Union Cabinet Clears Major Phase-III Green Energy Transmission and Storage Plan

UPDATE - follow-up to Cabinet clears ₹1.86 trn green energy corridor scheme with battery storage: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Green Energy Corridor Phase-III scheme with a total outlay of ₹1,86,405 crore.

Project Scope

The scheme aims to set up an intra-state transmission system to evacuate 135 gigawatts of renewable energy across various states and union territories. It also includes setting up 50 gigawatt-hours of battery energy storage systems at developer sites or other key grid locations to manage peak-hour power demand and grid congestion.

Funding And Implementation

The project cost includes ₹1,36,378 crore for transmission systems and ₹50,000 crore for battery storage, backed by a central financial support of ₹54,082 crore to help lower power costs. Greenfield projects will use tariff-based competitive bidding, while brownfield upgrades follow a cost-plus basis, with State Transmission Utilities acting as the main implementing agencies.

Context

This initiative supports India's broader climate goals of reaching 500 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2030 and 900 gigawatts of non-fossil capacity by 2035. Large-scale integration of renewable sources requires robust transmission networks and storage to handle power fluctuations when solar and wind generation drops.