MNRE Updates ALMM List, Adds Five New Module Manufacturers 

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The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has come up with its latest revised list of ALMM (Approved List of Module Manufacturers). The newly revised document now lists 82 module manufacturers. All module manufacturers’ cumulative capacities under the revised ALMM list currently stand at 19,190 Megawatt (MW). 

The new module manufacturers featured in the list included SAEL (141 MW), Power Systems (95 MW), Rhine Solar (43 MW), Speak Solar (42 MW), and Genus Innovation (22 MW). The first such list was published by the MNRE in 2019 and revised several times after that. 

Earlier on May 10 this year, the ministry brought reforms in the ALMM scheme, which mandated that only such models of solar module manufacturers under ALMM would be approved, which comply with the BIS standards. In addition, the manufacturers were asked to abide by a specific minimum module efficiency set by the government. It defined minimum performance levels for utility-scale solar plants, rooftops, solar pumps, and solar lights. 

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The ministry said that it received several applications for enlistment under the scheme. Still, only those applications were approved where the module efficiency was more than 19 percent, the minimum efficiency level earlier set by the ministry among all the categories of solar projects mentioned above. 

The ministry also said that all those solar module manufacturers whose validity expired on March 9 this year and those who didn’t apply for renewable were also delisted from the ALMM list. 

Earlier on March 2023, the ministry also deferred the requirement of ALMM. It declared that its orders for using only domestically approved modules in the ALMM would be held until March 31, 2024. The order was expanded to cover all government-supported projects. In a significant reform in mid-May this year, the ministry recently ordered a sharp reduction of up to 80 percent in registration fees and a sharp cut in inspection fees under the scheme. 

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The ministry started the scheme to enlist eligible models and manufacturers of solar modules complying with the BIS Standards in a list called ALMM. The government had planned the scheme and mandated that only the models and manufacturers included in this list would be eligible for use in government projects, government-assisted projects, projects under government schemes and programmes, open access, and net-metering projects installed in the country.