India’s renewable-energy sector is now entering a crucial phase of completing the circuit with it integrating States through a robust national grid, even as multi-fold challenges test the ambition.

The Union Cabinet has given its nod to the ₹1.86 lakh crore Green Energy Corridor Phase-III (GEC-III), which is designed to close the geographic and temporal mismatch.

Almost three-fourth or ₹1.36 lakh crore for intra-state transmission systems and ₹50,000 crore for 50 GWh BESS or battery energy storage system (BESS) have been earmarked for GEC-III, whose main aim is enhancing the evacuation of renewable power from generation-rich states and moving it efficiently to utilising centres.

This marks a tectonic shift from generation to reliability.

With total central financial support of ₹54,082 crore, the project also has a viability-gap funding mechanism, which helps attract private capital and enables storage deployment at scale, making GEC-III financially more sustainable and commercially attractive.

The need for strengthening the infrastructure for renewable energy comes in the backdrop of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) view that Indian electricity demand is expected to grow at an average 6.4% annually through 2030.

India had commissioned 263 GW renewable capacity by January 2026, while national policy is to reach 500 GW by 2030. Plans to integrate more than 500 GW by 2030 and over 600 GW by 2032 have gathered pace.

The Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) data shows that the renewables contributed 17% of electricity generation in FY2025-26 compared to 14% the previous fiscal, while reports suggest that renewable sources account for more than 50% of India’s installed power capacity.

GEC-III is an answer to the yawning gap between the installed renewable capacity and the actual electricity generation.

Generation to integration

Through GEC-III — designed to evacuate up to 135 GW of renewable power and is targeted for completion by FY2032-33 — a larger share of renewable electricity is expected to reach the grid since production does not necessarily take place at the point of consumption.

Solar and wind projects are largely in resource-rich locales — Rajasthan and Gujarat for solar/wind, parts of southern India for wind and solar, and the Himalayan region for hydro — while electricity demand is across the industrial and urban centres.

Without adequate intra-state and inter-state networks, additional generation can lead to congestion and curtailment and GEC-III is an attempt to build the physical architecture towards this.

Storage changes equation

The 50 GWh of battery storage, which makes Phase III stand apart from the previous phases, seeks to address the renewable energy sector’s nagging intermittency, congestion, peak-hour curtailment and demand during non-solar hours.

Besides, greater deployment of BESS can create demand for battery manufacturing, engineering, procurement and construction services, grid-management technologies and ancillary services.

It has the potential to improve the economics of other forms of storage like pumped-storage. The government has already put in place viability-gap funding to support battery storage, creating a broader policy framework for scaling up storage capacity.

Structural architecture

The architecture is woven around centre–state–grid-operator with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) being responsible for the policy framework and central financial assistance for GEC.

The CEA doubles up in planning and technical-appraisal role, while ensuring that state’ needs fit into the broader national plan objectives.

To ensure smooth functioning, the Central and State transmission utilities have been mandated key roles in transmission planning and execution at the inter-state and intra-state levels.

Reflecting inclusive development, Grid-India and regional load dispatch centres oversee grid operation, scheduling and managing renewable variability, making the entire system inclusive.

The Regional Energy Management Centres have also been established to improve renewable forecasting and grid management.

Previous phases

GEC-I, approved in 2015, centered around eight renewable-rich States to build about 9,767 circuit km (ckm) of transmission lines and 22,689 MVA of substations, enabling 24 GW of renewable generation.

According to the Ministry of Power’s 2025-26 annual report, 9,170 ckm had been constructed and 22,116 MVA of substations commissioned. Six states had completed their projects, while Gujarat and Maharashtra received extensions until March 2026.

GEC-II, approved in 2022, involved seven States, with a revised target of 7,919 ckm and 22,448 MVA, supporting 20 GW of renewable power.

Execution was seen rather lackadiascal because as of June 2026, only 1,124 ckm of transmission lines charged and 6,860 MVA of substations commissioned, although 93 of 95 packages had been tendered and 85 awarded.

Combined together, the first two phases saw an achievement ratio of 59% as they had integrated 26 GW of renewable capacity against a planned 44 GW. GEC-I and II were mainly transmission programmes.

The achievement ratio shows that the corridor concept works, but it also highlights the larger scale Phase III requires faster execution. Having identified the systemic lacunaes, it combines transmission, storage and grid flexibility to close geographic and temporal mismatch.

Key concerns

High capital intensity would mean financing, procurement and cost recovery remain critical issues. Scale increases coordination complexity as delays in one part of the generation-transmission-storage chain can have ripple effect on the other segments.

