India to invest $1.6 billion on green energy power corridor

The Indian government has approved the second phase of an ambitious Green Energy Corridor for US $1.61 billion over five years to link 20 GW of renewable energy projects from seven states with the national power grid.

“The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the scheme on Green Energy Corridor [GEC] Phase-II for Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) for addition of approximately 10,750 circuit km [ckm] of transmission lines and approx. 27,500 Mega Volt-Amperes (MVA) transformation capacity of substations,” an official statement issued by the Indian cabinet secretariat said on Thursday.

The scheme that will build transmission lines will facilitate grid integration and power evacuation of about 20 GW of renewable energy (RE) projects in seven states — Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

India’s Minister Anurag Thakur said the second phase will be implemented by the 2025-26 fiscal year.

India is the world’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and aims to reduce its projected emissions by a billion tons by 2030. Simultaneously, it also aims to raise renewable power generation to 430 GW, equivalent to about half of the country's energy mix.

The second phase of the Green Energy Corridor will help achieve the target of 450 GW installed RE capacity by 2030 and contribute to the long-term energy security of the country and promote ecologically sustainable growth by reducing the carbon footprint, Thakur said during a media interaction on Thursday.

The first phase of the corridor is already under implementation in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu for grid integration and power evacuation of about 24 GW of RE.