Vikram Eldora Prime 250W + Eging PV 250W

[Winchester]

We are putting together a package for quite a large job (around 1,000kW) and one of our solar PV suppliers has recommended the Vikram Eldora Prime 250W panel, and another supplier has suggested the Eging PV 250W.

Does anyone have any experience of either of these panels, either negative or positive?

Also: which panels would you recommend for a job of this size?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the matter.

David

 

[jason121]

How many installations to date have you done ????

 

[Gavin A]

never heard of either. Panels from a reputable Tier 1 supplier would be preferable I'd have thought, too much of a risk to use an unknown quantity, at least without some serious due dilligence on the company and products.

 

[SibertSolar]

Ok, here's a bit of due diligence regarding "Tier 1":

There are several different angles/definitions in the marketplace:

1. Financials:
   1. What is the Debt/Equity Ratio of the solar manufacturer? Below 1.0 is great, Vikram’s is 0.7
   2. Is the manufacturer operating with losses or profits? Vikram’s net profit in 2012-13 was € 2.3mn (when others filed for bankruptcy)
2. Capacity:
   1. Being a GW player does not mean you are classified “TIER 1”, it means you are big, but are you good, too?
   2. Tier 1 suppliers usually account for the TOP 5 manufacturers in a country. Vikram is TOP 3 in India.
3. Quality:
   1. Tier 1 suppliers are listed with all major international certification bodies and can prove their quality beyond minimum standards
   2. Vikram is listed with TUV Rhineland, Frauenhofer Institute and PI Berlin. Apart from that they have passed three crucial (non-standard) tests (Salt-Mist, Ammonia and PID)
4. Sustainability:
   1. Tier 1 suppliers can provide a sustainable growth plan and therefore the confidence to entertain the long-term guarantees and warranties issued to the client
   2. Vikram has constantly doubled its production capacity since inception, with the plan of hitting 0.5GW by 2015.
5. Ratings:
   1. Bloomberg, Moody’s, Ernst & Young and a few more rating agencies had come up with a TIER 1 list in the past. Well, all I have to say is that Suntech was classified TIER 1 by them….

Here are some reference projects too. We have selected them as our primary module partner and are pleased with how things are progressing. Their all-black panels will be available in the New Year. The Eldora Prime outshone others such as REC, Solarworld and Yingli in a recent UK 4kW benchmark study, in terms of yield/kWp

 

[Gavin A]

There you go then - due diligence supplied by Sibert

 

[SolarCity]

1,000kWp install ::drool::

Presumably this is a ground mount system? Probably worth giving Andy @ Sibert a ring on this as he can supply a lot of the kit that you'll need and he has the know-how too, which lets be honest, most other suppliers just do not have.

 

[Winchester]

Thanks everyone. Excellent, detailed response from Sibert. Much obliged.