Section 1. 0 Excerpt -, Bloomberg 2018 Tier One methodology, Copyright Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Please see link below for the full document.
“Section 1.0 – … recommend that module purchasers and banks do not use this list as a measure of quality, but instead consult a technical due diligence firm such as …. or Phoventus. These would usually consider what factory the module comes from, as well as the brand. They would then give an informed opinion on whether the modules will perform as expected.”
BloombergNEF PV Module Tier 1 List Methodology
BloombergNEF has developed a tiering system for PV module makers based on bankability. The aim was to create a transparent differentiation between the hundreds of manufacturers of solar modules on the market. This basic categorisation serves as an advertisement by certain manufacturers. However, it should never replace a proper due diligence process in product selection. Hence, this document explains the tiering criteria and its limitations.
Why divide the PV market into tiers?
Clients frequently request BloombergNEF for a list of ‘major’ or ‘bankable’ suppliers – in common industry parlance, tier 1 suppliers – for use in manufacturing forecasts, preliminary competitor analysis, and other internal comparisons. It is very common for industry players to refer to ‘tier 1’ players, but these terms are seldom defined or described, which is unhelpful for firms outside the solar industry trying to get a basic overview.
We strongly recommend that module purchasers and banks do not use this list as a measure of quality. Instead, they should consult a technical due diligence firm such as Edif ERA (formerly OST Energy), ATA Renewables, Sgurr Energy, DNV GL, Black & Veatch, TUV, E3, STS Certified, Clean Energy Associates, Solarbuyer, Pvbuyer, Enertis, Oravia, Leidos Engineering or Phoventus. These would usually consider what factory the module comes from, as well as the brand, and give an informed opinion on whether the modules will perform as expected.
Tier 1
Tier 1 module manufacturers are those which have provided own-brand, own-manufacture products to six different projects, which have been financed non-recourse by six different (nondevelopment) banks, in the past two years.
How can manufacturers improve their ranking?
Since a tier 1 ranking is not a recommendation, we advise manufacturers against spending much energy pursuing it. On the other hand, one of the characteristics of a tier 1 manufacturer is transparency and good data availability.
