The Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) is seeking loan assistance of $1 billion (~Rs.67.82 billion) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for green energy transmission corridor. The loan will be made up of a sovereign guaranteed loan of $500 million (~Rs.33.91 billion) and a non-sovereign loan of $500 million (~Rs.33.91 billion) to support grid infrastructure development according to a written statement by Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy, and Mines.

An official at the Ministry of Power told Mercom that PGCIL has estimated that the investment requirement for the development of infrastructure would be about Rs.430 billion (~$6.34 billion). The loan by ADB, if approved, will help the PGCIL in strengthening the grid and transmission infrastructure in the country at a faster pace.

The official also said, “if India wants to achieve the target of 175 GW renewables by 2022, grid-strengthening is paramount, renewable energy has the advantage of resource flexibility and transmission will play a key role to facilitate flow of electricity in a reliable and affordable manner.”

The PGCIL will utilize the loan to fund the following projects in the next three to four years:

• High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) bipole link between Western Region (Raigarh, Chhattisgarh) and Southern Region (Pugalur, Tamil Nadu) – North Trichur (Kerala) – Program 1: Raigarh-Pugalur 6,000 MW HVDC System
• HVDC bipole link between Western Region (Raigarh, Chhattisgarh) and Southern Region (Pugalur, Tamil Nadu) – North Trichur (Kerala)- Program 3: Pugalur- Trichur 2,000 MW VSC based HVDC system
• Real-Time Measurement/Monitoring Program
• Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) associated with Green Energy Corridor in

• • Ajmer (New) – Bikaner (New) 765 kV D/c
  • Bikaner (New) – Moga (PG) 765 kV D/c
  • LILO of one circuit of 400 kV Bhadla- Bikaner (RVPN) line at Bikaner (New)
  • Establishment of 2×1500 MVA, 765/400 kV S/s at Bikaner (New)

• Ajmer (New) – Bikaner (New) 765 kV D/c
• Bikaner (New) – Moga (PG) 765 kV D/c
• LILO of one circuit of 400 kV Bhadla- Bikaner (RVPN) line at Bikaner (New)
• Establishment of 2×1500 MVA, 765/400 kV S/s at Bikaner (New)

On the advice from the Forum of Regulators, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), PGCIL has updated the transmission infrastructure requirements and other related services for the integration of large-scale renewable capacity in the 12^th Five-Year Plan into the grid.

Mercom has previously reported on waiving of interstate transmission charges and losses for wind and solar projects. This coupled with a robust transmission system will enable growth in renewable energy projects and avoid curtailment issues that could threaten the sector.

Image credit: By Eugene Alvin Villar (seav) (Self-photographed) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons