India is preparing to roll out a much larger version of its Green Energy Corridor Program. The government now wants to build transmission lines capable of carrying 150 GW of renewable power across the country.
That’s a huge jump from what came before.
Earlier Phases Running Behind Schedule
The first two phases of GEC aimed to connect approximately 40 GW of clean energy to the national grid. Phase 1 encompassed eight states and is currently nearing completion. Officials say about 90 to 100 per cent of the work is complete, though it missed its original 2022 deadline.
Land problems, clearance delays and equipment shortages slow things down. Phase 2 is still underway and aims to be completed by the 2026-27 financial year.
Next Phases Will Cover the Entire Country
As per a government official, the upcoming phases will be “eight to ten times larger” than the earlier corridors combined. The plan is to cover every part of India this time.
Phase 1 covers approximately 10 states. Phase 2 covers approximately seven to eight states. In phase 3 and phase 4, everything else will be covered across India, the official said.
The government may break the undertaking down into two or three separate stages, given the sheer size of the project.
Big Money Needed
Nobody has put out exact figures yet. But based on the scale, costs could run 10 times higher than India spent in earlier phases. This spending will be in addition to ongoing work under the current corridors.
Grid bottlenecks remain a real problem for India’s renewable push. Without proper transmission lines, all those new solar and wind farms cannot send their power where it’s needed.
Why This Matters
India aims to add 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. That’s an ambitious target. The Green Energy Corridor is central to making it happen.
Right now, the grid simply cannot handle that much renewable power. These new phases aim to fix that gap before it becomes a bigger headache for the country’s clean energy goals.
