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ALMM for Solar: Challenges and opportunities for India #ALMM #MonoPERC #n-TOPCon #PVManufacturing India has revived the ALMM (Approved List of Models and Manufacturers) mandate for solar PV modules to promote the inhouse manufacturing capabilities. There is news around that, India may impose similar mandate for solar cell. Let’s dig into some real figure, which itself cater the challenges and opportunities: The module production capacity in India is close to 67 GW. Out of that only around 55% (Approx 37 GW) capacity is listed under ALMM. At present n-TOPCon technology (glass-glass) is most preferred due to its higher reliability, performance and the lower LCOE. But only about 6% (approx 4.5 GW) production capacity is listed under ALMM. India need to have close to 30 GW PV module per year to achieve 2030 target. Changing Mono PERC module production line to n-TOPCon is not straight forward. For M10 based n-TOPCon solar cell, the number of busbars is 16 in compare to around 10 for Mono PERC. Retrofitting stringer head or change of stringer required cost and time. Another important aspect is power testing of the module. n-TOPCon measurement need special technique due to higher efficiency and capacitance effect. Most of the cases, Xenon based flasher used in mono PERC are failed to measure accurately the n-TOPCon power. The solar cell production capacity in India around 6 GW and out of that close to 1.5 GW started producing n-TOPCon, but efficiency is the major concern. Please note that, it’s not one can’t produce n-TOPCon solar cell for existing mono PERC production line, major equipment changes are required. Systematic analysis and solutions required to mitigate all the concern and challenges.
Sandeep More
6mo
Catch is Ethics..... Ethical organization are following all rules of the game and everything is available for audit Whereas unethical manufacturing units not following the Rules of game contributing towards unsuccessful policy implementation Making money but not contributing to the objective of subsidy and PLP Need to highlight such unethical manufacturing units who are doing spurious and counterfeit modules Genuine and respectable brands have good research and development department 50 laboratories and testing unit's Solar business is about availability, Quality and Service Very few who command premium and acceptance are beyond imagination....Waaree energies Ltd
The statement suggests that the ALMM, instead of favoring Indian module manufacturing, prioritizes the quality of products, which is beneficial for producers of solar power plants. However, there's concern about the viability of Indian modules in solar power plants if Chinese companies receive approval to supply in India. This raises questions about the competitiveness of Indian modules in the market. Additionally, major players seem more interested in selling their products in European countries due to better revenue and margins, further undermining the growth of Indian manufacturing. Overall, the concludes by disagreeing that the ALMM alone is the ultimate solution for boosting manufacturing in India, indicating that other factors need to be addressed to promote domestic manufacturing effectively.
Domestic manufacturers need time to equip themselves for PV cell manufacturing with higher efficiency PV cells, minimum wastage and lower cost. Today, ground mounted solar project tariff is in the range of 2.50 to 2.55 Rs/ Unit. We need the higher efficiency modules at reasonable price without any supply chain disruptions to meet the lowest LCOE. We need to rethink imposing ALMM mandate for PV cell till we achieve the stability in PV cell manufacturing.
Marcello Passaro
6mo
Great insight! Sinovoltaics will be a launching a map and insight of the GWs of production in India. (MGS, polysilicon, ingot, wafer, cell and module). Would be great to see a cell mandate or roadmap for that alongside polysilicon/wafer/ingot - any insights on this? I do want to ask if you could elaborate on Xenon flashers (those not being single long pulse) would not be able to test TOPCON? Is it due to the dimensions? With a good SLP solar simulator Spire Solar, or halm elektronik gmbh hysteris software or PASAN SA Dragonback they should all be able to test these modules (with varying ranges of measurement uncertainty), but nonetheless overcome the capacitance effect. LED simulators also have SLP, but question then is does the spectral range match that of TOPCON/higher UV transmission encapsulation and glass?
Patil Yashaswi
6mo
In Bharat have many challenges with huge opportunities too. In China now most of the top manufacturers are already converted lines more than 50% from PERK to Topcon, by end of 2024 or mid 2025 PERK will be completely stopped. HJT, IBC and other technology will be are started soon capturing more shares too. So, we had longer way to forward.
Rajesh Kulkarni
6mo
Let's extend a friendly challenge to module manufacturers to engage with this thoughtfully articulated post. It's high time for action to match ambition, aligning with the goals and expectations set by our government. Here's to hoping for substantial growth and success in the Indian industry. The stage is ambitiously set with ALMM for Modules, ALMM for Cells, BIS standards, Anti-dumping measures, safeguard policies, export permissions, Suryaghar Muft bijli initiatives, and more – all designed to bolster local manufacturing. Exciting and challenging times lie ahead, and it's worth staying tuned for the developments to come!
Saibal Choudhury
6mo
Like always, highlighting one current PV manufacturing challenges with insightful writing based on pure facts.. but the thing is that, in the fast evolving manufacturing scenario, the speed we are going ahead with in india, once we reach N-topcon, the global industry including China will start embracing hjt, ibc, etc.. thanks for sharing this Dr. Debajyoti Sarangi
India's proactive approach to bolstering solar manufacturing is commendable. The transition to n-TOPCon technology presents challenges, but with strategic solutions, we can unlock its potential for sustainable growth. Exciting times ahead for India's solar industry!.
Sourcing Specialist- Solar Value chain
6moThere is huge gap btw Module & Cell mnf capacity in india close to 60 Gw.. Imposing ALMM on cell or similar to that...people may feel encouraging for "make in india"..I personally feel it would be "Mess in india"