Alectrona
Commercial solar panels · over 50 kWp · outside MCSA lender will not finance a system on a brand it cannot stand behind. So on every commercial roof we specify panels with a sourced financeability credential, and we name the scheme, the grade and the quarter rather than leaning on a legacy badge.
Here is the full line-up, the two modules we lead with, and a straight explanation of what "bankable" and "Tier 1" actually mean.
These are representative example reviews, not yet-collected customer feedback. They are written to illustrate the kind of feedback Alectrona aims to earn and are shown as design placeholders while we gather and verify reviews from our first commercial clients. Alectrona is the commercial solar trading brand of RVTC LTD.
What set Alectrona apart was the documented design pack. We had quotes from three installers, but only Alectrona handed us a full set of drawings, a single-line diagram and a design referencing BS 7671 and the G99 connection process. The whole thing read like an engineering submission rather than a sales brochure. Our M&E consultant reviewed it and signed it off without a single query. That gave the board the confidence to release the capital.
Other firms priced our roof off a satellite image and a desktop guess. Alectrona flew an in-house drone survey, fully insured and flown by a qualified commercial drone pilot, and built a 3D model of the actual roof. It picked up plant, vents and a parapet line that a flat aerial photo had completely missed, which changed the panel layout. I would rather find that out at design stage than on the day the scaffold goes up. The accuracy of that survey is the reason I trusted everything that followed.
As a finance director I was wary of being oversold a system bigger than we could use. Alectrona modelled the array against our actual half-hourly consumption data rather than an annual total, so it is sized to what we genuinely draw on site during the day. They were honest that exporting surplus is worth far less than self-consumption, and built the design around that. The capital case stacked up because the engineering was honest, not because the numbers were inflated.
We were undecided between buying outright, leasing and a PPA. Alectrona laid out all three side by side with the pros and cons of each against our balance sheet, instead of pushing the one that pays them best. They were clear about where a PPA makes sense and where capex wins, and pointed us at our own accountant for the tax treatment. The survey and design took a little longer than I expected, but the thoroughness was worth the wait. Genuinely consultative.
The install crew were tidy and well run, and worked to a clear CDM 2015 plan with a proper site induction and RAMS. What impressed me most was the handover. We received a full commissioning pack with the IEC 62446-1 test results, certification, O&M documentation and an as-built record for our maintenance team. As the people who have to live with this asset for the next twenty years, having that paperwork in order matters enormously. Nothing was left loose.
I expected the usual hard sell and got the opposite. After surveying our site Alectrona told us one roof section was not worth covering because of shading, and that a smaller, well-sited array was the better investment than filling every square metre. There was no commission-driven upselling and no pressure. For a six-figure capital project, that straight talk is exactly what you want from the people advising you. We will be using them again on our second site.
Our modules are sourced from globally significant, independently assessed manufacturers, and we are precise about what each credential means. Several of our supply partners are long-established, top-tier crystalline-silicon makers that PV-Tech historically classified as members of the Silicon Module Super League (SMSL), the analyst grouping of the world’s largest module manufacturers from 2015 to 2019. These include LONGi, JA Solar, JinkoSolar, Trina Solar, Canadian Solar and Hanwha Qcells. We also specify premium, high-efficiency brands that were never part of that grouping and we do not label them as such; Aiko (a BloombergNEF Tier 1 maker and pioneer of N-type ABC back-contact modules) and REC (a premium heterojunction manufacturer, owned by Reliance Industries, with a long record as a Kiwa PVEL Top Performer through 2024). The SMSL is a measure of scale and heritage, not a quality, safety or bankability certification; its own author was explicit that it was never a bankability measure. For current trust we therefore lead with live, independent frameworks: BloombergNEF Tier 1 for financeability, PV ModuleTech Bankability Ratings, and Kiwa PVEL and RETC scorecards for reliability. We name the specific scheme, grade and quarter for the exact module we propose, rather than relying on legacy badges.
