The project, estimated to cost 9.15 trillion rupees ($109 billion), will help integrate 500 gigawatts of renewable power by the end of the decade, a more than two-fold increase from now, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Transmission constraints have emerged as a key obstacle for the growth of renewable energy the world over, with a spurt in demand causing delayed deliveries and surging prices of grid equipment.
To help buffer supply and price shocks, India should foster local manufacturing of critical transmission equipment, Federal Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal said at a conference in New Delhi on Monday. The cost of equipment is set to rise more than 14% a year from now, he said. Post 2030, the country expects to install another 100 gigawatts of clean capacity to the mix in the following two years, reaching 600 gigawatts by 2032. The plan aims to increase India’s transmission capacity by 35% by the same year, according to a statement from the ministry of power.
Renewables are not the only energy source in need of more transmission lines in India. The country is also planning to add coal and nuclear power plants, all of which will put further pressure on the grid.
(Bloomberg, October 15, 2024)