The Rs 101.41 billion Phase-I of the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) project is facing delays in four states — Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh — due to land acquisition issues, legal cases, and environmental clearances, Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shripad Yesso Naik, informed the Rajya Sabha.

In a written reply, Naik stated that out of the eight participating states, four — Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu — have completed all assigned projects. Delays in the remaining four states are largely attributed to Right of Way (RoW) challenges, court matters including the Great Indian Bustard case, and pending forest approvals.

Highlighting India’s evolving renewable integration capacity, Naik noted that the national grid has maintained stability despite high levels of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) penetration, with only 0.12 per cent curtailment recorded in FY 2024–25.

To address curtailment and grid balancing issues, the government is undertaking multiple measures including potential-based transmission planning, enabling Temporary General Network Access (T-GNA), promoting thermal power plant flexibilisation, and deploying energy storage systems.

He also shared that a 340 GW Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) network is being planned to evacuate 230 GW of solar and wind capacity. Of this, 48 GW has been completed, 159 GW is under construction, 21 GW is under bidding, and 112 GW is in the planning phase.

Additionally, the Rs 120.31 billion GEC Phase-II is under implementation in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. States have also been advised to develop long-term Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) plans with a 10-year outlook.

News source: Energetica India