Indo-German module maker Vikram Solar has been named a tier 1 manufacturer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) in its Q1 2014 PV Market Outlook.
The assessment means Vikram's products have been accepted for non-recourse financing by banks.
Financing is one of the greatest hurdles to implementing PV projects, with banks generally only providing finance to very high-quality projects.
Using PV modules classified "bankable" is very important for project developers and EPCs.
Bloomberg's renowned PV Module Maker Tiering System study divides module manufacturers into three categories according to historic 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," said Bloomberg New Energy Finance in the report.
"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.
"Despite the worldwide consolidation of the solar industry, the number of module manufacturers on the market is still high, which makes it difficult for customers to identify a reliable and trustworthy brand."
"Bloomberg's classification is a transparent and efficient way for developers and EPCs to form their own opinion about the quality of module manufacturers," said Gyanesh Chaudhary, managing director of Vikram Solar.
"We are proud the trust placed in us by banks, investors and customers has resulted in us receiving tier 1 status," said 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 in crystalline silicon cells can lead to as much as 60% loss in output.
