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What is the Green Energy Corridor programme?

The GEC is a flagship Indian government programme aimed at building dedicated transmission infrastructure to integrate large-scale RE, such as solar and wind power, into the national power grid.

For the first time, the GEC includes a dedicated battery energy storage component, with provisions for deploying 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

Energy storage refers to systems that can store excess renewable electricity during periods of high generation and discharge it when demand rises but power generation remains low. At its core, energy storage systems convert electricity from renewable sources, when it is available, into forms that can be stored. Later, it converts these back into electricity when need arises.

A GWh is a unit of electrical energy that measures the total amount of energy produced, consumed, or stored over a period of time.

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Transmission bottlenecks and grid congestion, particularly during periods of high solar generation in the daytime, are resulting in renewable power being curtailed or facing restrictions on evacuation. The challenge is becoming more pronounced as renewable capacity expands faster than the associated transmission infrastructure.

Of the scheme’s total outlay, over Rs 1.36 lakh crore has been earmarked for developing intra-state transmission systems (InSTS), while Rs 50,000 crore has been allocated for 50 GWh of BESS. The scheme entails total Central Financial Support of Rs 54,082 crore, which the government said would help offset intra-state transmission charges and keep power costs lower for end users.

Under the InSTS component, all greenfield projects will be implemented through the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route, while brownfield upgrades and network-strengthening works will be undertaken on a cost-plus basis (CPB). Under TBCB, private transmission companies compete to develop and operate a project at a competitively determined tariff, whereas the CPB model means the project cost and an approved return are recovered through the regulated tariff.

State transmission utilities will serve as the overall implementing agencies, while transmission service providers will participate in the TBCB process under a build-own-operate-maintain model, the government said. The scheme is targeted for completion by FY33.

Infrastructure creation needed

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Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), told the media on Wednesday that India is expected to add around 400 GW of RE capacity between 2030 and 2035-36, requiring about 160 GW of additional InSTS infrastructure. Of this, GEC-III is expected to support 135 GW of infrastructure creation at the state level.

Sarangi said the scheme is expected to support renewable power evacuation while also helping decentralise RE capacity, which has so far been largely concentrated in five states. He said proposals have so far been received from at least 13 states along with transmission lines to be part of GEC-III. This would expand the GEC’s geographical coverage, with GEC-I having been implemented across eight states and GEC-II across seven states. 

The scheme is also expected to boost private-sector participation in state-level transmission infrastructure. Greenfield projects, which were traditionally developed by states largely on CPB using budgetary resources or loans, would now be opened to TBCB, he said. 

“Under inter-state transmission (ISTS), where entire bidding is done through TBCB, the transmission service provider brings in the capital to support it initially and then recovers it over a 35-year period. So the same practice is also going to be tried out. This will ensure a lot of private capital to flow into the transmission system. And in the process, we maximise competition and value creation at the state level,” he added.

The challenges India faces

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Notably, the MNRE is implementing the GEC in two phases to augment transmission lines and transformation capacity through InSTS and ISTS networks. But there have been consistent delays in their implementation.

Sarangi said GEC-I is expected to be completed by March 2027, while all projects under GEC-II are expected to be completed by 2028. He added there will be a steering committee at the Cabinet Secretary level, which will be monitoring progress of GEC-III and GEC-II twice a year.

Transmission constraints are seen as a major challenge in evacuation of power from RE sources. During FY26, around 6,900 GWh of clean electricity faced restrictions owing to a mismatch between the rapid pace of RE deployment and commissioning of associated transmission infrastructure, latest government data shows.

The inclusion of the battery component is also significant, as large volumes of RE have had to be curtailed during the daytime, when solar generation is at its peak and supply can exceed the grid’s ability to absorb it. Curtailment refers to a situation in which grid operators ask renewable energy plants to reduce or temporarily stop generation to maintain grid stability. This happens mainly owing to lack of energy storage capacity in the country.

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However, deployment of energy storage systems in India has not kept pace with the rapid addition of renewable energy capacity. This widening gap is raising concerns over whether the grid will be able to efficiently absorb and manage the rising share of renewable power in the years ahead. 

The government is focusing on two major systems: pumped hydro storage (PHS) and BESS. India has an installed BESS capacity of around 2.9 GW. PHS capacity stands at about 7.2 GW.

There are plans, however, for a massive scale-up over the next decade. A Central Electricity Authority plan projects India’s total energy storage capacity to reach 174 GW or 888 GWh by 2035-36: of this, BESS constitutes 80 GW or 321 GWh and PHS 94 GW or 567 GWh.