The government is planning to double the power evacuation capacity to 30 GW in the Kutch region of Gujarat. This builds on the heightened response and the flurry of applications received from renewable energy companies for connectivity which has exceeded 18.6 GW.

Subsequently, the transmission capacity for another 15 GW will be carried out in phases IV and V for seven GW and eight GW, respectively. The phase-III project is to be divided into three packages of Rs 3,036 crore, Rs 1,645 crore and Rs 2,645 crore. This will be implemented through competitive bidding and will take 24 months to complete.

The phase-wise planning and details were discussed recently at the 13th meeting of the National Committee on Transmission (NCT), an expert group set up by the Ministry of Power (MoP).

Earlier, the government had planned for transmission systems to evacuate 15 GW of renewable energy from Khavda, Kutch, in three phases. The project for evacuating three GW in phase-I is under implementation, even as bidding is underway for five GW under phase-II. Phase-III for evacuating seven GW entails an investment of Rs 7,327 crore is in the discussion stage.

The Khavda project is under discussion by the NCT, to provide adequate grid support for renewable energy capacity in the country. At Khavda, 27,700 MW of wind-solar hybrid projects are coming up across 72,400 hectares. Major projects include 9,500 MW of Adani Green Energy, 4,750 MW of NTPC, 3,325 MW of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL), 2,735 MW of Gujarat Industrial Power Company (GIPCL), and 4,750 MW of Sarjan Realities.

As on 30 April 2023, India’s wind power capacity stood at 42,868 MW and solar power capacity at 67,077 MW.