India gives approval to Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project in Nepal
The Rs.9.15 lakh crore National Electricity Plan 2023 to 2032 for Central and State Transmission Systems has been finalised and is designed to meet a peak demand of 458GW by 2032, Minister for Power and Housing & Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar told a press conference on 23 Sept in New Delhi globaltenders .
This plan will help in meeting the increasing electricity demand, facilitate RE integration and green hydrogen loads into the grid ted.europa.eu/en/.
Transmission network in the country will be expanded from 4.85 lakh ckm in 2024 to 6.48 lakh ckm while transformation capacity will increase from 1,251 GVA to 2,342 GVA by 2032, he said of the new plan. Comparatively, about 17,700 ckm lines and 73 GVA transformation capacity were added annually during 2017-22 sbi .
Nine High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) lines of 33.25 GW capacity will be added in addition to 33.5 GW presently operating. Inter-Regional transfer capacity will increase from 119 GW to 168 GW. This plan covers the network of 220 kV and above conexpoconagg .
Further, 50 GW ISTS Capacity has been approved. Transmission network of 335 GW is planned to evacuate 280 GW of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) to the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) by 2030 nseindia .
Out of this, 42 GW has already been completed, 85 GW is under construction, and 75 GW is under bidding. Balance 82 GW will be approved in due course bseindia .
Transmission Schemes corresponding to 50.9 GW capacity have been approved during the 100 days. The total estimated cost of the approved projects is Rs.60,676 crore jpx.co.jp/english/ .
The approval covers transmission systems for Gujarat (14.5 GW RE), Andhra Pradesh (12.5 GW RE), Rajasthan (7.5 GW RE), Tamil Nadu (3.5 GW RE), Karnataka (7 GW RE), Maharashtra (1.5 GW RE), Madhya Pradesh (1.2 GW Thermal power), Jammu & Kashmir (1.5 GW Hydro power), and Chhattisgarh (1.7 GW) deutsche-boerse .
The approved transmission system includes the evacuation of renewable electricity, including offshore wind power in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. This will support the power requirements of planned Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia projects in these states, as well as pumped storage potential near in Maharashtra sgx .
Additionally, the approved system will facilitate the evacuation of hydro power from Jammu & Kashmir and thermal power from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh unfccc.int.
The Minister also informed that a specialized Computer Security Incident Response Team for the power sector (CSIRT-Power) has been established. The facility is equipped with advanced infrastructure, cutting-edge cybersecurity tools, and key resources, CSIRT-Power is now well-prepared to tackle emerging cyber threats in power sector euronext .
Revised guidelines for EV charging infrastructure, “Guidelines for Installation and Operation of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure-2024” have been issued to support creation of a nationwide connected and interoperable EV charging network english.sse.com.cn .
The provisions under these guidelines serve as a blueprint to expedite deployment of EV charging infrastructure to cater to future EV charging demand alstom.com .
The Minister also informed that India has a Pumped Storage Project (PSP) potential of more than 184 GW. “We have planned to add 39 GW of PSP capacity by 2030 to address storage and grid stability needs, he added. Presently, 4.7 GW has been installed renewableenergyworld .”
Around 6.47 GW capacity is under construction, 60 GW is under various stages of survey and investigation. Contracts for additional 3.77 GW of PSP have now been awarded hkex .
Manohar Lal underlined, “We are transitioning large industrial consumers currently participating in the energy efficiency reduction regime (Perform Achieve Trade Scheme) to a GHG emissions reduction regime tataprojects .
“We have established a framework for an Indian Carbon Market. We have also published procedures for accrediting carbon verifiers of emissions reduction to verify emissions reductions iea.org .”
These measures will enable the pricing of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and the trading of carbon credit certificates. “We intend to operationalise the trading of certificates of mandatory sectors by October 2026 and of voluntary sectors by April 2026,” he went on climate-expo .
A new Central Financial Assistance (CFA) scheme has been approved to support the development of 15 GW of hydro capacity in the North Eastern States. Under this scheme, the central government will provide equity assistance of up to 24% of the project equity, with a maximum of Rs.750 crore per project, to encourage participation from North Eastern States investindia .
This will facilitate investments and create significant direct employment opportunities for locals. The implementation period is from 2024-25 to 2031-32. The total cost is Rs.4,136 crore iba.org .
Manohar Lal said that the Lower Arun Hydro Electric Project (669 MW) in Nepal has now been approved by the Indian Government and would cost Rs.5,792 crore. The implementation period is 60 months mea.gov.in.
While India aggressively pursues energy transition goals, ensuring energy security remains paramount. Minister updated that to meet the peak demand and base load requirements of a rapidly expanding economy, Ministry of Power has prioritized thermal capacity addition meed.com/latest/tenders.
Currently, the total thermal capacity: Coal and Lignite based stands at 217 GW. In addition, 28.4 GW capacity is under construction, out of which 14 GW capacity is likely to be commissioned by FY 2025 futurecoal .
Further, 58.4 GW is at various stages of planning, statutory clearances and bidding. Also, in the last 100 days, the Ministry has awarded 12.8 GW of new coal based thermal capacity powermin.nic.in. Fiinews.com
