"Green Energy Corridor Phase-III Targets Renewable Transmission Bottlenecks"
Green Energy Corridor (GEC)
Centre's transmission scheme to strengthen grids for evacuating renewable energy.
Right-of-Way (RoW) compensation
payment to landowners when transmission lines pass near their property.
India's electricity transmission network has two layers: the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS), which links renewable-rich states to the national grid, and the Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS), which carries power within a state to actual consumers. 'Electricity' sits in Entry 38 of the Concurrent List in the Constitution's Seventh Schedule, which means both the Centre and states share responsibility for generation, transmission and distribution, and coordinated planning between them is essential.
The Green Energy Corridor (GEC) scheme was first conceived to strengthen this network as India's wind and solar capacity grew rapidly in resource-rich states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Earlier phases focused mainly on inter-state evacuation infrastructure. With installed renewable capacity now above 300 GW, placing India third in the world in renewable-energy deployment, the bottleneck has shifted from generation to evacuation and storage. The Centre's Green Energy Corridor Phase-III now aims to strengthen intra-state systems to evacuate up to 135 GW of renewable energy and add 50 GWh of battery storage, at an outlay of Rs 1,36,378 crore for transmission infrastructure alone.
This is the latest step in a recurring pattern in India's infrastructure story: large capital announcements for power, roads, railways and ports have repeatedly been slowed not by lack of funds but by land acquisition disputes, environmental clearance delays and compensation disagreements with landowners, a bottleneck a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy report highlighted specifically for transmission lines.
Solar and wind power are variable: solar output falls to zero after sunset and wind speeds fluctuate through the day. This variability means that peak renewable generation often does not match the evening peak in electricity demand, forcing grid operators to either curtail surplus solar power during the day or fall back on costlier thermal and gas-based generation in the evening. Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) address this by storing surplus daytime solar power and releasing it during the evening peak, smoothing the mismatch between generation and demand.
A second structural problem is geographic. Renewable generation is concentrated in a few resource-rich pockets, while demand is spread across cities, industries and villages within a state. …
'Investment in infrastructure is essential for more rapid and inclusive economic growth.' Discuss in the light of India's experience.
Which List of the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution contains the subject 'Electricity'?
Consider the following statements regarding the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-III scheme:
1.It aims to strengthen transmission systems to evacuate up to 135 GW of renewable energy.
2.It includes a component for adding 50 GWh of battery energy storage capacity.
3.It is funded entirely through external bilateral loans with no domestic budgetary outlay.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Match List-I (Term) with List-II (Description) and select the correct answer using the codes given below:
List-I
A.Right-of-Way compensation
B.Battery Energy Storage System
C.Inter-State Transmission System
D.Curtailment
List-II
1.Deliberate reduction of renewable power generation due to grid constraints
2.Payment to landowners for transmission lines passing near their property
3.Storing electricity to balance supply during non-generation hours
4.Network linking renewable-rich states to the national grid
Consider the following statements:
1.A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy report has identified right-of-way compensation disputes and environmental clearance delays as major hurdles in laying transmission lines.
2.Renewable energy curtailment in India occurs solely due to a shortage of installed generation capacity.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following best explains why variability in solar and wind power generation creates challenges for grid operators?
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