Rs 20K-cr project to transmit solar power from Ladakh

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, October 18

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today okayed a grid power line of 5 giga watt (GW) capacity at the cost Rs 20,773 crore to evacuate power from the 13 GW solar power project in Ladakh to Haryana’s Kaithal district. The CCEA was chaired by PM Narendra Modi. The Union Government will bear 40% (Rs 8,309 crore) of the project cost and the rest would be raised by Powergrid, an entity under the Ministry of Power. The line is expected to be completed in seven years – by 2029-2030.

The line is a Green Energy Corridor Phase-II – Inter-State Transmission System.

State of the art voltage source converter (VSC) based high voltage direct current (HVDC) system and extra high voltage alternating current (EHVAC) systems will be deployed on the line.

The project will entail setting up of 713 km transmission lines (including 480 km HVDC line) and 5 GW capacity of HVDC terminal each at Pang (Ladakh) and Kaithal (Haryana).

The PM had on August 15, 2020, announced setting up of 7.5 GW solar park in Ladakh. After extensive field survey, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) prepared a plan to set up 13 GW Renewable Energy (RE) generation capacity along with 12 GWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Pang, Ladakh.