The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has clarified that renewable energy projects supplying power exclusively to green hydrogen and green ammonia developers who have been awarded capacity under the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) Program’s Mode-2A and Mode-2B will be eligible for a relaxation from the requirement to use solar cells from ALMM List-II.

The relaxation will apply to projects where the last date of bid submission was on or before August 31, 2025, irrespective of their commissioning date. MNRE clarified that the ALMM List-II relaxation will be available only to the extent of renewable power required to meet the needs of the green hydrogen or green ammonia capacity allocated under SIGHT Mode-2A and Mode-2B. Any renewable capacity beyond this requirement may not qualify for the relaxation.

MNRE issued the clarification after receiving multiple representations from industry stakeholders seeking clarity on the applicability of ALMM List-I and ALMM List-II to projects awarded under the SIGHT Program of the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

The ministry emphasized that the relaxation is not automatic. Developers must submit a formal request, and MNRE will consider the relaxation case-by-case basis.

The clarification is expected to provide relief to early green hydrogen projects by easing supply-chain constraints and cost pressures associated with sourcing ALMM-listed solar modules and cells, particularly for projects bid before the August 2025 cutoff.

The Union Cabinet sanctioned the National Green Hydrogen Mission with a budget of ₹197.4 billion (~$2.3 billion) up to 2029-30. A key financial initiative under this Mission was the SIGHT program, which has an allocation of ₹174.9 billion (~$2.09 billion).

Mode-2A is an aggregation model for green ammonia procurement, in which an implementing agency aggregates demand and conducts competitive bidding to select green ammonia producers at the lowest cost, with a fixed incentive.

Mode-2B is a similar procurement/aggregation model for green hydrogen production, supported by incentives for procuring green hydrogen output under the Mission’s guidelines.

Hydrogen can be officially recognized as “green” only if its non-biogenic greenhouse gas emissions do not exceed 2 kg of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e)/kg of hydrogen, averaged over 12 months, under the newly introduced Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India.