In 2023, the global photovoltaic (PV) mounting structure industry experienced a pivotal year amid the worldwide energy transition. As the core support system for large-scale power plants, ground-mounted solar racking demonstrated robust development driven by expanding market demand, accelerating technological innovation, and sustained policy support. According to Wood Mackenzie data, global PV tracker shipments reached 92 GW in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 28%, with further concentration among top-tier companies. Meanwhile, new trends such as deep integration of AI technology, synergy between bifacial modules and tracking systems, and challenges posed by extreme weather events collectively shaped the industry's development landscape.

I. Market Overview: Scale Expansion and Regional Divergence

In terms of overall market size, the global PV mounting structure market maintained steady growth in 2023. Data from multiple research institutions indicates that the global solar PV mounting structure market grew from approximately $21.24 billion in 2022 to about $22 billion in 2023, and is expected to reach $29.2 billion by 2031, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 3.60% during the forecast period. Specifically for fixed-tilt PV mounting structures, the global market value was approximately $16 billion in 2023, and is projected to grow at a steady CAGR of 2.5% from 2024 to 2032, reaching $20.2 billion by 2032. Other research reports indicate that the global market size for ground-mounted solar PV mounting structures was approximately 56.8 billion RMB in 2023, and is expected to approach 122.9 billion RMB by 2030, representing a CAGR of 12.3%.

Trackers, as the fastest-growing segment, had a global market size of approximately $7.88 billion in 2023, projected to grow to $25.24 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 14.3%. Within this, the utility-scale single-axis solar tracker market was valued at approximately $16.8 billion in 2023, and is expected to grow to $82.1 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 21.4%. Single-axis trackers continued to dominate the market due to their cost-effectiveness, ease of installation, and proven performance in large-scale ground-mounted plants.

The U.S. market is the world's largest single market for PV trackers, with shipments exceeding 37 GWdc in 2023, a 10% year-on-year increase, primarily benefiting from policy incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which initiated the construction of numerous large-scale ground-mounted PV projects across the country. In the European market, Spain accounts for more than half of the demand for solar PV trackers in Europe. Spanish manufacturer PV Hardware ranked first in shipments across Europe, while companies such as Soltec and Axial also ranked among the global top ten.

The Chinese market presented a unique pattern of divergence. In 2023, China's installed PV capacity reached 216 GW, with utility-scale projects exceeding 140 GW. However, the tracker market size was only 4.3 GW, far below major global markets. Wood Mackenzie notes that low installation costs are the primary driver for Chinese developers, leading to significantly higher demand for fixed-tilt products than for trackers. Nevertheless, Chinese manufacturers actively expanded their businesses in overseas markets such as the Middle East, Central Asia, and Latin America. Arctech and Trina Tracker ranked fifth and sixth in global tracker shipments, with market shares of 9% and 6%, respectively.

II. Technological Innovation: AI Empowerment and System Synergy

2.1 AI-Driven Intelligent Algorithms Boost Power Generation

In 2023, artificial intelligence technology began to deeply integrate into tracker control systems, becoming a core direction for industry technological upgrades. Trina Tracker's SuperTrack intelligent algorithm, incorporating AI and big data technologies combined with proprietary bifacial irradiation models and shading optimization models, can generate an additional 2%-3% more electricity compared to conventional tracking solutions. Moreover, the increased generation is more pronounced during high-price morning and evening hours, adding approximately 0.05 RMB/W of system value. In June 2023, Trina Tracker's dual-height scattering irradiation model for its intelligent tracking algorithm won the Silver Award at the 25th China Patent Award, the highest intellectual property recognition in the mounting structure industry.

Arctech's next-generation AI photovoltaic tracking solution also achieved significant breakthroughs, capable of adapting to various terrain, weather, and landform conditions in real-world power plant environments, increasing tracking system power generation gains by up to 7%. Antai Technology's Yuguang series intelligent tracking system incorporates an exclusive "Space Cloud" intelligent monitoring and operation platform, which comprehensively tracks natural conditions such as solar radiation and wind dynamics, adjusting tracking angles in real time to achieve an 18.5%-24% increase in power generation.

2.2 Multi-Point Parallel Drive Technology Solves Instability Issues

Addressing the industry pain point of traditional single-point drive tracking systems being prone to instability under extreme weather conditions, Arctech pioneered multi-point parallel drive technology, transforming the drive mechanism of a single tracking system from single to multiple units. This significantly increases the system's critical wind speed, fundamentally solving the instability problem of conventional 2P systems under extreme weather conditions, leading the industry's technological transition from single-point to multi-point drives. Trina Tracker adopted a multi-motor control system, using multi-motor technology to control the rotation angle of the mounting structure, reducing the number of mechanical transmission components by 50% compared to conventional 2P products, thereby lowering operation and maintenance costs and extending product life.

2.3 Flexible Mounting Structures Draw Attention for Power Enhancement

In 2023, flexible mounting structures began to attract industry attention as an emerging type of racking. In actual power plant operations, industry observers noted that flexible mounting structures unexpectedly captured a significant "power enhancement" effect compared to fixed-tilt structures under the same tilt angle, azimuth, and boundary conditions, and this phenomenon was observed across ten power plants. This discovery provides new data support for the technical validation and market promotion of flexible mounting structures.

