Green Corridor 2.0 gets Rs. 12k-cr boost

Green Drive

- Centre will contribute 33% of project cost

- Grid integration and power evacuation

- Will connect Gujarat, HP, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, TN and UP

- Corridor will have 27,500 Mega Volt-Amperes (MVA) transformation capacity of substations

- Outlay of phase-1 was Rs10,142 cr

- 80% of the phase-1 completed

- Phase-1 connects AP, Gujarat, HP, Karnataka, MP, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and TN

- 24GW of power evacuation under phase-1

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod to investing Rs12,031 crore for laying transmission lines to evacuate electricity generated from renewable power projects in seven States. The project, called Green Energy Corridor Phase-II, would involve laying 10,750 circuit kilometers of transmission lines by 2026, Union Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters.

The scheme's total estimated cost is Rs12,031.33 crore, including Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of 33 per cent of the project cost (about Rs3,970.34 crore).

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

The scheme 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.

Thakur said the transmission systems will be created over 5 years during 2021-22 to 2025-26 fiscal years. The minister added that 80 per cent of the phase one work has been completed. The outlay of the first phase was Rs 10,142 crore. The statement further said the CFA will help in offsetting the intra-state transmission charges and keep the power costs down. Thus, the government support will ultimately benefit the end users, it added. The scheme will help in achieving the target of 450 GW installed RE capacity by 2030. It will also contribute to long-term energy security of the country and promote ecologically sustainable growth by reducing the carbon footprint, as per the statement. Besides, the project will generate large direct and indirect employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled personnel in power and other related sectors, it said.

This scheme is in addition to GEC Phase-I which is already under implementation in 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. It is expected to be completed this year. The phase-I is for addition of 9,700 ckm of transmission lines and 22,600 MVA capacity of substations having estimated cost of transmission projects of Rs 10,141.68 crore, with CFA of Rs 4,056.67 crore.