Energy transmission is central to India's renewable future: Mercom
India's long term renewable energy future depends of the immediate addition of transmission capacity and the removal of bottlenecks, according to a report from clean energy consultancy Mercom Capital Group. Although solar projects being developed in India total 14.2 GW, with 6.3 GW of tenders waiting to be auctioned, Mercom says that the current grid infrastructure will be unable to handle the added capacity. The Green Energy Corridor being built across several renewable-rich Indian states will transport energy to high energy demand centres, but after several setbacks, the project may be completed too late to have an impact.

India is expected to add more than 9GW of solar PV capacity this year, but its long-term renewable energy future requires adding transmission capacity and removing bottlenecks immediately, according to the latest quarterly solar market update from consultancy firm Mercom Capital Group.

Solar projects under development now total around 14.2GW, with 6.3GW of tenders waiting to be auctioned, but these strong figures face “significant headwinds” in terms of transmission and evacuation, which could threaten the pace of growth, said Mercom.

Cumulative solar installations including utility-scale and rooftop projects have now reached 9.6GW and while this capacity continues to grow at pace, quality and abundant transmission infrastructure will become increasingly important, particularly in solar parks, which are already facing significant lags. Many developers are being held back and losing revenue due to transmission delays.

With annual installations forecast to more than double this year, Mercom stated: “there is a legitimate concern that the current grid infrastructure is inadequate to handle the capacity.”

It added that the industry is “betting on the completion” of the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) to help solve much of these problems, but progress is slow. The GEC will connect renewable energy rich states to high energy demand centres and states that lack renewable energy generation potential.

The GEC being built in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu. While addressing a number of current issues, the GEC is also expected to address future curtailment of both solar and wind projects. However, after multiple delays, the sector is already “sceptical” about whether completion will be in time to have an impact.

It is still unknown where the next batch of solar parks will be located as a result of poor transmission availability. Developers have also cited issues with poor communication between the government and state electricity regulatory commissions (SERCs), regarding solar park infrastructure.

Government officials have said that the GEC is on track to meet its March 2020 deadline. The Power Grid Corporation of India has estimated that the cost to develop the GEC comes to INR380 billion (US$5.59 billion).