Union Govt. Approves INR 20,774 Cr. for 13 GW RE Power Transmission Project
Cabinet Committe on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II – Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) for evacuation of power from an upcoming 13 GW Renewable Energy (RE) project in Pang, Ladakh. The estimated cost of this transmission project is Rs. 20,773.70 crore. Out of the total project cost, Rs. 8,309.48 crore, which is 40% of the total, will be provided through Central Financial Assistance (CFA). This information was shared via a PIB release dated 18th October 2023.
POWERGRID to be the Implementing Agency, Project Expected to be Completed by FY-30
Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL or POWERGRID) will be the implementing agency for this project under GEC Phase-II, which is expected to be completed by 2029-30. This project will evacuate 9 GW of Solar Power and 4 GW of Wind Power from the upcoming Pang RE project.
POWERGRID will deploy High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) and Extra High Voltage Alternating Current (EHVAC) systems for this transmission project. These systems will employ Voltage Source Converters (VSCs).
Transmission Lines to Run through Himachal, Punjab & Haryana
The aforementioned project entails the laying of 713 Km of transmission lines from Pang in Ladakh to Kaithal in Haryana. Thus, these lines will run through the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana before being linked to the National Grid.
Out of this total length, 480 Km will be HVDC line, and HVDC terminals will be developed for this project at Pang and Kaithal. This 5 GW HVDC corridor will have two circuits, each of which will be 2.5 GW in transmission capacity.
Power Requirements of Ladakh and J&K also to be Addressed
Apart from supplying power to the National Grid, the project will also supply power to Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.
For Ladakh’s power requirements, a portion of the power generated at the Pang RE project will be supplied to the grid in Ladakh via an interconnection at Leh. For Jammu & Kashmir, the RE project will feed power to the Leh-Alusteng-Srinagar transmission line.
Brief Background of the Ladakh RE Project
Initially, on 15th August 2020, the Indian Prime Minister announced a 7.5 GW RE park in Ladakh. This park was to be built in two parts, one of which was to be a 5 GW RE facility at Nyoma, Ladakh, and the second was to be a 2.5 GW RE facility at Kargil.
However, post the field survey by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), it was proposed that a 13 GW RE park be set up at Pang, Ladakh with an associated BESS facility. This proposal was subsequently cleared by the National Commission for Transmission (NCT) on 3rd January 2022.
Allied Battery Energy Storage System capacity of 12 GWh to be Developed
Apart from the power transmission system, an allied Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) of 12 GWh capacity will be developed for the RE park at Pang, Ladakh.
Out of this total BESS capacity, 1-2 GWh will be utilised to keep the transmission system charged in the scenario of non-generation or outage. In the scenario of an outage on one circuit, the BESS will keep the circuit charged, thus mitigating the effect of the outage.
