Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) expects tendering activity for the mega Ladakh HVDC project to begin by January next year.
Addressing an investor conference recently, R.K. Tyagi, CMD, PGCIL said that the notice inviting tender (NIT) for the Ladakh HVDC project should come out by January 2025 and by end of March 2025, orders for equipment should get placed.
Elaborating on the current status, Tyagi that FEED (front-end engineering and design) studies are in progress. FEED studies are being undertaken in two phases, the first of which is currently underway and likely to complete by March this year.
Based on the results of the first phase of FEED studies, details of major equipment will be finalized. These details will form the basis of the second phase of FEED studies, Tyagi noted.
The second phase of FEED studies (FEED-2) will take around 7-8 months to complete, which means that by around December 2024, outcome of FEED-2 would be available.
All documents for tendering should be ready by then, Tyagi said, adding that NIT for major equipment should come out in January 2025 and by March 2025, orders for equipment should get placed.
The project gestation period is around five years, which means that the Ladakh HVDC project should be a reality by FY30, Tyagi estimated. The unusually long gestation period is due to inclement working conditions in the Ladakh region, which is over 4,500m above mean sea level. Typically, only 4-5 months of the year would be available for construction activity.
On a related note, the PGCIL CMD also observed that worldwide there is shortage of HVDC equipment as vendors, which incidentally are very few in number, are contending with large order backlog.
It is for this very reason that the power ministry recently allowed an extension in completion timelines of HVDC-based power transmission schemes. In normal course, ISTS schemes are envisaged for completion in 24-30 months. However, for bipolar HVDC schemes, the gestation period has been revised to 48 months for Pole-1 and a further six months for Pole-2, making a total of 54 months.
Incidentally, a major HVDC-based interstate transmission system is coming up for bidding under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) route, entailing evacuation of renewable energy from Khavda in Gujarat. (Read more).
Ladakh HVDC scheme: An outline
The Ladakh HVDC project is officially known as “Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II – Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) for 13 GW Renewable Energy Project in Ladakh.”
The project, with an approved cost of Rs. 20,773.70 crore, entails setting up of 713 km transmission lines (including 480 km of ±350kV HVDC line) and 5 GW capacity of HVDC terminals — each at Pang (Ladakh) and Kaithal (Haryana). The evacuation infrastructure will use a combination of VSC-based HVDC and EHVAC technologies. This project will help evacuation corresponding to 13 GW of upcoming solar capacity in the Pang region of Ladakh. This solar capacity will be supported by 12 GWh of battery energy storage system (BESS).
The Pang-Kaithal HVDC transmission system will have the following linkages:
- Integration with National Grid (ISTS) at Kaithal in HaryanaIST
- Connectivity to existing Ladakh (interstate) grid via an interconnection at Leh, to ensure reliable power supply to Ladakh region
- Connectivity to existing Leh-Alusteng-Srinagar line, to provide reliable power to UT of Jammu & Kashmir
Also read Tendering For Mega Energy Storage Capacity Begins
Featured photograph is for representation only.
