This episode of Switched On explores BloombergNEF's Tier 1 lists, which rank solar module, inverter, and battery manufacturers based on their use in bank-financed projects. Created by lead solar analyst Jenny Chase, the list has become a key industry benchmark for identifying bankable suppliers in a fragmented market, though it is not a substitute for due diligence.
Summarized by Podsumo
The Tier 1 list was created in 2007 to help clients distinguish credible manufacturers from the hundreds of players in the solar market.
Criteria for Tier 1 status include supplying products to projects financed by at least six commercial banks via non-recourse loans in the past two years.
Companies often misuse BloombergNEF's logo at conferences, leading to the launch of official timestamped badges this year.
The list has unexpected use cases, such as Pakistan using it to combat money laundering in solar imports.
Tier 1 lists exist for solar modules, inverters, and batteries, but not for wind turbines or transformers due to higher entry barriers.
"If you walk around a solar or storage conference today, you will see 'BloombergNEF Tier 1' missing on a lot of booths."