The Indian government has issued an order stating that the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) will be relaxed till March 31st 2024.
“With reference to the Approved Models and Manufacturers of Solar Photovoltaic Modules (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) Order, 2019 and subsequent amendments and clarification thereto, the undersigned is directed to convey that subject Order is hereby held in abeyance for one financial year, i.e. FY 2023-24. Thus Projects commissioned by 31.03.2024 will be exempted from the requirement of procuring Solar PV modules from ALMM,” reads the official document.
Previously, Indian Power Minister R.K Singh had announced that the mandate would get relaxed for two years while speaking at an event by Business Today. However, for now, the exemption is effective for just one financial year. It is anticipated that this move will revive the growth of solar energy, which had stagnated following the implementation of the ALMM policy.
Expanding on the move, Mr. R.K Singh stated that the ALMM was introduced to boost the domestic manufacturing ecosystem. However, the current module manufacturing capacity was unable to cater to the massive solar capacity addition demand, which hampered the nation’s efforts towards the 280 GW capacity by 2030 target.
“I put up a total barrier, ALMM, under which no Chinese company has been listed, so they can’t export. I put up the barrier, and at that time, Niti Aayog said it was a complete barrier. I said it was necessary. But I have expanded the bidding so fast that my existing domestic capacity is not able to meet it. As I said, I have about 70 GW of solar capacity under implementation, and the manufacturing capacity of 500 Wp (modules) and above is just 10 GW,” said Mr. R.K Singh.
Mr. Singh also states that with ALMM in place, it could take 7 years to complete the projects under implementation.
The updated list of ALMM includes 83 domestic manufacturers with a cumulative capacity of 21 GW. The move to relax the mandate would benefit the solar developers who were unable to source modules at competitive prices and meet their project deadlines.
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Resource: Mercom India
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