Single-drive systems offer lower cost and simpler maintenance, but depend on a single motor and face limitations in stiffness and stow flexibility
Multi-drive architectures improve torsional stiffness and wind performance by distributing loads
Hybrid approaches are emerging, with companies like Axial using single-drive with mechanical load distribution to combine the benefits of both systems
Drive systems in solar trackers govern how motion is distributed along a tracker row. While single-drive configurations rely on 1 motor per row, multi-drive systems use multiple motors to improve control precision and structural resilience, particularly on complex terrain. Both configurations are widely used, with each having its own set of benefits and limitations.
The multi-drive mechanism reduces variations in torque tube thickness and lowers structural weight, although it requires more drive units. Single-drive trackers rely heavily on dampers and are not quite compatible with some safety stowing strategies, such as 0°. Chintan Patel, CTO of Sunchaser Structures, characterizes single-drive trackers as comparable to a 2-wheel-drive vehicle – adequate and economical – and multi-drive systems as similar to a 4×4 vehicle – rugged, adaptable, and slightly expensive (see Tracker Suppliers Develop Site-Specific Stow Strategies).
The company currently sells its multi-drive Airavat system and is developing a single-drive tracker, called Varaha, based on its own slew drive. Several internationally well-known tracker vendors also have multi-drive designs, but in India, they primarily promote single-drive systems due to cost pressures, according to Patel.
According to Antaisolar, single-drive offers lower cost and fewer maintenance points, but torsional stiffness is a challenge, and a single failure can halt an entire row. Multi-drive provides higher stiffness and better wind performance and has become the mainstream choice for large plants, especially in high-wind regions. Antai’s new AT Spark tracker adopts a multi-drive design. Its TAI-Universal 2P platform also uses multi-drive by default.
TrinaTracker also highlights increasing adoption of multi-drive architectures. Single-drive systems concentrate loads at one point, which can be a limitation in high-wind, high-snow, or structurally demanding environments. Multi-drive systems distribute forces more uniformly, improving torsional stiffness and overall stability. Although they require additional drive units, savings in steel from smaller or thinner sections offset the added cost to some extent.
Axial, on the other hand, employs a distinct drive and synchronization architecture across its tracker portfolio. All Axial systems use a single-drive design, but motion is transferred mechanically to multiple points along the row. In its 2P architecture, a multi-point blocking system connects a central slew drive to 2 pins through a mechanical transmission line, creating blocking points every 6 m to improve torsional stiffness and distribute loads uniformly.
The text is an edited excerpt from TaiyangNews’ Market Survey on Solar Trackers 2026, which can be downloaded for free here.