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Loom Solar’s vision is to integrate generation and storage and not treat them as distinct business lines
May 20, 2026
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India has mandated the use of India-made solar cells in solar projects from June 1, 2026, under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) to boost domestic solar manufacturing. While the policy initiative has been welcomed, the industry fears a near-term shortage of cells.
In this exclusive interview with Mercom India, Amod Anand, Co-founder and Director at Loom Solar, a solar panel, inverter, and lithium battery manufacturer, called for a short transition window instead of an outright postponement of the ALMM for solar cells. He also shared his company’s evolution from a D2C rooftop solar brand to a comprehensive energy company, and plans for the future.
Loom Solar has evolved from a distributor-to-consumer brand to a developer of utility-scale projects. How are your solar manufacturing and battery energy storage system plans progressing?
Loom Solar’s journey has been about building depth, not just scale. We started as a D2C rooftop solar brand and have since evolved into a comprehensive energy company with a presence across manufacturing, utility-scale project development, and energy storage.
On the module manufacturing side, we are investing in next-generation technologies—TOPCon is our near-term priority, with HJT and Back Contact modules in our medium-term roadmap. These technologies offer significantly better efficiency and lower degradation, which directly improves returns for our customers.
For BESS, we are expanding our lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity, with a focus on applications in peak load management, telecom infrastructure, railway systems, and commercial backup power. Our vision is to offer a complete energy ecosystem that seamlessly integrates generation and storage rather than treating them as separate business lines.
Does Loom Solar have plans for backward integration into ingots and wafers? Are you exploring overseas markets for solar modules?
Backward integration into cells, wafers, and ingots is a strategic direction we are actively evaluating. India needs a fully integrated solar manufacturing value chain to reduce dependence on imports and build long-term competitiveness. The current scenario, in which a large share of the industry depends on imported cells, is a structural vulnerability that policy and industry must address together.
On exports, there is a genuine and growing appetite for high-efficiency Indian-made modules in markets across Asia, Africa, and parts of Europe. Indian manufacturers who invest in quality, technology, and certifications are well-positioned to capture this demand. For us, exports are a strategic priority, though scaling them meaningfully requires achieving the right combination of volume, technology parity, and international certification compliance. We are building toward that.
How prepared is India’s solar manufacturing ecosystem for ALMM List-II for cells from June 1, 2026?
India has built substantial module manufacturing capacity, but the cell manufacturing ecosystem is still catching up. The honest assessment is that there will be a near-term demand-supply gap when ALMM List-II for cells becomes operational. Domestic cell capacity is not yet sufficient to fully replace imports for the scale of projects in the pipeline that align with domestic content requirements.
That said, ALMM List-II is fundamentally the right policy direction. The policy sends a strong signal to investors and developers that domestic cell manufacturing will be rewarded. What the industry needs now is accelerated access to financing, technology transfer partnerships, and a calibrated implementation timeline that gives manufacturers adequate runway. The goal of self-reliance is non-negotiable; the path must be realistic.
How much of Loom Solar’s module production currently depends on imported cells, and how quickly can that shift to domestic?
Like most module manufacturers in India, a portion of our cell procurement has historically been imported, specifically from Southeast Asia. The shift to domestic cells is underway, but the pace is constrained by the availability of domestically produced cells that meet the technology and quality specifications we need for our module lines.
We are actively aligning our sourcing strategy with domestic cell suppliers and are evaluating opportunities in cell manufacturing ourselves. The transition will not happen overnight, but it is directionally clear. Solar cell manufacturing is a strategic priority for Loom Solar’s long-term roadmap.
For manufacturers like Loom Solar, is the challenge more about cell availability, pricing, technology compatibility, or certification timelines?
It is a combination of all four, and they compound each other. Cell availability remains the most immediate constraint. There simply is not enough domestic supply of the right cell types to meet module manufacturing demand at scale. Pricing volatility adds to uncertainty; import-dependent supply chains are exposed to currency fluctuations and geopolitical disruptions.
Technology compatibility is a growing concern as the industry transitions from PERC to TOPCon and, eventually, HJT. Module manufacturers who upgrade their lines need cells that match these specifications, and not all domestic producers are there yet. Finally, certification timelines for new cell and module combinations introduce delays that are painful in a market with firm project deadlines. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated action between manufacturers, testing agencies, and policymakers.
Do you think a postponement of the ALMM-II mandate is desirable?
The intent behind ALMM-II is sound, and the solar industry broadly supports the government’s push toward domestic manufacturing. However, policy timelines must reflect the ground reality of supply readiness. If ALMM-II is enforced before sufficient domestic cell capacity is available, it risks creating supply blockages that could stall ongoing solar projects and delay India’s renewable energy capacity additions. This would be counterproductive to the overall energy transition goal.
A short transition window or phased implementation, rather than an outright postponement, may be the more pragmatic approach. This would allow the industry to continue scaling cell manufacturing while ensuring that project pipelines are not disrupted. The long-term objective of a robust, domestically anchored solar value chain must remain unchanged.
What are your prescriptions for bridging the skilled labor gap in solar manufacturing?
Skilled labor is fast becoming one of the most critical constraints for scaling solar manufacturing in India. The sector needs technicians and engineers trained in automation, robotics, quality control, battery chemistry, and advanced module production. These are skills that most academic programs have not yet incorporated on a meaningful scale.
The solution requires a three-way partnership between government, educational institutions, and industry. Polytechnics and engineering colleges need to update curricula in consultation with manufacturers, and factory exposure through structured internship programs should become mandatory rather than optional. Industry-backed solar skill development centers co-located with manufacturing clusters in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat can serve as practical training hubs. Government certification programs for solar manufacturing and installation professionals will add credibility and create career pathways.
How do you see solar module and cell technologies evolving over the short to medium term?
TOPCon is rapidly becoming the new baseline, replacing PERC as the mainstream technology. It offers meaningfully higher efficiency at 22-23% at the module level and with lower degradation and better performance in high-temperature conditions, which is especially relevant for Indian climate zones. We expect TOPCon to dominate new capacity additions over the next two to three years.
Beyond TOPCon, HJT and Back Contact technologies represent the next performance frontier. These are more capital-intensive to manufacture but offer efficiency levels exceeding 25%, with significantly lower temperature coefficients. Over the medium term, we expect solar-plus-storage to become the default project architecture, with AI-enabled monitoring and energy management becoming standard across utility and commercial installations. The overarching trend is toward systems that produce more energy per installed unit, at a lower levelized cost. India’s manufacturers who invest in this direction now will have a durable competitive advantage.
What suggestions do you have to accelerate installations under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana?
Amod Anand:
PM Surya Ghar is one of the most impactful residential solar programs India has launched, and it has significantly raised public awareness about rooftop solar. The demand is real and growing. The challenge is converting that awareness into completed installations quickly and consistently.
The most important lever is faster subsidy processing. Delays between application approval and disbursement erode consumer confidence and create cash flow challenges for installers. Alongside this, DISCOM net metering approvals need to be standardized and time-bound. The process varies widely across states and is often the single biggest bottleneck. Easier access to consumer financing, including dedicated loan products at preferential rates for middle-class households, will bring a large segment of potential adopters into the program.
Finally, standardizing quality across the installer ecosystem is essential; inconsistent installation quality risks undermining the program’s credibility. India has enormous rooftop potential, and PM Surya Ghar has the architecture to unlock it. Execution speed and process simplification will determine how much of that potential is realized.
B.S. Nagaraj
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