PowerGrid to build ₹5,550 crore transmission backbone for Kurnool's 4.5 GW renewable energy zone

Wiring up a renewable powerhouse

On 1 August 2026, during his visit to Andhra Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for a large transmission system meant to carry power out of one of the country's densest clusters of solar and wind capacity. The centrepiece is the Transmission System for Integration of the Kurnool-IV Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) — Phase-I, sized for 4.5 gigawatts and being implemented by state-run Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) through a dedicated special purpose vehicle at an estimated cost of about ₹5,550 crore.

It is unglamorous infrastructure, but it addresses one of the hardest bottlenecks in India's energy transition: not generating clean power, but moving it.

The evacuation problem

India has added solar and wind faster than it has built the wires to carry that electricity to where it is consumed. Renewable plants tend to cluster where the sun and wind are strongest — arid, sparsely populated districts far from industrial demand — and their output swings with the weather. Without dedicated high-capacity lines, generation gets "curtailed": switched off because the grid cannot absorb or transport it. Renewable Energy Zones are the government's answer — pre-planned transmission corridors built ahead of, or alongside, the generation they serve, so that new capacity can be evacuated the moment it comes online.

What was cleared

Beyond the flagship 4.5 GW Kurnool-IV corridor, the Prime Minister inaugurated additional transmission already built out around the region. That included the Transmission System for the Kurnool Wind Energy Zone and Solar Energy Zone (Parts A and B), commissioned at a cost of roughly ₹3,550 crore, and a separate transmission scheme for the solar zones at Ananthapuram (2,500 MW) and Kurnool (1,000 MW), executed by POWERGRID for over ₹820 crore.

Together, the projects are designed to gather power from the Kurnool and Ananthapuram renewable belts and feed it into the national grid, allowing electricity generated in Andhra Pradesh to reach beneficiaries across states. Kurnool is already home to one of India's largest solar parks, so the additional evacuation capacity has an immediate purpose rather than being speculative headroom.

Why the "zone" model matters

The REZ approach reflects a shift in how India plans its grid. Historically, transmission followed generation, often with a lag of years that stranded finished solar and wind farms. By committing to corridors like Kurnool-IV before all the linked capacity is built, planners aim to shorten that lag and give developers the confidence that their output will actually reach market. For POWERGRID, building these lines through special purpose vehicles also spreads the financing and lets the projects be awarded and executed as discrete, bankable assets.

The caveats

A foundation stone is the start of a multi-year build, and transmission projects are prone to delays from land acquisition, right-of-way disputes and equipment supply. The 4.5 GW Kurnool-IV corridor will take time to energise, and its value ultimately depends on the linked generation being commissioned on a matching schedule. But as a signal of intent, the package underscores where India's clean-energy spending is increasingly flowing — into the grid engineering that determines whether the country's fast-growing solar and wind fleet can actually be used.

Sources

• Prime Minister's Office — PM to visit Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on 1 August: https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pm-to-visit-andhra-pradesh-and-karnataka-on-1-august/
• Akashvani/News on AIR — PM Modi to visit Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on 1 August: https://newsonair.gov.in/pm-modi-to-visit-andhra-pradesh-and-karnataka-on-1-august/
• The Federal — PM Modi launches Rs 18,000 crore infrastructure projects in Andhra Pradesh: https://thefederal.com/category/states/south/andhra-pradesh/pm-modi-launches-rs-18000-crore-infrastructure-projects-in-andhra-pradesh-252207
• The News Mill — PM Modi inaugurates multiple projects in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on August 1: https://thenewsmill.com/2026/07/pm-modi-inaugurates-multiple-projects-in-andhra-pradesh-and-karnataka-on-august-1/