New Delhi: The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Green Energy Corridor Phase-III (GEC-III) scheme to enable evacuation of up to 135 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy across states and Union Territories.
The scheme is targeted to be set up by FY 2032-33 with a total project outlay of Rs 1,86,405 crore, comprising Rs 1,36,378 crore for the development of Intra-State Transmission Systems (InSTS) under GEC-III and Rs 50,000 crore for 50 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) manufacturing and deployment will additionally generate employment in the domestic energy storage industry.
The scheme will also generate long-term skilled employment in operation, maintenance, and grid management across participating states.
According to an official statement, the scheme also provides for deployment of 50 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) at the Renewable Energy (RE) developer/generator end or any other location of importance for grid flexibility to address intermittency, congestion, peak-hour curtailment and meet non-solar hour demand.
Moreover, the scheme will facilitate grid integration and power evacuation within the states/UTs of India.
The Scheme involves a total Central financial support of Rs 54,082 crore.
The Central Financial Assistance (CFA) will help in offsetting the intra-state transmission charges and, thus, keep the power costs down. The government support will ultimately benefit the end users.
According to the statement, all Greenfield projects under the InSTS component will be implemented through Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) mode, while brownfield upgradation and network strengthening works will be executed under Cost Plus Basis (CPB).
The State Transmission Utilities will be the overall implementing agency, and Transmission Service Providers (TSPs) will participate under TBCB on a Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM) model, it added.
The scheme will help in achieving the target of 900 GW installed non-fossil capacity by 2035.
It will also contribute to the long-term energy security of the country and promote ecologically sustainable growth by reducing the carbon footprint, generating large direct and indirect employment in the power sector, manufacturing, and construction industries.
(IANS)
