GEC III: Bridging geographic and temporal mismatch
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The GEC-III will determine how effectively India converts its enormous renewable-generation potential into dependable electricity. | Photo Credit: Reuters
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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