ALMM update: MNRE pushes solar cell mandate to January 2027 for rooftop and open-access projects

In 50 words: MNRE's July 18, 2026 office memorandum exempts net-metering and open-access solar projects from the ALMM List-II domestic-cell mandate until December 31, 2026. From January 1, 2027, those projects must use Indian-made cells. Separately, a July 6 revision pushed ALMM List-I module capacity past 204 GW.

New Delhi — India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued its most consequential ALMM order since the domestic solar cell mandate took effect on June 1, 2026 — a targeted reprieve that gives rooftop and open-access solar developers six more months before they must buy Indian-made cells. The July 18 office memorandum lands less than two weeks after a separate List-I revision that added 10,494 MW of approved module capacity and welcomed household names like Havells into India's solar manufacturing club.

Together, the two orders capture the central tension in Indian solar policy in 2026: a module industry that has grown faster than anyone predicted, sitting on top of a cell supply chain that has not.

What the July 18 order says
Why MNRE blinked — the cell supply gap
The July 6 List-I revision: 204 GW and counting
Who wins, who loses
The ALMM timeline so far
FAQ
What to watch next

1. What the July 18 order says

The office memorandum dated July 18, 2026 carves out a limited exemption from ALMM List-II — the approved list of solar PV cell makers — for two specific project categories:

Net-metering projects, which covers most rooftop solar installed under distribution-company arrangements, including systems under the PM Surya Ghar scheme's net-metering framework
Open-access projects, the commercial and industrial (C&I) plants that sell power to consumers across the grid rather than to a distribution utility

Projects in these two categories that are commissioned on or before December 31, 2026 may continue using modules built with imported cells. From January 1, 2027, any such project must use modules containing cells sourced exclusively from manufacturers on ALMM List-II, as reported by PV Tech.

The ministry was careful with its framing. MNRE stated there is "no change" to the broader ALMM List-II implementation policy, characterising the order as a limited, project-specific relaxation rather than a blanket extension — consistent with its May 26 position, reported by Renewable Watch, that the June 1, 2026 effective date would not move for the wider market. Government-backed utility-scale tenders remain fully bound by the cell mandate, and projects whose last bid-submission date fell before the original order retain their existing grandfathering.

MNRE said the extension followed stakeholder consultation and is designed to smooth the transition to mandatory domestic cell sourcing — protecting standalone module makers' investments in existing cell inventory while giving procurement channels time to shift toward approved domestic cell lines.

2. Why MNRE blinked — the cell supply gap

The relaxation is a concession to arithmetic. India's ALMM-listed module capacity now exceeds 204 GW. Domestic solar cell capacity, by contrast, stands at roughly 31 GW — a more than six-to-one mismatch between the modules India can assemble and the cells it can make, as detailed by Down To Earth.

The gap is starkest in the technology that now dominates new capacity. Approved TOPCon module capacity is close to 172 GW, but domestic TOPCon cell capacity is only around 10 GW. Standalone module makers — companies that assemble modules from purchased cells and have no cell lines of their own — warned that a hard June cutover across all segments would strand inventory, inflate prices and hand a de facto monopoly to the handful of integrated players with operating cell fabs.

Rooftop and C&I open access are precisely the segments where those standalone module makers sell most of their output. By exempting them through December, MNRE bought the market two things: time for the roughly 25 GW of cell capacity under construction to start commissioning, and a demand cushion so that the PM Surya Ghar rooftop push — already straining against installer capacity — does not stall on a component it cannot source.

3. The July 6 List-I revision: 204 GW and counting

Twelve days before the exemption order, MNRE issued its routine revision of ALMM List-I — the module list — and the numbers tell the other half of the story. The July 6, 2026 update added 10,494 MW of approved capacity, taking the total to 204,383 MW (204.38 GW), according to Renewable Mirror and SolarQuarter.

Six manufacturers entered the list for the first time:

| New entrant | Approved capacity | Technology | |---|---|---| | SSSV Textile Industries | 1,232 MW | Bifacial N-type TOPCon | | Solarium Green Energy | 1,230 MW | N-type TOPCon / mono PERC | | Havells India | 1,221 MW | Bifacial N-type TOPCon | | ISH Solar | 816 MW | N-type TOPCon | | Powersphere Renewable | 654 MW | N-type TOPCon | | NRG SOL Power | 59 MW | Mono PERC |

Existing players also expanded. Cosmic PV Power added 1,848 MW to reach 3,150 MW of listed capacity, while Icon Solar-En Power Technologies added 2,557 MW to reach 3,131 MW. Eastman Green Technologies, Sri Savitr Solar, Ganesh Green Bharat, Solarmint Energies, Jakson Engineers and Green Brilliance Renewable Energy all registered capacity increases. The lone reduction: Mundra Solar Energy — the Adani Solar entity — saw 73 MW trimmed from its enlisted capacity. New enlistments are valid from July 6, 2026 to July 5, 2030, subject to valid BIS certification.

