How Tracker Technology Is Expanding the Footprint for Solar

• The value of the international tracker market will certainly surpass the fixed-tilt market this year.

As solar expenses continue to decline, one-of-a-kind usage situations for trackers will likely get in popularity, according to a brand-new Wood Mackenzie report on the tracker market.

Half of the brand-new tracker items released during 2019 as well as 2020 have actually been tailored towards expanding the series of possible websites where solar PV can be set up to consist of more difficult-to-develop websites, such as those with irregular terrain, high winds or rocky soil. All of the new products launched utilize independent row technology.

As the tracker market continues to grow, developments in tracker technology suggest that websites that were previously expensive for solar are currently being developed with trackers.

An expanding market.

2020 will be the first year when the tracker market's worth will certainly surpass the worth of the fixed-tilt market. In between 2022 as well as 2025, international yearly solar setups will certainly average 135 gigawatts. On the other hand, the international tracker market will see a 45 percent increase in setups from 2020-2025.

Even as the tracker setups increase over the following 5 years, the general tracker market value will squash as rates continue to decrease.

Advancements in tracker modern technology.

As it expands, the PV tracker vendor and item landscape is becoming much more jampacked and also varied. The marketplace saw a number of brand-new participants in 2019, and also eight suppliers have launched new items in 2019 as well as 2020 thus far.

In a significantly competitive market, even more suppliers are picking to concentrate on tracker modern technology that assists make the most of solar output on difficult surface or in high-wind zones.

Tracker modern technology is also proactively being created for rooftops, carports, agrivoltaics, fisheries, as well as floating sites, although these use cases aren't yet conventional.

New vendors, brand-new products.

Timber Mackenzie's report accounts the brand-new market participants with products tailored towards difficult surface as well as weather conditions. In 2019, TerraSmart launched a two-in-portrait product that is developed for use on irregular topographies and can be coupled with bifacial components. Likewise in 2015, Schletter reentered in the tracker market after at first releasing a tracker item in 2015; its brand-new tracker is made to handle high wind rates.

Nevados released a self-powered tracker in 2019 that is ideal for sites with difficult-to-develop surface. The firm notes that its tracker design complies with the all-natural surface of the site, meaning there is less demand for grading, keeping installation expenses low.

This year, Nexans introduced a tracker item that targets sites where land is unpredictable, such as landfills, quarries and commercial wasteland.

More recognized suppliers with items in the category include NEXTracker's TrueCapture software program, which accounts for severe weather condition events such as hailstorm, snow and also cyclones, and Array Technologies' SmarTrack software, which enhances return in scattered light conditions and on irregular surface via backtracking.

Sunfolding likewise has actually a tracker targeted toward websites with undulating terrain as well as which limits civil prep work and also grading, therefore reducing expenses.

As the variety of offered flat tracts in recognized solar markets decrease, designers will certainly be forced to broaden into uneven terrains or difficult-to-develop sites, while taking full advantage of solar manufacturing per square meter. These contending concerns will profit the tracker manufacturers, as long as they can introduce to fulfill market conditions.