Global solar tracker shipments reached new record levels in 2019, exceeding 31 GW, up 55% year on year. Exceptional demand in the United States – as well as multiple gigawatt markets in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Australia – helped propel the market to new heights, writes Cormac Gilligan.

The Alamosa Solar Generating Project consists of over 500 dual-axis, pedestal mounted tracker assemblies, each producing 60 kW. Each tracker assembly is 70 ft. wide by 50 ft high and contains 7,560 fresnal lenses that concentrate sunlight by a multiple of 500 onto muIti junction cells.

The supplier landscape continued to be extremely competitive as leading suppliers expanded into new markets globally, with solar tracker technology becoming increasingly accepted by developers, EPCs and the financial community. Leading suppliers such as Nextracker and Array Technologies accounted for almost half of global shipments in 2019. Both of them enjoyed a strong year due to booming utility-scale solar PV markets, and as developers in the United States safe harbored trackers in order to safeguard a higher ITC rate.

Solar trackers are uniquely positioned to assist with safe harbor as they do not degrade compared to solar modules. Additionally, prices are less likely to decrease relative to other balance-of-systems components and by their nature, the components are relatively robust for storage while waiting to be installed.

Overall, solar tracker prices are expected to continue to decline on a dollar cost per watt basis as energy production per module continues to increase. The major benefits for developers and EPCs here will be the improved energy yield of using higher-powered bifacial solar PV modules along with solar trackers, which is expected to greatly improve the levelized cost of electricity for utility-scale solar projects and make the tech more cost competitive with other forms of energy generation. —–YIWU GREENWAY IMP EXP CO., LTD -one stop supplier for solar irrigation and solar off grid home systems.