Power Grid Corporation of India announce ambitious smart grid plans as part of the green energy corridor

The Indian government plans to roll out a Rs 43,000-crore ‘green energy corridor’ project to facilitate the flow of renewable energy into the national grid.

The blueprint for the project has been submitted to the Power Ministry by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL). For implementation, the project would be split into intra- and inter-State, said a senior Power Ministry official.

The ‘green energy corridor’ is aimed at synchronising electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with conventional power stations in the grid.

“Germany has committed developmental and technical assistance of €1 billion for the project,” the official said.

After the massive grid failure that left the entire North, East and North-East in the dark for more than six hours on July 30-31 last year, the Government is aiming at strengthening the distribution network across the country making it ‘smart’ to handle fluctuations.

Currently, the grid faces difficulty in absorbing renewable electricity because of varying voltage and supply, the official said. “The transmission system would be made dynamic to handle the variations leading to an integrated grid across the nation,” he added.

The intra-State grid upgradation would be taken up by PowerGrid, while the inter-State network would be developed by State utilities. The details are being worked out in the Power Ministry as India powers ahead with smart grid implementation.

PowerGrid operates five grids – Northern, Western, Southern, Eastern and North Eastern – that transmit nearly 1,29,980 MW during peak demand.

At present, India has 27,541.71 MW of installed renewable capacity excluding hydro power stations. The country has a total installed capacity of 2,23,625.60 MW as on April 30, according to the Central Electricity Authority.

India is in talks with Germany for making its grid compatible for distributing renewable energy. Germany has smart grids that integrate renewable energy into the national grid.