For new energy, remove old bottlenecks

Why in the News

India has more than 300 gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable capacity and ranks third globally, yet grid operators curtailed (switched off) a significant amount of solar power between April and June. The causes were transmission constraints and grid security. The Centre’s new Green Energy Corridor Phase-III (GEC-III) will work only if it clears the land, clearance and coordination hurdles that slowed earlier lines.

What is GEC-III, and why does it focus on lines inside States?

1. What it is: GEC-III builds lines to evacuate up to 135 GW of renewable power, meaning carry it from plants to consumers, like widening roads out of a busy factory town.
2. Why it was needed: Rapid solar growth has not made green power available when demand is highest, particularly at the evening peak after sunset.
3. Storage component: The scheme adds 50 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery energy storage. Batteries smooth intermittency, the rise and fall of solar and wind output, and supply power after sunset.
4. Intra-State focus: Plants cluster in a few regions but demand is spread across each State, so the network’s last leg decides whether green power reaches consumers. Rs 1,36,378 crore is earmarked for transmission.
5. The takeaway: GEC-III can carry the next phase of India’s green energy transition only if it avoids the bottlenecks that slowed earlier lines.

Why have transmission lines been slow to build?

1. Money is not the only hurdle: Past projects show that transmission delays come from approvals on the ground, not only from a shortage of investment.
2. Right-of-way compensation: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy named right-of-way compensation, payment to landowners when high-voltage lines pass near their property, a major hurdle. Its report was tabled last December.
3. Land and clearances: The same panel flagged land acquisition and delays in environmental clearances as major hurdles in laying lines.
4. Fragmented decisions: Separate agencies approve different parts of a line, and the committee found that such fragmented decision-making often delays projects.
5. Boundaries do not match: Renewable resources, corridors and demand do not follow administrative boundaries, so the Centre and States must plan and implement together.

What will it take for battery storage to work?

1. Target versus function: The risk is that storage becomes a procurement target, counted by batteries bought, rather than a working part of the grid.
2. Four requirements: Battery projects need:
   • viable business models, so storage earns steady revenue;
   • incentives, because the sector relies on overseas suppliers for critical raw materials;
   • recycling arrangements for used batteries;
   • clear rules on who can use storage and who pays for it.

Challenges

1. Wildlife conflicts: Overhead lines kill endangered birds, which forces costly rerouting or undergrounding. Eg. The Great Indian Bustard case in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
2. Weak distribution utilities: Loss-making State power distribution companies (discoms) delay payments, which weakens the case for new intra-State investment.
3. Slow cell manufacturing: Domestic advanced chemistry cell (battery cell) plants under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme have been slow to start, so batteries stay imported.

Way Forward

1. Single approval portal: The government should act on the committee’s proposal for a portal bringing all approving authorities together for real-time monitoring and faster decisions.
2. Storage market rules: The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) should notify who may use stored power and how it is paid for.
3. Standard compensation: States should adopt uniform, time-bound right-of-way compensation so landowner disputes settle quickly.
4. Joint corridor planning: The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and State transmission utilities should plan corridors together across State boundaries.

Conclusion

India’s renewable push has moved from building generating capacity to getting power to consumers when they need it. Whether the single approval portal is set up and storage rules are notified will decide if GEC-III escapes the delays of earlier corridors.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2026] Which of the following statements with regard to Green Hydrogen is/are correct? 1. It is decarbonized hydrogen obtained from natural gas reforming combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS). 2. It is produced using electrolysis of water with electricity generated by renewable energy. 3. National Green Hydrogen Mission of India aims for abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 2 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 Answer: B”