Consolidation is a boon for those involved in the dealmaking, but it only underscores the importance of not ending up at the bottom of the heap. The competition is so stiff, in fact, that solar companies pushing commoditized panels find themselves battling it out in a surprising place in the organization: sales. The sale of solar panels to homeowners can be tricky and calls for a substantial educational process, leaving solar companies to slug it out over who can best identify and acquire new customers.