Govt’s New Scheme To Aid In Evacuating RE From Rajasthan, Karnataka

Government New Transmission Scheme Evacuates 9 GW RE From Two States

The Union government has now approved new Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) schemes to evacuate 9 Gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy (RE) from the renewable rich states of Rajasthan and Karnataka. These schemes will be implemented through Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) mode. These schemes are part of the government’s 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030 out of which 200 GW is already connected.

Noteworthy, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) earlier came out with a roadmap of boosting the transmission network in India with several ISTS transmission lines in the states of Karnataka, Rajasthan and other regions. These transmission lines were paramount to ensure easy evacuation of renewable power from these renewable energy states to other parts of the country. Under the plan, the Ministry of Power has been working to augment the transmission lines in these zones with a rise in the spread of renewable energy projects across India.

With the rise in installations of large utility scale projects and the ambitious plan to add upto 500 GW of energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, a robust transmission line is the need of the hour. As per the latest plan of the Indian government, the power evacuation scheme of Rajasthan Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) will evacuate 4.5 GW of RE power from Rajasthan. It comprises 1 GW from Fatehgarh complex, 2.5 GW from Barmer Complex and 1 GW from Nagaur (Merta) Complex. This power will be transferred to Mainpuri Region, Fatehpur and Orai of Uttar Pradesh. The completion period of the scheme is two years. Cost of the scheme is about ₹12,241 crore.

The System strengthening scheme of Karnataka will evacuate 4.5 GW RE power from Koppal area and Gadag area. The scheme will be completed by June 2027. Cost of the scheme is about ₹1,354 crore. In Karnataka, Koppal and Gadag have also seen a rise in the total renewable projects. For example-Bellary which was earlier known for rampant iron ore mining has emerged as one of the rising hotspots of renewable power mainly for solar with some renewable power coming from wind energy projects too. This is besides India’s second largest solar park of India-Pavagada in Tumkur district. Chitradurga has also emerged as one of new rising zones with more wind and hybrid projects.