Transmission planning should take renewable energy into account: Minister

R K Singh told officials that by 2030, the country's installed power capacity is likely to grow to over 777 GW

Union Minister for Power and New and  Renewable Energy R K Singh on Thursday said that power transmission planning should take green hydrogen production and offshore wind generation into account. The minister was reviewing the implementation of the inter-state electricity transmission system (ISTS)  in the country at a meeting in Jaipur.

The minister said the transmission plan should be dynamic and sensitive to changing needs of the sector. He also told officials that transmission infrastructure should be developed ahead of generation so that there are no constraints in evacuating power.

The minister told officials that by 2030, the country’s installed power capacity is likely to grow to over 777 GW and the peak demand is slated to reach 335 GW. Developing transmission infrastructure is crucial to generate electricity from non-fossil sources, the minister added.  

The Centre plans to achieve its target of having 50 per cent of installed electricity generation capacity from non-fossil sources by the year 2030. In December 2022, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) worked out the cost of setting up a new ISTS for integration of the planned 278 GW of renewable energy capacity, part of the larger national target of 500 GW RE capacity by 2030, at Rs 2.44 trillion.

At the meeting, Singh reviewed the inter-state transmission plans in  Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Emphasis was laid on completing the projects in a time-bound manner across the country, according to an official statement.