The government is working towards setting up transmission systems for renewable energy zones with 66.5 GW of capacity by the end of 2022 to integrate non-fossil fuel energy sources with the country’s grid.

At a parliamentary consultative committee meeting chaired by Power Minister R K Singh, members were apprised of initiatives to set up thirteen renewable energy management centers to address generation variability and uncertainty and transmission systems for integrating an additional 52 GW of potential renewable energy zones by 2026-27.

According to a Power Ministry statement, transmission arrangements for another 181.5 GW of renewable energy resources by 2030 have been planned.

Members were informed of plans to strengthen the country’s transmission capacity, with power consumption reaching 1,400 billion units and expected to double by 2030.

Transmission systems for seven solar parks (6,500 MW) in 5 states comprising about 1,870 ckm transmission lines and five sub-stations with 1,3500 MVA transmission capacity had been implemented by POWERGRID.

While the peak power demand is currently 216 GW, the installed capacity of the national grid is 404 GW.

To decongest the transmission network, the government had adopted several measures, including a 1200 kV Ultra High Voltage AC system, tower designs to reduce right-of-way, application-based patrolling, hotline maintenance, tubular poles for fewer land regions, and gas-insulated switchgear for maintenance.

According to a draft of the National Electricity Plan published by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in September 2022, India needs to add 224.9 GW of clean energy generation capacity by 2032 to meet the peak demand.

Earlier this year, the Power Minister highlighted steps to facilitate renewable energy integration into the national interconnection grid. He had told the Parliament that regional energy management centers had been set up to accurately forecast and assist grid operators in managing the variability and intermittency of renewable power.