The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved the project on Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II – Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) for 13 gigawatt (GW) Renewable Energy (RE) project in Ladakh.

The project is targeted to be set up by FY30 with a total estimated cost of ₹20,773.70 crore and Central Financial Assistance (CFA) at 40 per cent of the project cost at ₹8,309.48 crore, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) said.

Keeping in view the complex terrain, adverse climatic conditions and defence sensitivities of Ladakh region, Power Grid Corporation of India (Power Grid) will be the implementing agency for this project, it added.

A 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.

The transmission line for evacuating this power will pass through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab up to Kaithal in Haryana, where it will be integrated with the National Grid. An interconnection is also planned from this project in Leh to the existing Ladakh grid so as to ensure reliable power supply to Ladakh.

It will also be connected to the Leh-Alusteng-Srinagar line to provide power to Jammu & Kashmir. 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 project will help in developing long-term energy security of the country and promote ecologically sustainable growth by reducing carbon footprint. It will generate large direct and indirect employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled personnel in power and other related sectors, especially in Ladakh region.

It is in addition to the Intra-State Transmission System Green Energy Corridor Phase-II (InSTS GEC-II), which is already under implementation in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh for grid integration and power evacuation of around 20 GW of RE power and is expected to be completed by 2026.

The InSTS GEC-II scheme targets addition of 10,753 circuit km (ckm) of transmission lines and 27546 MVA capacity of substations having estimated project cost of ₹12,031.33 crore and CFA at 33 per cent (₹3,970.34 crore).