The detailed plan on transmission system for integration of over 500 GW renewable energy (RE) capacity by 2030 has been launched.
The Ministry of Power had constituted a high-level committee under the Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority with representatives from Solar Energy Corporation of India, Central Transmission Utility of India Limited, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, National Institute of Solar Energy, and National Institute of Wind Energy for planning the transmission system required for having 500 GW of non-fossil fuel based installed capacity by 2030. The committee has prepared a detailed plan in consultation with states and other stakeholders. The planned additional transmission systems required for having 500 GW of non-fossil fuel include 8,120 ckt. km of high voltage direct current transmission corridors (+800 kV and +350 kV), 25,960 ckt. km of 765 kV AC lines, 15,758 ckt. km of 400 kV lines and 1,052 ckt. km of 220 kV cable at an estimated cost of Rs 2.44 trillion. The transmission plan also includes the transmission system required for evacuation of 10 GW off-shore wind located in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of Rs 0.28 trillion. With the planned transmission system, the inter-regional capacity will increase to about 150,000 MW by 2030 from 112,000 MW at present. The plan also envisages the installation of battery energy storage capacity of the order of 51.5 GW by 2030 to provide round-the-clock power to end-consumers.