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GNA (general network access) grid connectivity queue
What it is
General Network Access is the regime under which a generator secures the right to inject power into the inter-state grid. Applications are granted in sequence against available transmission capacity, so projects wait in a queue for connectivity
Renewable projects build in 12-18 months while transmission takes 36-60 months, so the two timelines are structurally mismatched
Impact on industries
- Connectivity, not land or equipment, is now the gating item for utility-scale renewables - a project without GNA cannot evacuate power however complete it is
- Speculative applications block the queue, since securing connectivity early is rational even for projects that may never build
- Curtailment follows when generation outruns evacuation, estimated at around 470 GWh in a single half-year and largely uncompensated
- Recognition of the mismatch has driven transmission planning reform and ISTS waiver extensions where the delay was the grid's fault rather than the developer's