Power evacuation infrastructure growth in India has lagged behind the pace of power capacity additions due to unique challenges faced by transmission projects, with implementation delays running into several months and even years.

Right-of-way (RoW) issues, landholder opposition, compensation disputes, litigation, and delays in obtaining forest, wildlife, and tree-cutting approvals are among the key challenges delaying the commissioning of transmission projects. Project developers frequently cite transmission infrastructure as a major cause of delays in solar project commissioning.

Projects to evacuate renewable energy across India are struggling to keep pace with solar and wind capacity additions, which are rising in recent years. India added an unprecedented 14.9 GW of solar capacity in the first six months of 2024, topping all previous half-yearly and annual installations. The country has set a target of installing 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Transmission projects typically have longer gestation periods than renewable energy projects, but delays due to implementation challenges on the ground have stretched timelines for up to 24 months to over five years in some cases, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data for July 2024 has shown.

The GIB Challenge

Take the transmission system strengthening project to evacuate 8.1 GW of power from solar energy zones in Rajasthan, for instance. The target dates for completion of different phases of this project were November and December 2022. While the target completion date for one of this project’s components was August 2024, the dates for two other components have been pushed to December 2024.

This 8.1 GW project falls in the endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB) area. As per the diverted route for the Fatehgarh II-Bhadla II 765 kV DC Line, a 24 km line was dismantled, and a new 36 km line was finalized in November 2022. The line was expected to be energized in August 2024, according to the CEA’s Monitoring Report of Under-Construction TBCB Projects in July.

In 2021, the Supreme Court directed that transmission lines be taken underground to avoid the GIB and Lesser Florican birds dying from collision with overhead lines.

For the 765/400kV, 2x1500MVA Substation at Sikar -II as part of the same 8.1 GW project, POWERGRID faced difficulty purchasing land within the specified radius. The land was acquired only in December 2023.

Severe RoW Issues

The longest time overrun in the July list of projects monitored by CEA pertains to the “Additional 400 kV feed to Goa and Additional System for Power Evacuation from Generation Projects pooled at Raigarh (Tamnar) Pool.” Scheduled for completion in November 2021, the project is now anticipated to see closure only in May 2026, a delay of five and a half years.

One component of this project is the Xeldem-Mapusa 400 kV DC line, which was expected to be completed in August 2024. The project, being executed by Sterlite, has run into ‘severe’ RoW issues, with one location in North Goa facing opposition. A former chief minister of the state owns the land here. Police protection was sought to start work.

Another project that is seeing a delay of over two years is the transmission system for the 400 kV Udupi – Kasargod D/C Line from Karnataka to Kerala. Initially scheduled for completion in November 2022, the revised timeline is June 2025. Two out of 16 locations are under litigation, with the Karnataka High Court staying the work. In 132 out of 161 locations, landowners have demanded higher tree/land compensation or route diversion. The request for tree cutting from the forest department is anticipated.

Landowner Opposition

In the ISTS network expansion project for the export of surplus power in a high renewable energy scenario in the Southern Region, even after the issuance of land compensation orders in four tehsils in Maharashtra, landowners are not allowing the work to begin. Police protection has been sought in 96 badly affected locations. RoW issues still persist in 126 locations. The project, scheduled for completion in July 2024, has a new deadline of December.

Work on the Gadag pooling station in Karnataka, which is part of the program for transmission of 1,500 MW of solar energy, has also run into a problem because RoW issues have not been resolved in 20 out of 29 locations despite land compensation being determined. The project is seeing a five-month delay.

India will need about 123,577 circuit kilometers (ckm) of transmission lines and 710,940 MVA of transformation capacity in the substations (at 220 kV and above voltage levels) to be added during the period 2022-27, according to the CEA’s National Electricity Plan 2023. As of January 31, 2024, the country’s transmission network comprises about 481,326 ckm of transmission lines and 1,225,260 MVA of transformation capacity.

However, since the financial year 2020-21, the pace of transmission capacity additions has not been impressive, and it has averaged just 15,118 ckm. The additions have to be stepped up to reach the 2027 target.

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi assured Parliament recently that India is on track to install 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based renewable energy capacity by 2030. But if not addressed urgently and aggressively, transmission infrastructure constraints could become a major obstacle to India achieving its goal of installing 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030.