The industry focus is shifting from pure LCOE optimization toward system-value enhancement, with trackers improving price capture and generation profiles
Advances in terrain-following structures, control software, and dynamic stowing strategies are strengthening reliability and long-term performance
The survey covers 32 products from 17 suppliers, with expanded DAT representation and 6 new entrants
The solar sector is increasingly evaluating project competitiveness through the lens of the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), rather than solely upfront system costs. As energy yield is a core component of LCOE, technologies that improve output over a plant’s lifetime have gained greater attention. In this context, solar trackers have seen increasing deployment, as these module mounting systems tirelessly track the sun, enabling higher annual energy generation than the tilted ones. Advanced algorithms for diffuse-light optimization and 3D backtracking further optimize the power generation. Beyond pure yield gains, trackers also offer grid-level value by shaping generation profiles. Trackers help generate more electricity during early-morning and late-afternoon hours, improving price capture. This time-specific yield advantage is becoming increasingly valuable, particularly in more mature solar markets, where electricity markets face volatility, curtailment, and shifting peak-price periods due to the high midday output of traditional fixed-tilt solar systems. In this context, the focus is no longer solely on LCOE, but increasingly on the system value of solar power. This shift is bringing battery storage into the equation and offers opportunities for trackers as well.
At the same time, several developments in the trackers segment, particularly improved constructability and reliability, favor the business case for trackers. Modern designs, in particular in more mature solar markets, are easier to install, require less land grading thanks to their terrain-following architectures, and offer better long-term performance. With advances in control systems, new stow strategies are increasingly used to protect solar assets during extreme weather conditions, such as high winds and hail.
Favorable project economics also promote wider adoption of trackers. With module prices at new lows, developers can afford to be flexible in investing in trackers to extract higher generation from their sites. Trackers also maximize output on land-constrained or irregularly shaped plots, making them suitable for a broader set of locations. All these benefits make trackers increasingly a preferred choice for utility-scale PV.
This 4th TaiyangNews Market Survey on Solar Trackers presents a portfolio of 32 products from 17 suppliers, covering the majority of leading players in the tracker segment. In comparison, the previous edition featured 31 products from 16 companies. While this indicates a net increase of only 1 supplier and product, the current edition includes 6 first-time participants, with 5 suppliers from earlier editions no longer listed due to a lack of response. The new entrants are Sunchaser, ASUN, Bigsun Energy, PVH, NewEnergie Renewables, and Zimmermann. The 5 previous participants excluded from the current survey are Scorpius, Ideematec, Schletter, Arctech, and JSolar. The most commonly used product among survey participants is HSAT. However, DAT systems also make their presence felt, at least for the survey, with systems from 3 suppliers as opposed to a sole representation in the previous edition. Note, however, that the term ‘tracker(s)’ in the survey mainly refers to HSAT unless mentioned otherwise.
The text is an edited excerpt from TaiyangNews’ latest Market Survey on Solar Trackers 2026, which can be downloaded for free here.