03.04.2014
The module manufacturer Vikram Solar has been named a tier 1 manufacturer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) in its Q1 2014 PV Market Outlook. This means that Vikram's products have been accepted for non-recourse financing by banks. Financing is currently one of the greatest hurdles to implementing photovoltaics projects, with banks generally only providing finance to very high-quality projects.
Using photovoltaic modules that are classified as “bankable” is therefore very important for both project developers and EPCs. Bloomberg’s renowned “PV Module Maker Tiering System” study divides module manufacturers into three categories according to their historical bankability. The system makes the complex solar manufacturing market more transparent for project developers and EPCs.
“Stronger global module prices and trade cases against China have led buyers to look at suppliers from other countries, and to encourage their banks to conduct due diligence on suppliers they have not used before. Several of these suppliers, including Vikram Solar, have passed the due diligence process of three different banks in the past two years and therefore met the criteria for inclusion in our tier 1 list”, explains Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
“Despite the worldwide consolidation of the solar industry, the number of module manufacturers on the market is still high, which makes it very difficult for customers to identify a reliable and trustworthy brand. Bloomberg’s classification is a very transparent and efficient way for developers and EPCs to form their own opinion about the quality of module manufacturers,” reports Gyanesh Chaudhary, the Managing Director of Vikram Solar.
“We are proud that the trust placed in us by banks, investors and customers has resulted in us receiving the tier 1 status,” explains Davide Marro, Head of Sales and Business Development Europe at Vikram Solar. “We use a series of strict inspection and testing procedures to guarantee that the quality of our products is consistently high. We are the only Indian manufacturer to have succeeded in completely preventing potential-induced degradation (PID) in our modules. To achieve this, we specifically developed a proprietary procedure for selecting our components. What’s more, our modules are certified as PID-resistant by TÜV Rheinland.” PID is an effect occurring in crystalline silicon cells which can lead to as much as 60 percent loss in output.
The Bloomberg study was first published in 2009 and now continues to be released every three months to Bloomberg New Energy Finance Solar Insight subscribers. The methodology can be found at: http://about.bnef.com/files/2012/12/bnef_2012-12-03_PVModuleTiering.pdf
Vikram Solar will be Silver Sponsor at this year's Large-Scale Solar Conference in Nottingham, England from 29th April - 01st May and its CTO, Mr. Ivan Saha, will present their proprietary PID-free module production process as speaker of the technology panel.
Source: Vikram Solar