Buyers and sellers in the solar sector got a unique opportunity to share information about products and services and foster business-to-business connections at Mercom India’s first RE Buyer-Seller Meet in Bengaluru on February 7, 2025.

The well-attended event saw solar equipment, balance of systems, and other components manufacturers sharing information about their solutions with vendors and distributors. Attendees also gained valuable insights into the latest trends in the solar industry from experts in the field at the two-panel discussions on key themes moderated by Priyadarshini Sanjay, Managing Director, Mercom India.

Buyers and sellers got a chance to engage directly with each other and forge business relationships.

At one of the panel discussions on Building a Robust Supply Chain Ecosystem, Harshal Akhouri, Co-Founder of Strolar, spoke about the imperative of introducing a standards framework for mounting structures for rooftop solar systems. While qualified engineers appropriately vet rooftop solar systems in the commercial and industrial sectors, the same is not the case with residential rooftop solar systems.

He made a case for framing regulations and standards for mounting structures, especially with the government setting an ambitious target of installing rooftop solar systems in 10 million households by 2027.

Prashanth Byndoor, Regional Head, South India, Sales and Marketing, Adani Solar, gave an overview of his company’s solar manufacturing from silicon to module with 10 GW backward integration by 2026. He also spoke about Adani Solar’s glass, EVA, and backsheet manufacturing.

He said Adani Solar has decided to have a complete ecosystem to reduce raw material costs and balance of system imports for the 10 GW expansion in the coming years. More than exports, the company is focusing on catering to the increasing demand for DCR modules under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana and PM KUSUM programs.

About solar cell manufacturing in India, Byndoor said the economies of scale must improve for cell production to grow and bridge the demand-supply gap. Solar cell manufacturing requires five times more capex than module manufacturing.

The panelists also spoke about the prevalent solar technologies and the likely ones that will emerge. TOPCon continues to be the technology of choice as of now.

Bhupendra Singh Rawat, CEO of DhaSh PV Technologies, spoke about his company’s expansion plans. He said DhaSh is the only approved junction box manufacturing company in India and plans to manufacture DC cables with a capacity of 1,000 km per day.

At the second panel discussion on ‘Emerging Opportunities in the Distributed and Large-Scale Project Segments,’ Ramesh Shivanna, Founder of Pride Group, spoke of the challenges in executing projects. Supply chain issues are now the biggest challenge in executing projects. Arriving at the right prices while bidding for projects is also tricky because of module price fluctuations. Land availability also continues to be a challenge, he said.

He said India must focus on and invest in research and development for self-reliance in the renewable energy sector and reduce dependence on imports.

C.Senthil Nadhan, Regional Manager, Icon Solar, said that since the demand for DCR modules has grown, Icon has set up a dedicated line to cater to the segment. The company plans to expand to 2.6 GW capacity during the current year and to 10 GW by 2030. By the end of 2025, a 1.4 GW cell line will be operational.

He said more module manufacturers were entering cell manufacturing, and many EPC players were getting into module manufacturing. More companies need to go into wafer-to-ingot manufacturing.

Abhishek Raj, Marketing and GTM Manager, Enphase Energy, said battery systems were becoming critical for energy independence and reliability. The scale of adoption of battery energy storage systems will depend on their cost.

Sandesh N, Sales Head, South India, Solis, said there is currently no demand-supply gap for inverters.

Over the past seven to eight months, Solis has received numerous inquiries about hybrid inverters after introducing the PM Surya Ghar program.

The next Mercom’s RE Buyer-Seller Meets will be held in Pune on May 15, Coimbatore on June 12, and Hyderabad on August 21, 2025.