The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has waived the requirement for physical factory inspections for certain higher-wattage solar modules under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM).

The waiver will apply to models with wattage up to 3% higher than the highest-wattage solar module enlisted in the ALMM.

The relaxation will be available only if the manufacturing facility, production line, and machinery remain unchanged, and the manufacturer submits the required documentation for higher-power bins.

MNRE said the relaxation will apply only if the base model, the highest-wattage module over which the 3% increase is being claimed, was enlisted through a process involving factory inspection.

For instance, if a manufacturer has enlisted a 540 Wp Mono-PERC solar module in the ALMM through factory inspection, it can get a similar model of up to 556 Wp enlisted without another factory inspection.

However, the manufacturer cannot use the 556 Wp model as a basis to request a higher-wattage Mono-PERC model without factory inspection, as the 556 Wp model was not factory-inspected.

If the increase in wattage exceeds 3%, the National Institute of Solar Energy will conduct an online inspection to verify the I-V curves of the highest-wattage module applied for. After successful verification of I-V performance, the model may be processed for ALMM enlistment.

The relaxation will apply only where there is no major change in the bill of materials, including module design, module or cell size, and configuration.

MNRE said the move is intended to simplify the ALMM enlistment process for higher-wattage solar modules, where the increase in wattage is mainly due to higher solar cell efficiency.

New higher-wattage models will be added to the existing ALMM-enlisted module family. If the existing family cannot accommodate the models within the permissible ±5 % wattage range, a new family will be created.

MNRE clarified that the inclusion of higher-wattage solar modules, whether without inspection or through online I-V curve verification, will not change the enlisted manufacturing capacity.

If a manufacturer seeks to increase its enlisted solar module manufacturing capacity, a physical inspection will remain mandatory.

The cumulative module manufacturing capacity under ALMM stands at 193,143 MW.

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