New Delhi — The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said on Wednesday that the cabinet has approved the third phase of the Green Energy Corridor (GEC‑III). The package carries an outlay of ₹1.9 lakh crore and will lay 51,126 km of new transmission lines, evacuating 135 GW of renewable power across the country.
India has been choking on renewable curtailment, with over 8,000 GWh of solar and wind cut in the first quarter of the 2026‑27 financial year. GEC‑III is meant to plug those gaps by adding both greenfield and brownfield projects, 70% of which will be new lines awarded through tariff‑based bidding.
The plan also rolls out 50 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems, which will store surplus green energy and smooth demand during non‑solar hours. The Ministry has tied the BESS deployment to domestic content requirements, aiming to boost local manufacturing of batteries and related components.
Santosh Kumar Sarangi, secretary of the ministry, said a steering committee chaired by a cabinet secretary will review the scheme every six months, while a project monitoring committee will meet quarterly. State transmission utilities will own and operate the assets, with 30% of the work being brownfield upgrades on a cost‑plus basis.
The new corridor is expected to reduce curtailment and keep power costs down. Analysts say the infrastructure will also help rural districts tap into surplus solar and wind, potentially bringing cheaper electricity to remote communities.