BloombergNEF Tier 1 Solar Inverter Maker Methodology
January 11, 2024
BloombergNEF Tier 1 Solar Inverter Maker
Methodology
BloombergNEF has developed a tiering system for PV inverter products based
on bankability, to create a transparent differentiation between the multiple
manufacturers of solar inverters on the market. The basic tiering categorization
should never replace a proper due diligence process in product selection. This
document explains the tiering criteria and its limitations. A Chinese translation
can be found here.
1. Why divide the PV market into tiers?
BloombergNEF is frequently requested by clients 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 inverter purchasers and banks do not use this list as a measure of
quality, but instead consult a technical due diligence firm such as UL Solutions, RETC LLC,
PVEL, TUV, STS Certified, Clean Energy Associates, PI Berlin, Pvbuyer or Bureau Veritas.
These would usually consider what factory the inverter comes from and the bill of materials, and
probably conduct fault and availability tests on a sample as well as give an informed opinion on
whether the inverters will perform as expected.
2. Definitions
'Bankability' – whether projects using the solar products are likely to be offered non-recourse debt
financing by banks – is the key criterion for tiering. Banks, and their technical due diligence
providers, are extremely unwilling to disclose their whitelists of acceptable products.
BloombergNEF therefore bases its criteria on what deals have been closed in the past, as tracked
by our database – 40,000 photovoltaic financings worldwide as of July 2023.
We reserve the right to change these criteria at any time, particularly by requiring more
information to consider a manufacturer tier 1. The companies will be reviewed every quarter
based on information added to BloombergNEF's database. Only project financings for over 5
megawatts (MW) of capacity are relevant to tiering (an increase in minimum capacity first applied
in 1Q 2024). Portfolio financings count for tiering only for projects with defined locations, and
where the debt is secured on all the assets together, i.e., if one project in the portfolio
underperforms the bank has a claim on the rest of the portfolio.
We only tier manufacturers which actually own production facilities and sell under their own
brands. Companies which outsource production under brand names are not tiered.
3. Criteria
Tier 1 inverter manufacturers are those which have provided own-brand, own-manufacture
Solar Inverter Tiering
products to at least four different projects, which have been financed non-recourse by two
Team
different commercial (ie not development, not export-import) banks, in the past two years. The
inverter_t1@[Link]
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BloombergNEF Tier 1 Solar Inverter Maker Methodology
January 11, 2024
earlier of financing or commissioning date counts for tiering; i.e., refinancings of old projects do
not count.
These 5MW+ deals must be tracked by our database, i.e. the project location (sufficiently to
identify the project uniquely, such as via a street address or coordinates), capacity, developer,
bank and inverter maker must be in the public domain. Manufacturers which have filed for
bankruptcy or a form of insolvency protection or are in default of major financial obligations as
The inverter tiering stated in court documents, are removed from the tier 1 list until further notice.
classification is purely a Non-recourse financing is where the bank has agreed to take the risk of the inverters failing and
measure of industry will not be repaid from the balance sheet of the developer or equity holder, or from collateral, if the
acceptance project does not service the debt. Lease financing may be considered non-recourse.
This evidence must be in the form of either a public document like a press release from one of the
companies involved, or an article about the project published by a recognized media firm, or a
copy of the agreement with the bank. The agreement with the bank will be kept strictly confidential
and only used to confirm the non-recourse nature of the financing to ensure database accuracy.
Emails or statements from developers are not counted as sole evidence that finance is non-
recourse. We reserve the right to reject any deal because there is no public evidence that it
exists.
This classification is purely a measure of industry acceptance. There are documented examples
of quality issues or bankruptcy of tier 1 manufacturers; the same could be true for inverters.
3.1. Inverter tier 2 and 3
We do not publish an inverter tier 2 or 3 list.
4. How do I access the inverter tier list?
Please do not send us To get a quote for a Bloomberg subscription, which includes the quarterly tier 1 list, please
confidential information for contact [Link]@[Link]. There is no other way to legally obtain the tier 1 list. Pirate
tiering purposes except to versions released on the internet may have been doctored.
clarify that a deal is The list of inverter tier 1 manufacturers is available to BloombergNEF's subscribers. Note that a
actually non-recourse. We tier 1 listing is not a recommendation for the company or its products.
need to include the basic A company may be removed from the Tier 1 list at any time, so only the list for the most recent
quarter is valid. Press releases, and claims from the company, do not constitute evidence that a
deal details, including bank
firm meets BloombergNEF's tier 1 criteria.
name, in our database.
5. 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.
A manufacturer can help us tier them accurately by sending us (at inverter_t1@[Link])
data on the projects they have provided inverters for, and the financing used to support these
projects. This data must include enough information to identify the project uniquely: project size,
location (street address or coordinates), developer name, bank which provided financing, type of
financing, construction and financing dates. This information will be published by BloombergNEF
in its subscription database.
We strongly prefer well-organized and complete information. Where confirmation is required in the
form of a bank document, please try to send the confirmation with the full project details. It is not
No portion of this document may be reproduced, scanned into an electronic system, distributed, publicly
displayed or used as the basis of derivative works without the prior written consent of Bloomberg Finance
L.P. For more information on terms of use, please contact [Link]@[Link]. Copyright and
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BloombergNEF Tier 1 Solar Inverter Maker Methodology
January 11, 2024
helpful to send large amounts of incomplete or inaccurate project details and may result in your
entire submission being rejected without notice. Lying may result in blacklisting.
Emails with data received before the first day of a calendar quarter (1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1
October) will definitely be processed for the tier 1 list appearing in the PV Market Outlook about
100 days later. Data received in later emails may only appear in the database and be used for the
following list. The excel template here (downloads directly) may be used for submissions.
6. How does a manufacturer know if they will be on the next
inverter tier 1 list?
For legal compliance reasons, we cannot disclose any substantial information about upcoming
research prior to publication. Consequently, we cannot confirm whether a manufacturer will or will
not be on the next tier 1 list until the list is published.
BloombergNEF clients have access to the full database, so can look at the deals in the database
here and count the banks themselves.
7. Appeals
The Bloomberg Inverter Tiering team’s ruling on tiering for each quarter is final and will not be
influenced by taking a Bloomberg subscription, visiting our offices, buying us lunch, pleading, or
sending us specification sheets, testimonials, or confidential information. The only thing that will
influence the decision is on-the-record data about financed projects. Please read this text
carefully before asking us questions already answered here, as we receive a high volume of
queries and cannot enter into detailed correspondence. A Chinese translation can be found here.
No portion of this document may be reproduced, scanned into an electronic system, distributed, publicly
displayed or used as the basis of derivative works without the prior written consent of Bloomberg Finance
L.P. For more information on terms of use, please contact [Link]@[Link]. Copyright and
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BloombergNEF Tier 1 Solar Inverter Maker Methodology
January 11, 2024
About us
Contact details
Client enquiries:
• Bloomberg Terminal: press <Help> key twice
• Email: [Link]@[Link]
Solar inverter tiering team inverter_t1@[Link]
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