Adani Transmission Limited (ATL) has signed a share purchase agreement and completed the acquisition of the special purpose vehicle of Bikaner-Khetri Transmission Limited (BKTL),  incorporated by PFC Consulting Ltd.

ATL had won this project through a tariff-based competitive bidding process and received the Letter of Intent (Lol) for the project in July 2019. In August 2019, Mercom had reported that ATL received two letters of intent to increase the country’s transmission network.

According to the company statement, ATL will be responsible for building, owning, operating, and maintaining the transmission project in Rajasthan for 35 years.

The project—Bikaner-Khetri Transmission Limited—consists of approximately 480 circuit kilometers of 765 kV line and associated transmission systems.

The project is associated with long-term applications from Rajasthan Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) Part-D. With this project, the cumulative transmission network of ATL will reach 14,042 circuit kilometers of transmission line and 23,280 MVA transformation capacity, states the release.

Anil Sardana, the managing director of ATL, said, “The acquisition of this SPV incorporated for the assets of transmission project in the state of Rajasthan will consolidate ATL’s position as the largest private sector transmission company operating in India. It will further allow the company to contribute towards sustainable development of renewable energy infrastructure development in the country.”

The deal also takes the company closer to its target of setting up 20,000 circuit kilometers of transmission lines by 2022.

According to the statement, the project will also strengthen India’s “quest to bring about evacuation facilities for renewable energy and to contribute towards growing energy demand. This will also help contribute towards achieving a generation of 175 GW renewable energy by 2022 and that to lower costs and well on time.”

Previously, it was reported that Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) had approved ₹25.8 billion (~$358 million) to develop a transmission system for solar energy zones in Rajasthan. The transmission network has its commissioning scheduled for December 2020, according to a BSE filing by the company.

Lack of transmission infrastructure has been a growing concern for solar, and wind companies and Mercom reported on this issue several times.

In the past, Mercom has written about how with the expected surge in electricity demand over the coming decade and the rapid installation of solar and wind, India’s transmission and distribution system requires significant expansion.

Recently, Mercom reported the Minister of Power, R.K. Singh, stating that the government has constituted a working group for the expeditious implementation of renewable energy generation and associated transmission system.