Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) has suggested to use modern VSC technology for the proposed Leh power transmission scheme.
PGCIL has proposed to use voltage source converter (VSC) technology for the power transmission scheme, planned to support evacuation of 10 GW of renewable energy (mainly solar) from Leh, in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
PGCIL was mandated to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) for the scheme, and the same has been submitted to the Union power ministry.
It may be noted that PGCIL was mandated only for the DPR work. The implementing agency has not yet been decided by the power ministry. The project could be awarded to PGCIL on “nomination basis” under the RTM (regulated tariff mechanism) mode or it could very well be developed under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route.
The Leh transmission scheme aims to evacuate 10 GW of renewable power through four ±350kV HVDC terminals to be located at Pang, Nyoma (both in UT of Ladakh), Kaithal (Haryana) and Kashipur (Uttarakhand).
There will be two separate transmission systems, each with a transfer capacity of 5 GW:
- Pang (UT of Ladakh) to Kathal (Haryana)
- Nyoma (UT of Ladakh) to Kashipur (Uttarakhand)
The entire transmission system will span cover UT of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The double-circuit system will have 1,170 ckm of overhead AC lines, and around 30 km of HVDC cable.
There will be seven transition stations in the Leh region, supported by AC substation bays at Kaithal, Kashipur, Aligarh, Bareilly (both Uttar Pradesh) and Narela (Haryana).
Successful precedent
The VSC technology was deployed in India for the first time by PGCIL in the ±320kV Pugalur-Trichur HVDC link that is an extended component of the ±800kV Raigarh-Pugaular HVDC system. The ±320kV link was fully commissioned earlier this month. (Read more)
Mega solar projects
In November 2018, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) launched a massive project of developing 23 GW of ultra-mega solar projects in the Leh and Kargil regions of erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir, which are now subsumed by the UT of Ladakh.
Connectivity
A big expanse of the UT of Ladakh has very poor connectivity with the National Grid. Power requirement is met through small hydropower plants and diesel generator sets. It was only in February 2019, that Ladakh was connected to the National Grid through the 220kV Srinagar-Alusteng-Drass-Kargil-Leh transmission scheme. Incidentally, this transmission system, earlier owned by Jammu & Kashmir Power Development Department was very recently transferred to PGCIL. (Read more)
Featured map (source: PGCIL) is not to scale.