Factoring in that State transmission utilities are the implementing agencies, differences in land acquisition, right-of-way (identified as a major source of delays for previous phases), approvals and execution capacity can create uneven progress.

Given the fast pace of technological changes, the storage economics will determine whether 50 GWh becomes an economically efficient asset or not.

Transmission lines require physical corridors across multiple jurisdictions, therefore delays can leave completed generation assets waiting for evacuation infrastructure.

Indicating consumer tariff risks, although central assistance is intended to contain transmission charges, the overall cost of building and operating the network ultimately has to be recovered through the electricity system.

Global experiences

The grid challenge is global. The IEA estimates that variable renewable sources will account for 27% of global electricity generation by 2030, while more than 2,500 GW of renewable, storage and large-load projects are currently stalled in grid queues across the globe.

China, which has reportedly built the world’s most extensive renewable-power transmission architecture, is expected to account for around 60% of global renewable-capacity expansion through 2030.

The North Seas Energy Cooperation of 2016, a voluntary regional energy initiative, witnessed nine European countries and the European Commission take steps to build an integrated an offshore grid, setting a target of least 300 GW of offshore wind by 2050, with 120 GW targeted by 2030. The European Commission estimates €584 billion investments needed in electricity grids this decade.

Within Europe, NordLink interconnector between Germany and Norway allows German surplus wind power to Norway, while Oslo’s hydropower reservoirs provides Germany with renewable generation.

Australia has already identified and still in the process of scouting for potential REZs or renewable energy zones, and explicitly link their development to transmission, long-duration storage and grid reliability.

The U.S. is also undertaking major transmission-modernisation programmes.

Bigger significance of GEC-III

The country is attempting to scale its physical infrastructure for renewable electricity as it ramps up renewable generation.

The aim is to expand transmission network from about 5.04 lakh ckm in February 2026 to 6.48 lakh ckm by 2032.

The GEC III will determine how effectively India converts its enormous renewable-generation potential into dependable electricity.

A bigger pool of predictable low-carbon power is imperative for the decarbonisation goals of large users such as manufacturing and data centres; it is where GEC-III comes as a solution.

As a secondary spinoff, better transmission and storage could improve the availability of clean power for electric vehicles, green hydrogen and other energy-intensive sectors.

Image used for representation purpose only.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

New Delhi:

India is poised to experience more energy demand growth than any other country over the next decade due to its large population and rising demand from all sectors, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency.

The World Energy Outlook 2024 report also said that coal will remain a major part of India’s energy mix for the next few decades, with the country projected to add about 60 gigawatts of new coal-fired power capacity by 2030, even though some older coal plants will retire.

India overtook China in 2023 to become the most populous country in the world, even as its fertility rate dropped below the replacement level.

“The population size and the scale of rising demand from all sectors mean that India is poised to experience more energy demand growth than any other country over the next decade,” the IEA report said.

According to the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS), the report said that India is on track to add over 12,000 cars daily to its roads from now until 2035. Built space is expected to increase by over 1 billion square metres annually, which is larger than the total built space in South Africa today.

India’s iron and steel production is on track to grow by 70 per cent by 2035, cement output is set to rise by nearly 55 per cent, and the number of air conditioners is projected to increase by more than 4.5 times, resulting in electricity demand from air conditioners exceeding Mexico’s total expected electricity consumption by that year.

The total energy demand in India is projected to increase by nearly 35 per cent, and its electricity generation capacity is likely to triple to 1,400 GW by 2035.

The IEA said while India is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2070, coal will continue to play a significant role in the energy mix for the next few decades.

India is expected to add about 60 gigawatts of new coal-fired power capacity by 2030, even though some older coal plants will retire. Coal-based electricity generation is projected to increase by over 15 per cent, the report stated.

Coal provided 40 per cent of the energy used in industries like steel, cement, and manufacturing in 2023. By 2035, coal use in industry is expected to grow by 50 per cent, according to the report.

India, the world’s second-largest consumer of coal for electricity generation after China, saw the share of coal-fired power generation rise to 75 per cent in 2023-24, up from 71 per cent in 2019-20.

According to the IEA, while coal consumption fell in Europe and the US in 2023, it rose by 8 per cent in India and 5 per cent in China.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Saudi Aramco, Coal India and Gazprom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
| Photo Credit: AP

“The vast majority of planet-warming carbondioxide emissions since 2016 can be traced to a group of just 57 fossil fuels and cement producers,” researchers said on April 4.