Havells' entry is the one to watch commercially. A consumer electricals brand with deep retail distribution stepping into module manufacturing at gigawatt-plus scale signals where the rooftop market is heading: branded, warrantied, retail-channel solar for the PM Surya Ghar generation of buyers.

4. Who wins, who loses

Winners — for now:

Standalone module manufacturers keep their two biggest demand channels (rooftop and C&I open access) open through December without needing scarce domestic cells, protecting inventory bought before June.
Rooftop installers and C&I developers with 2026 commissioning deadlines escape a supply squeeze that threatened both timelines and prices.
Consumers under net metering avoid the near-term price increase a hard cell mandate would likely have passed through — industry estimates put the domestic-cell premium at roughly ₹0.5–1.5 per watt at current spreads.

Under pressure:

Integrated cell makers (the Adani, Tata Power, Waaree, Premier Energies tier) lose six months of captive rooftop demand they would otherwise have gained on June 1 — though the utility-scale mandate still channels government-tender volumes their way.
Anyone commissioning after December 31. The January 1, 2027 cliff is now the hardest date in Indian solar. Projects that slip past it — and Indian project timelines slip routinely — will wake up needing List-II cells in a market where TOPCon cell capacity remains a fraction of demand.
Importers of Chinese and Southeast Asian cells, whose window into ALMM-covered segments now has a published closing date.

5. The ALMM timeline so far

| Date | What happened | |---|---| | January 2019 | ALMM order issued; framework created for approved module and cell lists | | April 2021 | ALMM List-I (modules) becomes mandatory for government-backed projects | | April 2024 | List-I re-imposed after a one-year Covid-era suspension for imports | | December 2024 | MNRE announces List-II (cells) will apply from June 1, 2026 | | May 26, 2026 | MNRE confirms no blanket extension; conditional relief only | | June 1, 2026 | ALMM List-II takes effect — non-exempt projects must use Indian cells | | July 6, 2026 | List-I revision: +10,494 MW; total crosses 204 GW; Havells among 6 new entrants | | July 18, 2026 | Net-metering and open-access projects exempted from List-II until December 31, 2026 | | January 1, 2027 | Cell mandate applies to all covered segments, including rooftop and open access | | June 2028 | Announced target for extending ALMM upstream to wafers and ingots |

6. FAQ

What is ALMM List-II?

ALMM List-II is the government's approved list of solar PV cell manufacturers. Since June 1, 2026, solar projects covered by the ALMM framework — government tenders, subsidised rooftop and, from 2027, net-metering and open-access projects — must use modules made with cells from manufacturers on this list, which in practice means Indian-made cells.

Does the July 18 exemption apply to my rooftop solar system?

If your system is connected under net metering and is commissioned on or before December 31, 2026, yes — your installer can use ALMM List-I modules built with imported cells. From January 1, 2027, new net-metered systems will need modules with List-II domestic cells.

Does this change anything for utility-scale tenders?

No. Government-backed utility-scale projects remain fully subject to the List-II mandate that took effect June 1, 2026, unless their last bid-submission date predated the original order. The July 18 relief applies only to net-metering and open-access categories.

Why is there a shortage of Indian solar cells?

Cell fabs are far more capital-intensive and technically demanding than module assembly lines, so India's manufacturing boom concentrated downstream. Listed module capacity now exceeds 204 GW while operating cell capacity is roughly 31 GW — and only about 10 GW of that is TOPCon, the technology most new modules use.

Will module prices rise in January 2027?

Pricing pressure is likely in the exempted segments once the mandate lands, since domestic cells currently carry a premium over imports. How much depends on how many of the cell fabs now under construction are producing at scale by early 2027 — announcements suggest 25 GW or more could commission over the next 18 months.

7. What to watch next

Three markers will decide whether January 1, 2027 is a managed transition or a rerun of this year's scramble. First, cell fab commissioning announcements through H2 2026 — the mandate only works if the under-construction TOPCon capacity from the integrated majors and PLI awardees actually reaches commercial production before the deadline. Second, whether MNRE holds the line in December. The ministry has now moved a "final" deadline once under industry pressure; developers will bid and build on the assumption it could move again, which is itself a policy problem. Third, the December commissioning rush — expect a compressed wave of rooftop and open-access commissioning in Q4 2026 as developers race the cliff, followed by a demand air pocket in Q1 2027 that will test standalone module makers' order books. The ALMM project has succeeded in building a 204 GW module industry behind a policy wall. Whether it can pull the cell layer up behind it, on this timeline, is the question the next six months will answer.

This report was researched and drafted with AI assistance and edited by a named member of the Earth Energy Log editorial team. Figures are attributed to the government orders and trade press listed in the sources; capacity numbers reflect the July 6 and July 18, 2026 MNRE office memoranda as reported and may be revised in subsequent list updates. See our editorial standards and AI disclosure. Related reading: ALMM List-III 2026 update, India's cell PLI and List-IV outlook, India's 100 GW solar manufacturing push and PM Surya Ghar complete guide. Explore more on solar, policy and India in the regions hub.

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