Published Date: September 8, 2017 Author: Saipriya Iyer
The meteoric rise of solar tracker industry has been the subject of contention for a while now, given the extensive proliferation of solar power in the renewable energy cosmos. Solar energy presently stands nearly at the top of the energy mix pyramid, having contributed extensively toward the generation of power across myriad geographies, which is in fact, a major driver propelling the growth path of solar tracker industry. While PV panels have been taking precedence in the establishment of solar plants in the last few years, of late, trackers have been gaining renewed prominence, subject to their inherent capability to enhance the energy output by means of solar module movements – horizontally or vertically, toward the sun. As per estimates compiled by the U.S. Department of Energy, by the end of 2015, single-axis and dual-axis trackers jointly covered more than 50% of installed solar capacity – while the latter accounted for more than 5% of the installed capacity, the former accounted for more than 45% of the capacity. These statistics stand to prove that solar tracker market, with a capacity valuation of more than 12 GW in 2015, is certainly deemed to be circling along a profitable growth curve.
Being conceived as a rather progressive business space, solar tracker industry has established itself firmly among the higher-end industries of today. The fraternity is characterized by a plethora of collaborations and facility expansions, given the ever-growing demand for electricity across the globe. A recent instance of the same is that of the reputed solar tracker market firm, Array Technologies foraying into Latin America. If reports are to be believed, the company plans to expand its footprints across the LATAM belt by establishing a subsidiary in Mexico City and commercializing its single-axis solar tracker, DuraTrack HZ v3, in the Mexico solar tracker industry. Through this move, the company aims to lay the foundation of a fundamental shift in the country’s power consumption trends. For the record, Mexico has set ambitious goals with regards to sustainability – the country aims to generate around 35% of its energy supply via renewable sources by 2024, which is certain to augment the growth of solar tracker industry in the region.
Here’s an overview of solar tracker industry across two principal geographies:
Unveiling the developments across Europe solar tracker market
Europe is one of the pioneers of renewable energy, and has an enviable pipeline of solar, offshore wind, and hydropower projects. The region stands to gain tremendous profits from solar tracker industry, given the proliferation of solar power in the region. Augmented by the commendable contribution from countries such as Italy, Spain, UK, and Germany, Europe solar tracker industry was valued over 2 GW in terms of capacity, in 2015. The renewable energy directive ‘2009/28/EC’ has a major role to play in the development of the regional solar tracker market, which is forecast to garner appreciable gains in the forthcoming years, propelled by the increasing number of initiatives undertaken by the regional companies, in addition to the rising awareness levels with regards to the benefits of solar power.
Two major solar tracker industry giants, Grupo Clavijo and Soltec, have chronicled their names in the Europe landscape, having contributed to a plethora of developments in the region, a few of which are outlined below:
- Grupo Clavijo and MFV Solar, two major companies partaking in Spain solar tracker industry share, have recently announced their collaboration to form a new PV tracker company called NCLAVE. As per experts, this strategic initiative strengthens the position of both the firms in the regional solar tracker industry.
- It is noteworthy to mention that Grupo Clavijo has also strengthened its foothold in APAC solar tracker market by supplying trackers to the Solar One Ceylon solar plant in Sri Lanka, of capacity 12.56 MW. The company has reportedly installed around 624 single-axis trackers in the region, and has also made headlines lately for having successfully penetrated LATAM solar tracker industry.
- Soltec, a key manufacturer of single-axis solar trackers, has been in the tabloids for a slew of profitable investments. The solar tracker industry giant has recently announced the launch of its next-generation SF7 tracker, which is markedly cost-effective and completely self-powered.
- Soltec has also planned to deliver trackers to two of Brazil’s most important solar projects. If reports are to be believed, the company will deliver single-axis solar trackers for a solar project of 101 MW in the Rio Grande do Norte state, in addition to supplying trackers to Solairedirect’s Paracatu PV project of 158 MW at Minas Gerais to the southeast of Brazil.
The aforementioned developments form the tip of the iceberg, as the region is profoundly famous for a lot more solar projects. In effect, it would be wise to state that Europe solar tracker industry has a lot to contribute toward the global business landscape.
Unveiling the developments across APAC solar tracker industry
The APAC belt has in recent times, emerged as the hub for major businesses, subject to which manufacturers have been vying with one another to expand their footprints across the region. Asia has also exhibited considerable momentum in the renewable universe, with solar power occupying the top slot, which is likely to provide an appreciable impetus to the regional solar tracker market. The continent’s exceptional growth curve in solar tracker market is essentially hinged on India and China, catalogued among the most progressive nations in the region, which is reason enough for manufacturers to penetrate this geography. The pointers archived below depict the firm insistence of key solar tracker market players to establish their predominance in APAC.
- NEXTracker, Inc., a predominantly popular player in solar tracker industry, has recently divulged its plans of integrating solar trackers with flow batteries for superior efficiency. The company has paired up with Avalon Battery to utilize their patented to be incorporated with solar trackers to lay the foundation of an inherently integrated solar-and-storage system that may lead to excellent operational efficiency and reduced costs in the future.
- The solar tracker market behemoth also has grand ambitions to expand their footprints in India. This announcement comes on the heels of NEXTracker successfully having sold more than 1 GW of solar trackers to various projects in India, the announcement of which is likely to lead to a massive surge in future sale, subsequently augmenting the regional solar tracker industry.
- The company plans to supply specialized tracker equipment to a local manufacturing facility in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, in a bid to expand its scope in India solar tracker market. Having held an impressive record in India so far, with 21 projects of capacity over 1 GW, it will not come as a surprise if this solar tracker industry firm achieves it ambition of consolidating its position in the India belt.
- The Taiwan-based BIG SUN Group, has also recently envisioned its innovative Dual axis iPV Tracker with a bifacial module that would lead to a power saving of nearly 100%.
- A key participant of the China solar tracker market, Powerway has recently collaborated with Brazil-based EPC Steelcons for developing the single axis tracker business. The Chinese firm has been instrumental in enhancing its product portfolio to increase sales not just within the APAC solar tracker market, but also across numerous other geographies.
With an appreciable number of nations contributing toward the development of the renewables sector, in addition to the innumerable industry moguls striving to expand their manufacturing facilities in the region, it is no more a presumption that APAC solar tracker market is indeed one of the most lucrative investment grounds for the future.
If expert opinions are to be believed, solar tracker market is one of those verticals of the solar space that has depicted a positively escalating growth graph so far. Trackers can apparently improve the solar output by at least 15 to 30 percent, which will undoubtedly upswing their sales. Furthermore, it is prudent to mention that a recently released research report forecasts that solar trackers of more than 37.5 GW are likely to be installed by 2021, which is a remarkable figure in itself. These installations will account for almost 50% of all the ground-mounted solar power systems, which will provide a substantially positive impetus to solar tracker industry. These statistics affirm that solar tracker market, with a target revenue estimation of more than USD 18 billion by 2023, is undeniably a force to reckon with.
Global Market Insights, Inc. has a report titled “Solar Tracker Market Size, By Product (Dual Axis, Single Axis), By Technology (CPV, Solar PV, CSP), By Application (Utility, Non-utility), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, Spain, China, India, Japan, Brazil), Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2016 – 2023” available at https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/solar-tracker-market-report