The phase-I of Green Energy Corridor, a ₹10,141.68-crore initiative focused on developing infrastructure of integration of renewable generation capacity, is facing delays on account of multiple reasons, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
The scheme was introduced by the government for development of Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) in eight states.
Out of the eight states, four have completed all the projects, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Minister of State (MoS) of New and Renewable Energy Shripad Naik said in a reply to Rajya Sabha.
"The phase-I of Green Energy Corridor has been delayed in remaining four states (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh) due to reasons such as Right of Way (RoW) issues, court cases including Great Indian Bustard matter and forest clearances," Naik, who is also MoS Power, said.
The GEC-I scheme aims setting up around 9,700 circuit (ckm) transmission lines and 22,600 megavolt ampere (MVA) substations in order to facilitate integration of about 24 GW of renewable generation capacity.
The total project cost is ₹10,141.68 crore with funding mechanism consisting of 40% Central Financial Assistance from MNRE (₹4,056.67 crore), 40% loan from KfW Germany (EUR 500 million) and 20% equity from State Transmission Utilities (STUs).
The phase II of GEC scheme is under implementation in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh at a cost of ₹12,031.33 crore.
Further, the states have been advised to prepare respective plans for InSTS with a 10-year horizon, Naik said.
On Monday, the minister said a 340 Giga Watt (GW) Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) network has been planned to evacuate 230 GW of solar and wind power connected to ISTS.
"As of now, out of the total planned capacity, 48 GW has been completed, 159 GW is under construction, 21 GW is under bidding, and 112 GW is under planning," he had informed the upper house.
