It has been reported that The government on Thursday approved Rs 12,031 crore intra-state transmission scheme for evacuation of renewable energy from 20 Gw power projects in seven states including Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
The Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, targets addition of 10,750 circuit kilometres (ckm) of transmission lines and 27,500 Mega Volt-Amperes (MVA) transformation capacity of substations, the report said.
“This is yet another positive announcement for the power sector to drive renewables penetration in the country,” Sterlite Power managing director Pratik Agarwal said.
Transmission Scheme
The scheme will have central financial assistance (CFA) at 33% of the project cost of Rs 3,970 crore. The transmission systems will be created over a period of five year from Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26. The CFA will help in offsetting the Intra-State transmission charges and thus keep the power costs down, the report said.
The scheme will help in achieving the target of 450 Gw installed RE capacity by 2030.
“The scheme will also contribute to long term energy security of the country and promote ecologically sustainable growth by reducing carbon footprint. It will generate large direct and indirect employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled personnel in power and other related sectors,” the report said.
Transmission Projects
This scheme is in addition to GEC-Phase-I which 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 24 Gw of renewable power and is expected to be completed by 2022.
The scheme is for addition of 9700 ckm of transmission lines and 22,600 MVA capacity of substations having estimated cost of transmission projects of Rs 10,141 crore with Central Financial Assistance of Rs 4,056 crore. (Economic Times)