For a financier or finance director, bankability is the confidence that a module maker is financially strong enough to honour 25 to 30 year warranties and that its panels are accepted in bank-financed projects. Lenders finance bankable, Tier 1 panels, so we specify them. The independent benchmark we cite is the BloombergNEF Tier 1 PV Module Maker List, a financeability indicator: a maker qualifies by supplying own-brand modules to at least six utility-scale projects (each over 10 MW under the current methodology), non-recourse financed by six different commercial banks, within roughly the prior two years. On the current Q1 2026 list this includes LONGi, JinkoSolar, Trina Solar, JA Solar, Canadian Solar and Aiko. We will confirm the exact quarter’s listing for the proposed module before contract. Two essential caveats: BNEF Tier 1 measures financing track record only, not module quality, efficiency or durability (reliability is assessed separately by Kiwa PVEL and RETC, and broader financial strength by PV ModuleTech AAA to B grades, where LONGi, Trina and JA Solar hold AAA); and JinkoSolar was removed from the BNEF Tier 1 list in Q2 2024 over a minor unresolved legal matter and subsequently reinstated, so we describe its current listing rather than an unbroken record. Where a brand is not a verifiable BNEF Tier 1 supplier (for example REC, a premium, Reliance-backed heterojunction maker), we position it on its genuine merits and do not claim Tier 1 status. Note also that the S&P Global Tier 1 Cleantech Company status held by Hanwha Qcells is a separate scheme from the BloombergNEF Tier 1 list and we keep the two distinct.
Below is our full 10-brand line-up of independently assessed makers, so the right module is chosen for your roof rather than the one a salesperson is pushing. We name the specific scheme, grade and quarter for the exact module we propose, and re-verify it before contract.
The right module for the roof, not the one a salesperson is pushing.
We name what each credential is and is not. Silicon Module Super League is shown as the historical scale grouping it was (2015 to 2019), never as a live badge. Every BloombergNEF Tier 1 line names the quarter and is re-verified for the exact module before contract. Where a brand is not on the BloombergNEF list, we say so and position it on its genuine merits.
Beijing, China. Public; Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE: 002459). Privatised from NASDAQ in 2018 and relisted as a Shenzhen A-share.
A long-established, top-tier crystalline-silicon maker. PV-Tech historically classified JA Solar as a member of the Silicon Module Super League (SMSL), the analyst grouping of the world’s largest module manufacturers (2015–2019). For current trust it is a BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer (Q1 2026), holds a PV ModuleTech AAA bankability rating, and is a 2026 Kiwa PVEL Top Performer. We confirm the live quarter for the exact module before contract.
JA Solar in detailXi’an, Shaanxi, China. Public; Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE: 601012). The world’s largest monocrystalline-wafer maker.
The world’s largest monocrystalline-silicon manufacturer and a historical Silicon Module Super League member (PV-Tech, joined mid-2016). It carries the strongest bankability profile of our set: a BloombergNEF Tier 1 listing (Q1 2026) alongside the industry’s longest-standing PV ModuleTech AAA rating, held for 25 consecutive quarters. It is also a 2026 Kiwa PVEL Top Performer for reliability.
LONGi in detailShangrao, Jiangxi (operating HQ Shanghai), China. Public; Cayman-incorporated holding company on the NYSE (JKS), with operating subsidiary Jiangxi Jinko on the Shanghai STAR Market (688223).
One of the highest-shipping module makers in the world and a historical Silicon Module Super League member (PV-Tech, founding member 2015). It is on the BloombergNEF Tier 1 list as of Q1 2026 and holds a PV ModuleTech AA bankability rating, and is a 2026 Kiwa PVEL Top Performer. We are precise here: JinkoSolar was removed from the BNEF Tier 1 list in Q2 2024 over a minor unresolved legal matter and subsequently reinstated, so we describe its current Q1 2026 listing rather than an unbroken record.
JinkoSolar in detailKitchener, Ontario (global HQ opened January 2025; founded 2001 in Guelph), Canada. Public; parent Canadian Solar Inc. on NASDAQ (CSIQ); its manufacturing arm CSI Solar is China-based and listed on the Shanghai STAR Market (688472).
A long-established global top-tier supplier with a large utility-scale project pipeline, and a historical Silicon Module Super League member (PV-Tech, founding member 2015). For current trust it is a BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer (Q1 2026), holds a PV ModuleTech AA bankability rating, and is a 2026 Kiwa PVEL Top Performer.
Canadian Solar in detailChangzhou, Jiangsu (international HQ Shanghai), China. Public; Shanghai STAR Market (688599) since June 2020. Previously NYSE-listed, taken private in 2017 before the Shanghai relisting.
Among the highest-shipping global suppliers and a historical Silicon Module Super League member (PV-Tech, founding member 2015). For current trust it is a BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer (Q1 2026), holds a PV ModuleTech AAA bankability rating in the top band with LONGi and JA Solar, and is a 2026 Kiwa PVEL Top Performer.
