Second list of solar models & manufacturers likely in 10 days

New Delhi: The government is likely to publish the 'approved list of models and manufacturers' (ALMM)-II that would prescribe the specifics and manufacturers for solar cells in India within the next 10 days, two people aware of the development said.

The list is used to mandate the use of locally made solar modules and cells to be used in projects. However, ALMM-II has not been published so far because "the installed solar cell capacity in the country was lower than demand" leading to ambiguity in the auctions.

ALMM-I, which is currently applicable on solar modules, has worked like a non-tariff barrier and supported local capacity addition and halted imports. It prescribes the specifics and manufacturers in India that have been certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.


The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had, last year, prescribed two important timelines for the mandate to use local solar cells. One was for the projects being tendered to have mandatory sourcing of solar cells from the second ALMM list, for which the cut off date was December 9, 2024.