FTC Solar expands its tracker lineup from 2 to 4 models in the latest TaiyangNews Market Survey on Solar Trackers
Terrain-following variant enables up to 10° drive-post and 1.5° line-post articulation, reducing grading needs by up to 95%
Dual-row configuration introduces linked architecture with up to 17.5% slope tolerance and configurable layouts
FTC Solar, a US-based solar tracker manufacturer, expands its listing from 2 tracker models to 4 in the latest TaiyangNews Markets Survey on Solar Trackers. Along with the previously listed trackers, Voyager+ and Pioneer, the company has now provided data for the latest systems, Pioneer+ Terrain Following and Pioneer+ Dual Row.
The Pioneer platform expands with the addition of Pioneer+ Terrain Following. This model builds on the features to adapt to uneven terrain. This is attained by articulation at both drive and line posts, enabling up to 10° of drive-post articulation and up to 1.5° of line-post articulation. According to the company, this configuration can reduce cut-and-fill volumes by up to 95% on suitable sites and allows improved conformity to rolling terrain without compromising row alignment, shading performance, or structural stability.
The Pioneer+ Terrain Following also integrates the company’s PathFinder terrain engine, which performs site-specific optimization using grading heat maps, slope analysis, and cut-and-fill prediction. The tracker includes terrain-aware backtracking within the SUNPATH control algorithm and is promoted for lowering civil-scope uncertainty during design.
The second newly added model is the Pioneer+ Dual Row tracker, which extends the Pioneer architecture into a mechanically linked dual-row configuration. This system offers up to 17.5% east-west slope tolerance for a linked tracker, enabling the use of trackers in more challenging terrains and reducing the grading costs. The tracker also supports configurable layouts of 4×4, 3×3, or 2×2 string groupings to increase power density by up to 23% on constrained sites. The shared driveline architecture reduces material use and simplifies installation, while coordinated primary and secondary slew drives with multiple dampers improve stability under dynamic wind loads.
The Pioneer tracker is bifacial-enabled and uses an independent-row 1P architecture. FTC specifies a typical row size of approximately 90 modules, arranged into 3 strings of up to 30 modules each, depending on module type and project configuration. The tracker offers a standard ±52° tracking range, with an optional extension to ±80°, and supports a GCR window of 30% to 60%. The system continues to use a slew-drive mechanism with a 24 V DC brushless motor and a self-powered architecture that incorporates an onboard lithium-ion battery with up to 3 days of autonomy.
The FTC Solar Voyager+ tracker is the second product from the company carried over from the previous survey; however, it has a few updates. This 2P independent-row tracker supports 2 string configurations per row – 4 strings up to 30 modules, or 6 strings up to 20 modules – and continues to use FTC’s patented Slide & Glide system, which allows installers to mount modules quickly and easily. The system uses a frame clip and a shared top clamp, making module mounting more streamlined. Voyager+ is specified with a standard tracking range of ±52°, similar to the Pioneer model, and offers an option to increase it to ±60°. The tracker’s GCR is listed as 60%.
All trackers across the product family use a slew-drive architecture, with independent-row control in single-row systems and a coordinated primary-secondary slew arrangement in dual-row systems. Multiple dampers are used to improve dynamic stability, which, according to the company, is more cost-effective than adding additional slave slew drives. FTC specifies that Pioneer and Pioneer+ variants can be configured for wind speeds up to 150 mph (~241 km/h), while Pioneer+ Dual Row and Voyager+ are rated up to 120 mph (~193 km/h).
The DC self-powered drive system, common in principle across the range, uses onboard lithium-ion batteries with up to 3 days of backup power, with AC power available as an option. The company offers different stow conditions for various harsh weather conditions: wind and flood stow at 0°, snow stow typically around 40-50°, and hail stow angles up to 60° or as high as 80° depending on the model. To sense these conditions, FTC trackers include an anemometer as standard, while snow, flood, and hail detection sensors are available as options.
The Pioneer-based trackers have an operating temperature range of -30°C to +55°C. Voyager+ is listed with a standard operating range of 0°C to +60°C, with optional extended ranges down to -20°C or -40°C (for AC-powered configurations) for colder climates. Tracking is governed at the individual-row level, and terrain-based, slope-aware backtracking is available across all 4 tracker models via FTC's SUNPATH algorithm.
The company offers a 10-year warranty on the structure and a 5-year warranty on the motors. The Pioneer family has a 3-year electronics warranty, while the Voyager+ has a 5-year warranty.
The text is an edited excerpt from TaiyangNews’ Market Survey on Solar Trackers 2026, which can be downloaded for free here.
