11% Of Indian Module Capacity With ALMM Is TOPCon Production

11% Indian Module Makers Are Now Into TOPCon Production

The latest Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) for solar module makers in India revealed that several enlisted companies have now added new TOPCOn technology production lines. This is in addition to the production lines for mono-PERC which has now dominated the Indian solar market and the phasing out of redundant polycrystalline technology.

A close analysis of the ALMM list, released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) revealed that 10 solar module (11%) manufacturing units in India are producing solar modules with TOPCon technology. The ALMM list has a total of 93 registered solar module manufacturing units.

The 10 solar module manufacturers who are currently into the business of producing this advanced technology-based solar modules included-Waaree Renewable, Gautam Solar, Mundra (Adani) Solar, Premier Energies, RenewsSys, Luminous, Rayzon, Emmvee, Pahal Solar and Ganesh Bharat.

For example-Gautam Solar offers TOPCon panels in 16 categories ranging from 270Wp to 575Wp. Among its own TOPCon modules, Waaree offers has its max capacity of 615Wp. RenewSys, on the other side offers TOPCon modules upto 635Wp. Many of these companies including Gautam Solar are also producing bifacial TOPCon solar modules.

A number of these companies are now trying to tap the residential rooftop solar market with the advent of PM Surya Ghar scheme. A number of these firms are now coming up with TOPCon bifacial solar modules in the DCR category to cater to the needs of residential rooftop consumers who want higher efficiency in smaller areas.

TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) technology is an advanced solar cell technology which ensures higher yield from the same area of solar panels compared to the less effective alternatives. This has come to the fore when several solar module manufacturers had earlier told Saur Energy about their plans to add new production lines of this technology in several renewable energy expos.

Industry experts claimed that unlike other advanced solar cell technology like HJT (Hetero Junction Technology), TOPCon needed lesser new capital for the solar module manufacturers who were into the production of mono-PERC production line. However, the real numbers on the ground would be different as all the current capacities and cumulative capacities of the solar module manufacturers in many cases are not enlisted in the ALMM list.

With the pace of deployment of TOPCon technology, it is likely that in the next few months, the ALMM list see more enlisted TOPCon models by different solar module makers in India.