Over 17,000 circuit km of transmission lines installed in 9 yrs: R K Singh

Over 17,000 circuit kilometers of transmission lines were installed in India in the last nine years to strengthen the electricity distribution system, Union Power Minister R K Singh said on Tuesday.

He made the remarks while addressing delegates from the West African region at an event organised by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in collaboration with Grid Controller of India Ltd (Grid-India) and West African Power Pool (WAPP) in the national capital.

The usage of renewable energy is cheaper compared to the conventional form of energy sources, Singh said, urging the participants to increase use of green energy in their countries.

Besides making energy available to their people, these nations must also lay emphasis on the transmission as well as storage of power, he noted.

"I want to share that we have set up 1,75,000 MW of renewable capacity from 2014 onwards. We have added more than 17,000 ckm of transmission lines to strengthen distribution systems...," he said.

In December 2022, the government launched a plan for building a transmission system for evacuating 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil based energy by 2030. The plan provides transmission service providers with investment opportunities of about Rs 2.44 lakh crore.

ISA DG Ajay Mathur said it is working towards making solar power a priority for nations across the world. Since its establishment, ISA is scaling up efforts to implement its existing pipeline for solar projects, share knowledge, and build capacity across the solar value chain.

"In collaboration with Grid-India and WAPP, this programme will set standards and help strengthen the solar ecosystems in all ISA member countries. It will also trigger policy change and help in the creation of financial and human capacity," he said.

S R Narasimhan, CMD of Grid India, said Africa is home to 60 per cent of the best solar resources globally. However, it has only 1 per cent of installed solar PV capacity. Installation of solar energy capacities is extremely important for Africa's clean energy future, he added.