MNRE’s Recent Notification Clarifies Applicability of ALMM Order

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has received representations seeking clarifications about certain aspects of ALMM (Approved List of Models and Manufacturers) Order, 2019. In response to this, the Grid Solar Power Division of the ministry has issued a notification, inviting attention to key provisions/instructions relating to the ALMM Order.

Check the Official Memorandum (OM) here.

As per paragraph 3 of the ALMM Order dated January 2, 2019, and amendments thereof, only the models and manufacturers included in this list will be eligible for use in government, government assisted projects, projects under government schemes & programmes, installed in the country, including projects set up for the sale of electricity to government under the guidelines issued by central government under section 63 of Electricity Act, 2003, and amendment thereof.

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The word ‘government’ includes central government, state government, central public sector enterprises, state public sector enterprises, and central and state organisations/autonomous bodies.

Further, as per paragraph 5 of the ALMM Implementation OM dated March 10, 2021, the ALMM order will be applicable on all bids whose last date of submission is on or after April 10, 2021. The ministry also clarified, “The modules procured for projects, on which ALMM Order is applicable, should have been included in the ALMM List-I valid on the date of invoicing of such modules.”

In March this year, under the ALMM order, the ministry approved a list of models and module manufacturers of PV Cells and modules that comply with the BIS Standards. The enlistment is valid for two years and can be renewed on the submission of the necessary documents. Around 23 module manufacturers were enlisted under the order, such as Mundra Solar, Vikram Solar, Bharat Electronics, Emmvee Photovoltaic Power, and ORB energy.

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The MNRE can carry out production and sale audits, random quality tests, and inspect the facility to ensure compliance. In case of any non-compliance, the enlisted manufacturer will be removed from the list.

For now, this creates a possibly piquant situation for imports, as no foreign vendor is part of the list, and a list for foreign approved suppliers for large grid connected projects allegedly in the works, has still not been released. Firms like Adani Green have claimed that the issue will be sorted out, but the uncertainty can’t be good for anyone right now.