Tier 1 Solar Panels Explained

The phrase Tier 1 is a concept used deceptively in the Solar Industry.

The only Tier 1 Solar Panel providers, as of  Q3 2016, are as follows:

Hanwha Q.Cells, ET Solar, GCL, Canadian Solar, Jinko, Hareon, REC Solar, First Solar, JA Solar, LG, Phono Solar, Trina, Sunpower, Risen Energy, Renesola, HT-SAAE, Vikram, Seraphim, Heliene, Solar Frontier, BYD, Eging, Hyundai, S-Energy, ZNShine, China Sunergy, Talesun, BYD, Aleo Solar, Winaico, Anjitek, Chint/AstroEnergy.
That is it !!

Anybody else claiming to be a Tier 1 company is being deceptive, at best.

Bloomberg (New Energy Finance) established Tier 1 rating system. Tier 1 is a Bloomberg rating on both the panel quality, the manufacturing process and the viability of the company.
The fact that a Tier 1 company may be an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for other brands does not make those brands Tier 1 – in fact, the opposite is true!

Dollar Solar only use solar panels from Tier 1 providers.