Trina Solar in detailShanghai, China. Public; Shanghai Stock Exchange (600732). Long heritage as a merchant solar-CELL supplier.
Our flagship module brand, chosen on its own merits rather than legacy heritage. Aiko is a premium high-efficiency specialist and the pioneer of mass-produced N-type ABC (All Back Contact) modules. It is a BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer (added Q3 2024, present Q1 2026) and a 2026 Kiwa PVEL Top Performer. Aiko was never part of the Silicon Module Super League and we do not describe it as such. It is a newer entrant, so we position it on its technology and Tier 1 bankability, not on shipment heritage, and we do not claim a PV ModuleTech AAA or AA grade for it.
Aiko Solar in detailSeoul (executive HQ); Thalheim, Germany (technology HQ), South Korea. Public; KRX-listed parent Hanwha Solutions (009830). Q-Cells originated in Germany (1999); Hanwha acquired the business in 2012.
A Western-headquartered maker (Hanwha Solutions, South Korea) with US, Korea and Malaysia manufacturing, and a historical Silicon Module Super League member (PV-Tech, founding member 2015 as Hanwha Q-CELLS). Its strongest, precisely-named credentials are a 9-year Kiwa PVEL Top Performer record, S&P Global 2025 Tier 1 Cleantech status, and the No.1 US residential and commercial brand ranking by Wood Mackenzie. We keep the S&P Global Tier 1 Cleantech scheme distinct from the BloombergNEF Tier 1 module list and do not conflate the two.
Q Cells in detailSingapore (operational HQ and HJT fab), Norway. Private; owned 100% by Reliance Industries (India) since October 2021.
A premium heterojunction (HJT) manufacturer (Alpha and Alpha Pure-R series), owned by Reliance Industries since 2021, which underpins its financial backing. We position REC on its genuine merits: it was never a Silicon Module Super League member, and we do not claim BloombergNEF Tier 1 status for it. Its reliability record is strong historically, having been a Kiwa PVEL Top Performer for around eight years through 2024, but it is not on the 2026 list, so we cite the record through 2024 rather than as current.
REC in detailHangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Private subsidiary of CHINT Group (Astronergy itself is unlisted; CHINT’s Chint Electrics is Shanghai-listed under 601877).
A top-tier global module maker and a genuine UK-distributed brand, part of the CHINT Group, and an early n-type TOPCon manufacturer. It is a BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer (Q1 2026) and a Kiwa PVEL Top Performer. We treat the maker’s own cumulative-shipment headline as company-sourced and do not claim a PV ModuleTech AAA or AA grade for it, and we re-verify the live BNEF quarter for the exact module before contract.
Astronergy in detailDongyang, Zhejiang, China. Public; parent listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2006 (SZSE: 002056). DMEGC Solar is the solar division of Hengdian Group DMEGC Magnetics.
A well-distributed UK commercial-rooftop brand, the solar division of the Shenzhen-listed Hengdian Group DMEGC. It is a BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer (Q1 2026), has been on the BNEF list for around six consecutive years, and is a Kiwa PVEL Top Performer for the fifth consecutive year. Its PV ModuleTech grade is A, so we do not claim an AAA or AA grade, and we keep its separate S&P Global Tier 1 status distinct from the BloombergNEF list. We re-verify the live BNEF quarter for the exact module before contract.
DMEGC Solar in detailAiko is the premium back-contact module we size the array around when roof space or yield is the constraint. JA Solar is the bankable value module that earns its place on larger, simpler roofs. We choose between them on your geometry, not on a margin.
N-type ABC (All Back Contact), dual-glass
N-type TOPCon (MBB, double-glass bifacial)
Bankable by design, reliable by test.
On a commercial roof the panel brand is a financeability question before a performance one. The trust signal is bankability, led by BloombergNEF Tier 1 with the scheme and the quarter named, and re-verified for the exact module before contract. Tier 1 is a financeability heuristic, not a guarantee of quality, so we cite independent reliability testing separately and show Silicon Module Super League heritage in the past tense.
Read the full guide on what bankable and Tier 1 mean
Indicative, not financial or tax advice. Confirm the position with a qualified accountant or tax adviser. Your figure comes from a survey-led PV*SOL model.
Tell us about your building and your electricity use. We will survey the roof, model it in PV*SOL, and specify a bankable module with the scheme, grade and quarter named.