PANAJI
We are entering an era where energy and AI will shape the world over the next few years. As renewable energy becomes more distributed, digitising energy distribution is no longer a luxury—it is essential. Without digital systems, distribution companies cannot track how much renewable energy is flowing back into the grid or manage the grid effectively.
A syndicated, integrated approach is therefore needed. What should such an approach include? These questions were discussed at a seminar held during the ongoing India Energy Week 2026 at ONGC, Betul, where participants shared their views and perspectives.
As someone who manages transmission projects on direct based competitive bidding, Arun Sharma, CEO and director, Resonia Limited, a prominent private sector power transmission developer based in Goa, elaborated on the role of transmission lines and the challenges in managing decarbonisation.
“We have to be the silicon valley of solar. There’s so much happening in the country – we have done about 9 billion dollar of developmental projects, both in Brazil and in India, so we understand how transmission is becoming central to the whole decarbonisation journey,” asserted Sharma who feels that there can be no transition without transmission, because decarbonised economy has to be an electrified economy.
“There is no other way. As a country we emit about 3.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases and they are primarily from three sources – the coal fired plants, commercial/industrial and transportation,” he observed.
Pointing out that renewable is picking up big time, he mentions that the country has seen how Bhadla Park is picking up.
“But bringing this energy, the green rooms, to the consumption centre is what is the key to it. And it’s not easy. Transmissions are linear projects and they have their own peculiar problems that we face. Therefore transmission lines are central to changing, replacing fossil fuel. Most of the zinc producers and smelters for aluminium and copper groups want to have their captive plants as renewable plants so that they can shift quickly on to renewable energy. But again the transmission lines are the key here. How do you bring these green electrons to this location? This is about 25-30 % of the emission coming from CN. The transportation sector is also crucial. These three sectors consume about 80-85 % of the greenhouse gases emission of the country,” underlined Sharma.
The transportation sector is important. There is so much demand, as we move forward on the electrical vehicles. The ability to bring green electrons into the city like Mumbai or Goa is a must. Sharma did a project in Goa trying to connect Karnataka to Goa and similarly many such projects.
“So there is a reason why I say, a decarbonised economy has to be an electrified economy. There can be no transition without transmission and all these sectors which is about 85% of the greenhouse gas emission in the country. If they have to be replaced it has to be eliminated that we have to build lines across all voltage levels. This is so critical,” he said.
And more so, the onus of decarbonisation sits with the more mature technologies – the high voltage, the battery systems and the nuclear, because the other process which is the carbon capture, the green ammonia or the green hydrogen have yet to mature. Therefore the onus sits on the transmission and the technology around this for making this happen, Sharma maintained.
Explaining how the International Solar Alliance (ISA) can support this effort, Sharma highlighted three to four key areas of intervention. He noted that India’s transmission and grid system is unique globally, operating as a single national grid that connects the country end to end—from Assam to Rajasthan and Gujarat, and from Jammu to Kerala. This allows power generated in one region to be transmitted and consumed anywhere else, a rare achievement internationally.
He emphasised that this system has been successfully developed through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, particularly via the Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) mechanism. Governed by the Ministry of Power under Section 63 of the Electricity Act, 2003, TBCB has ensured transparency, attracted private investment, and delivered lower tariffs. Nearly ₹4 lakh crore of projects have already been awarded under this model, with around ₹1 lakh crore added annually. Sharma said this proven framework could be effectively replicated in other countries.
“The TL developers (Terralight solar energy companies) and solar developers can work very closely with each other. This is the right of way that issues can actually be very closely cleared and opened up, so the (transmission) lines can happen on time,” highlighted Sharma.
As India is a remarkable ecosystem that is building up, our job as an international solar alliance is to bring all elements together for AI products, policy, regulations, innovation, eco-system and financing and present that as a need for global south, underscored the seminar.
