
State Transmission Utilities will be the overall implementing agencies, while Transmission Service Providers (TSPs) will participate under the TBCB on a build-own-operate-maintain (BOOM) model.
The scheme is expected to help achieve the target of 900 GW of installed non-fossil capacity by 2035. It will also contribute to the country’s long-term energy security and promote ecologically sustainable growth by reducing its carbon footprint.
The government is working on a target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based installed electricity generation capacity by 2030 and 786 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2035-36.
For this, the availability of generation capacity must be matched by adequate transmission capacity, grid flexibility and storage.
The principle underlying GEC-III is that transmission must precede renewable energy generation. (NVI)
