Govt puts in abeyance ALMM reimposition order 

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has put on hold a reimposition of the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for solar PV modules.

Last week, the ALMM order was re-imposed by the Ministry with effect from April 1, 2024. However, on Thursday, it again put the reimposition under abeyance “till further orders”. The development will enable solar PV manufacturers to continue to import modules without the ALMM restriction.

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In FY24, the ALMM was put on hold for the entire fiscal year to provide relief to solar PV manufacturers, who were faced with limited domestic availability.

Developers had raised concerns about ALMM due to inadequate domestic module manufacturing capacity, lower quality of domestic modules compared to Chinese tier 1 manufacturers, and higher prices of domestic modules.

Re-imposing ALMM

On February 9, the MNRE said that ALMM for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, is being re-imposed from April, 2024.

However, the Ministry allowed projects in “advanced stages” to continue to import without restrictions. However, it did not specify what the advanced stage was.

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“Now, it has been decided that the relaxation in ALMM shall apply to all cases where the projects are in the advanced stage of construction and the order for the modules has been placed before March 31, 2024. That the plant is in advanced stages of construction and the irrevocable LC has been opened before March 31, 2024 will be subject to verification,” the MNRE said in its February 9 order.

In the order for FY24, the Ministry has said that projects commissioned by March 31, 2024 will be exempted from the requirement of procuring solar PV modules from ALMM.

The ALMM applies to projects which are sponsored or subsidised by the government. ALMM will apply to the government or its agencies procuring power for its own consumption or for distribution to the people through Discoms.

The list also applies to solar PV rooftop and PM KUSUM, which are subsidised. The ALMM will not apply to projects set up under open access or as captive by private parties. In other words, ALMM will not be applicable for people who set up their own capacity.

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