ALMM Is Back, With Key Exemptions

The Indian government has tried to strike a balance between key stakeholders with the restoration of the Approved List of Module Manufacturer (ALMM) conditions, albeit with some vital exemptions.

In an order dated Feb 9, the Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) confirmed that ALMM will be reimposed from April 1, 2024, after being held in abeyance since March 10, 2023. The exemption had been granted ostensibly to allow domestic capacity to come up for high-efficiency modules.

In the latest update, it confirms that ALMM will apply as per the Law, only to those projects which are sponsored/ subsidized by the Government. That will cover large utility projects by central undertakings, Solar PV Rooftops and other schemes like PM KUSUM;
which are subsidized.

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The critical exemption is for projects set up under open access or as captive by private parties. In other words, ALMM will not be applicable to people who set up their own capacity. That will please a vast number of developers in the C&I segment.

Last Date To Place Orders
While the order dated 10th March 2023 has stressed that projects commissioned by 31st March 2024 will be exempted from the requirement of procuring Solar PV modules from ALMM the latest order changes that to all cases where the projects are in an advanced stage of construction and the order for the modules has been placed before 31st March 2024- That the plant is in advanced stages of construction and the irrevocable LC has been opened before 31st March 1 2024 will be subject to verification

Conclusion

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The latest order puts to rest speculation on the future, which is always a good thing. More importantly, as we had been stressing, with higher domestic capacity and the launch of the PN Sarvodaya Yojana (10 million Rooftop Scheme), the government has opened up a fresh source of strong domestic demand for domestic manufacturers. But it has been practical enough to realize that not every type and quality of modules are being made domestically yet, thus leaving corporate and off-grid buyers with an option to use imported modules. Stretching the buying window to cases where LC(Letter of Credit) has been opened till March 31, 2024, also indicates a final effort to ensure larger utility-scale projects bid out till early last year have no reason to complain about the changes. Expect a massive rush of import orders by the due date accordingly. Industry insiders tell us it could go up to 5 GW or more even.