A solar cell is rated on its own, under controlled laboratory conditions. The module that reaches your site adds glass, polymer layers, metal ribbons and a frame around that cell, and each one changes the final output. In well-built modules, this cell-to-module (CTM) gap typically takes away around 2-4% of the cell’s efficiency.

Every few weeks another solar tender closes somewhere in India and another gigawatt gets announced. It sounds like progress, and it is. But anyone who has run a plant for a few years knows the number in the announcement is not the number that pays the bills.

A few years ago, module procurement often came down to one line on a quotation. Today the conversation is wider.As Indian manufacturing capacity grows, developers, EPC companies and distributors are asking a harder question: which manufacturer can we rely on for the next twenty-five years?