Global shipments of solar trackers reached record new grades in 2019, surpassing 31 GW, up 55% per year. The exceptional call in the United States, as well as the gigawatt markets in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Australia, have helped push the market to new heights, writes Cormac Gilligan, associate director of IHS Markit.
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. Alamosa Solar is located on 225 acres in the San Luis Valley near Alamosa, CO.
Picture: Dennis Schroeder / NREL
“Solar trackers are uniquely located to contribute to protection because they do not degrade compared to solar modules.” It’s incomprehensible as written. Solar modules are encapsulated semiconductor devices without moving parts and are known to last 30 years. Trackers are mechanical devices with moving parts, exposed to elements (rain, dust, sand, snow, frost). Expect them to break down much more without normal preventive maintenance. If you need to buy in advance to get a tax break, either type of appliance can sit quietly in a box and do nothing.
Hi James, Thanks for your comment, Cormac has responded with the following explanation: IHS Markit is referring to the storage of components for 1-2 years in warehouses or on-site for safe harbor purposes, in order to take advantage of a higher ITC, rather than referring to the long term O&M requirements of solar trackers or modules. It is known that modules have an assumed yearly degradation over their operational lifetime. However, if they are stored correctly and according to manufacturers’ advice, degradation may not be an issue. As a result, IHS Markit noted, some developers chose to procure large quantities of solar trackers in 2019 and in Q1 2020 rather than purchase PV modules.
Please, our network standards.
Your email will be published. The required fields are displayed.
Comment
Name
Website
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
By completing this form, you agree that pv mag will use your knowledge to post your comment.
Your non-public knowledge will only be disclosed or transmitted differently to third parties for spam filtering or if it is mandatory for technical maintenance of the website. Any additional move to third parties will only take a position if this is justified on the basis of applicable knowledge coverage regulations or if pv mag is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your non-public knowledge will be removed. Otherwise, your knowledge will be removed if pv mag has processed your request or if the knowledge objective is met.
You can find out more about knowledge privacy in our knowledge coverage policy.
This uses cookies to anonymously count the number of visitors. Please see our privacy policy. ×
The cookie settings on this online page are set to “allow cookies” to give you the most productive browsing experience imaginable. If you continue to use this online page without converting your cookie settings or click “Accept” below, you agree.
Near