India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic affairs has approved a 13GW renewable energy and 12GWh  battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Ladakh. Once generating power, it will be linked up to the national grid, as well as the Kashmiri and Ladakhi grids. The approval comes under the Green Energy Corridor Phase-II – Inter-State Transmission System project and aligns with India’s aim of reaching 500GW non-fossil power capacity by 2030.

Renewable Energy for Ladakh

The project will be managed and controlled by the Power Grid Corporation of India. However, it is not expected to come online until 2029 or 2030. The total estimated cost is INR208 billion (USD2.5 billion), but 40% (INR83.1 billion (USD1 billion)) of this will be provided by central finance assistance.

Based in Pang, Southern Ladakh, it will be linked to Leh and the existing Ladakhi grid. It will also include an interconnection to Jammu and Kashmir via the Leh-Alusteng-Srinagar line. Additionally, a transmission line will run from Pang, through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the city of Kaithal, where it will be connected to the national grid, via high-voltage direct current (HDVC) lines. There will be a 5GW terminal at each end in Pang, and Kaithal.  All this transmission related infrastructure is encompassed in the overall project.

The project has been planned and prepared by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. A 12GWh BESS would make it by far India’s largest, and one of the larges announced projects globally. This comes in the wake of a federal funding launch for energy storage systems (ESS), and the unveiling of a national framework for the promotion of ESS. Additionally, a viability gap funding scheme has been introduced to help establish 4GWh of BESS by 2031.

This news follows on from Prime Minister Modi announcing a 7.5GW solar farm in Ladakh in 2020. It’s unclear if this is part of the 13GW project or in addition to it.

Rho’s Evaluation

India fell short of its renewable targets in 2022, and therefore must accelerate growth in the sector to achieve its 2030 and 2050 targets. As of 2023, our analysis showed that…

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Sources: NarendraModi.in