Developing countries are giving increasing attention to industry development in renewable energy industries. Previous research highlights the influence of technology characteristics on such catching-up policies, distinguishing between complex products produced in small batches, and mass-produced simple products. We suggest that catching-up policies should move beyond this binary distinction between technologies. To illustrate this, we carry out a longitudinal analysis of catching-up policies in Mexico for two technologies – solar water heating and solar photovoltaics – that are both characterised as standard, mass-produced products, but which differ in degree of technological complexity. Our analysis highlights that the greater technological complexity of solar photovoltaics implies a larger focus of policies on providing access to resources in the form of knowledge, finance and legitimacy from abroad. Conversely, policies focusing on solar water heating had a greater domestic focus.