“From 2016 to 2022, the 57 entities including nation-states, state-owned firms and investor-owned companies produced 80% of the world’s CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and cement production,” said the Carbon Majors report by non-profit think tank InfluenceMap.

“The world’s top three CO2-emitting companies in the period were state-owned oil firm Saudi Aramco, Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom and state-owned producer Coal India,” the report said.

Saudi Aramco, Coal India and Gazprom did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The report found most companies had expanded their fossil fuel production since 2015, the year when nearly all countries signed the U.N. Paris Agreement, committing to take action to curb climate change.

Since then, while many governments and companies have set tougher emissions targets and rapidly expanded renewable energy, they have also produced and burned more fossil fuels, causing emissions to rise.

“Global energy-related CO2 emissions hit a record high last year,” the International Energy Agency has said.

InfluenceMap said its findings showed that a relatively small group of emitters were responsible for the bulk of ongoing CO2 emissions, and it aimed to increase transparency around which governments and companies were causing climate change.

“It can be used in a variety of cases, ranging from legal processes seeking to hold these producers to account for climate damages, or it can be used by academics in quantifying their contributions, or by campaign groups, or even by investors,” InfluenceMap Programme Manager Daan Van Acker said of the report.

A previous edition of the Carbon Majors database was cited last month in a legal case brought by a Belgian farmer against French oil and gas company TotalEnergies. The farmer argued that as one of the world’s top 20 CO2-emitting companies, TotalEnergies was partly responsible for damage to his operations from extreme weather.

The database was first launched in 2013 by the non-profit research organisation Climate Accountability Institute. It combines companies’ self-reported data on coal, oil and gas production with sources like the U.S. Energy Information Administration, national mining associations and other industry data.

Carroll Muffett, CEO of the non-profit Center for International Environmental Law said the database would improve investors’ and litigators’ ability to track companies’ actions over time.

The Paris-based agency said failing to curb methane leaks from oil and gas projects was a “massive missed opportunity” to prevent losses and reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas.
| Photo Credit: AP

“Planet-heating methane released by the fossil fuel industry rose to near record highs in 2023 despite technology available to curb this pollution at virtually no cost,” the International Energy Agency said on March 13.

“Slashing emissions of methane — second only to carbon dioxide for its contribution to global warming — is essential to meeting international targets on climate change,” the IEA said.

The Paris-based agency said failing to curb methane leaks from oil and gas projects was a “massive missed opportunity” to prevent losses and reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas.

“Emissions of methane from fossil fuel operations remain unacceptably high… There is no reason for emissions to remain as high as they are,” IEA chief energy economist Tim Gould told reporters ahead of the release of the agency’s annual Global Methane Tracker report.

But he expressed hope that this year “could mark a turning point” — if countries and fossil fuel firms turn their pollution-cutting promises into concrete policies. Methane is responsible for around 30% of the global warming experienced today, according to the UN Environment Programme.

While some 40% of methane is released from natural sources, mainly wetlands, human activities are responsible for the rest. Agriculture is the main source — methane is burped out by livestock such as cows and sheep and emitted during rice cultivation.

That is followed by the energy sector where the methane leaks from energy infrastructure — such as gas pipelines — and from deliberate releases during maintenance.

“This fossil fuel methane pollution has risen three years in a row,” the IEA report said, adding that two thirds of the emissions were from just 10 countries — including China for its methane linked to coal, and the United States for gas, with Russia shortly behind.

Major leaks

Overall, the IEA said the production and burning of fossil fuels resulted in close to 120 million tonnes of methane emissions in 2023, a small rise compared with 2022 and close to the record high in 2019.

“Last year witnessed a surge in large-scale methane leaks,” it said, “including a well blowout in Kazakhstan that lasted more than 200 days.”

“Some 40% of the emissions recorded in 2023 “could have been avoided at no net cost” using tried and tested methods to prevent such leakages,” said IEA energy expert Christophe McGlade. “It still represents a massive missed opportunity,” he said.

Methane is far more powerful than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere but relatively short-lived, making it a key target for countries wanting to slash emissions quickly and slow climate change.

More than 150 countries — including Azerbaijan, host of the next UN climate talks — have promised a 30 percent reduction by 2030. Oil and gas firms have meanwhile pledged to slash methane emissions by 2050.

“But these commitments were not backed up by detailed plans,” the IEA said, calling for concrete policies to turn the pledges into reality.

It said countries and companies have the power to slash methane emissions from fossil fuels in half by 2030, if they deliver on their promises.