Waaree, Loom Solar Aim To Lead In Direct Sales Of PV Panels To Consumers

Waaree, Adani Aim To Take The Lead In Selling Solar Panels Directly To End Consumers

Editorial Note: The copy earlier mentioned that Adani Solar is set to sell solar panels to consumers through its recently opened center in Bangalore. This is to clarify that the Bangalore center of Adani Solar was meant only for consumer awareness and not for direct sales to consumers. Reference to Adani Solar in the story has been removed accordingly. 

With solar technology becoming popular among the population, several Indian solar module manufacturers are leaving no stone unturned to make it more accessible to the masses. This has also become more significant with the announcement of the PM Surya Ghar scheme where the urban masses prefer to procure solar modules of popular brands of their preference for rooftop solar connections.

Several of the solar module brands in India like Waaree Solar and Loom Solar seem to have jumped onto the bandwagon to capture the direct retail market when many are still shy to try the open platforms and prefer to deal through EPC players and dealers. 

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For example-Waaree Renewable is now selling its latest mono-PERC bifacial solar panels of 540 watts and of other capacity and even their TOPCon bifacial solar panels through the popular e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart. This is in addition to their own website where Waaree is also taking direct orders from consumers including residential rooftop consumers and even C&I consumers. For example-Waaree, through its website, is offering a package of 3 bifacial 540 watt modules and inverter at around Rs 1.42 lakh. 

Similar is the tale of Loom Solar, a Faridabad-based company which is using its social media vigorously for initiating conversations of rooftop solar connections. Loom Solar is also among the few Indian solar module brands which is flaunting its solar modules through e-commerce website and allowing direct sales. 

The direct solar module to consumer sales is also important because of the wider choices the consumers get. Many solar rooftop consumers we talked to complained that several vendors they picked under the PM Surya Ghar scheme offered only 2-3 brands to choose from. They also accused these firms of offering only limited technology. Some consumers said that in many cases solar modules of Adani Solar, Waaree or other brands are not offered to them despite their requests, mainly due to a slight higher prices of these PV modules.

“I recently applied for a 3 Kw of rooftop solar connection for my house. I picked one of the solar vendors which has a presence in multiple states. However, the team offered me only three brands in mono-PERC technology. I requested them to supply solar panels from another reputed solar firm but they denied citing their collaboration with only three module making companies,” a consumer based in Ghaziabad told Saur Energy.

Retail stores

Similar is the tale of many others. Now with the advent of direct selling, the consumers are empowered to choose their own brands. However, selling through e-commerce is not the only option that Indian solar module makers are planning. Some are planning to open physical stores to sell solar panels. Retail stores for solar panels is not very new for the Indian market especially the Indian rural market where several small size solar panels are sold in many electronic shops, which are often used by small shops and outlets to power smaller power appliances. However, the intrusion of more large scale, high power mainstream solar panel retail outlets is set to change the dynamics of the Indian solar market especially for the residential rooftop segment and the off-grid solar market of rural India.

Govt’s plan

It is not only the private solar module makers who are planning to make solar module sales directly to the consumers to empower the citizens but even the government has planned to do so. The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) recently held a meeting in New Delhi with several Indian solar module makers to take their feedback for a proposed tender. The government entity is set to float to allow direct online sales of solar modules for consumers. 

EESL is set to issue the first round of tender soon regarding this. The entity plans to host the sales of these modules through their own online platform EESL mart where they sell energy efficiency fans, ACs, lights and other items. During the pre-tender discussions, EESL tried to understand the issues in warehousing, bulk transport, zones among others.