2.4 Synergy Between Bifacial Modules and Trackers

The combination of bifacial modules and trackers has become the mainstream configuration for large-scale ground-mounted power plants. Studies show that the combination of bifacial modules and single-axis trackers can achieve higher energy output without significantly increasing costs, with power generation increased by 10%-15% compared to fixed-tilt systems. Trina Solar further validated the economics of this combination in its desert-gobi-badlands scenario solution: the combination of Vertex TOPCon 2.0 735W modules and trackers, compared to the TOPCon 1.0 625W module plus fixed-tilt structure, increased total power generation by 16.55%, reduced LCOE by 11%, and for a 100 MW power plant, increased power generation revenue by 8.82 million RMB, with IRR increasing by 3.16%.

Antai Technology's full range of intelligent tracking systems features patented purlin design, highly compatible with mainstream large-format bifacial modules, capable of large-angle tracking within ±60°, with strong terrain adaptability applicable to complex terrains such as water surfaces, snow, mountains, and deserts.

III. Competitive Landscape: High Concentration and Global Expansion

3.1 Global Tracker Market Highly Concentrated

According to the "2024 Global PV Tracker Market Share Report" released by Wood Mackenzie, the top ten global suppliers accounted for 90% of the global market share in 2023. U.S. tracker manufacturer Nextracker ranked first for the ninth consecutive year with a 23% market share, followed by Array Technologies with 16%. GameChange Solar, with a 12% share, entered the top three for the first time, achieving an annual growth rate of 55%. These three U.S. manufacturers alone accounted for more than half of global tracker shipments and 90% of the U.S. market. Spain's PV Hardware ranked fourth with a 10% share, followed by Arctech (9%) and Trina Tracker (6%) in fifth and sixth places, respectively.

Nextracker maintained a 20% annual growth rate in 2023, continuously expanding global production capacity. In September 2023, the company established its second tracker manufacturing plant in Nevada and increased the capacity of its Pennsylvania production plant to 4 GW. Additionally, Nextracker acquired U.S. solar foundation company Ojjo to expand its utility-scale PV foundation business.

3.2 Chinese Companies Accelerate Overseas Expansion

Although the penetration rate of trackers in China's domestic market remains low, Chinese manufacturers performed notably well in international markets. In 2023, Trina Tracker shipped nearly 1.5 GW, further improving its shipment ranking to the top three in South America, making it the largest Chinese tracker company in the region. Trina Tracker achieved leading shipments in Chile, Colombia, Argentina, and other regions, and the 520 MW Santa Luzia complex in Brazil has officially commenced operation, becoming a benchmark project in Latin America.

Arctech also performed strongly in the domestic Chinese market. Its Tianzhi II tracking system powered Xinjiang's first 210 large-format module plus tracker project, with an installed capacity of 94 MW, and won the "Weike Cup · OFweek 2023 Solar PV Industry Outstanding PV Mounting Enterprise" award.

IV. Major Project Implementations: Global Presence Expanding

In 2023, multiple Chinese companies secured significant tracker orders in emerging markets such as the Middle East, Central Asia, and Latin America, demonstrating the global competitiveness of Chinese PV mounting structure companies.

Trina Solar signed an agreement in July 2023 with Teralight, an Israeli publicly traded PV power plant developer, to provide 150 MW of Vertex modules and Vanguard trackers. This represents the largest order for PV modules and trackers in Israel to date. The project, located in the Ta'anakh photovoltaic farm in the Jezreel Valley, northern Israel, has a total installed capacity of 250 MW and is expected to be completed in June 2024. The project adopts Trina Tracker's Vanguard 2P series trackers with a multi-motor control system, marking the first application of this technology in the region.

In September of the same year, Trina Tracker signed a tracker supply agreement with PowerChina for the Tepuy photovoltaic power plant in Colombia, providing 108 MW of intelligent tracking systems, including Vanguard 1P intelligent trackers, intelligent algorithms, and a smart cloud platform system. Over 80% of ground-mounted PV sites in Latin America use trackers, with market penetration far exceeding the global average of 45%.

Antai Technology signed a 470 MW tracker solar project agreement in August 2023 with Enter Engineering, a leading EPC contractor in Asia. This is Antai's largest PV tracking project in Central Asia. Located in Uzbekistan, the project adopts the Yuguang-Simple tracking system, which can increase power generation by 18.5%-24%. Upon completion, the project is expected to deliver approximately 601.6 million kWh of clean electricity annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 600,000 tons.

Arctech provided a 94 MW Tianzhi II tracking system in September 2023 for the Tianfu 400 MW PV power generation project, part of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps' Beishi Shihezi 1 GW PV base project. Located in a Gobi desert area, this project is the first in Xinjiang to adopt 210 large-format modules combined with trackers.

V. Policy Drivers: Industry Support Worldwide

In 2023, major countries and regions worldwide continued to introduce policies supporting the development of the PV industry. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided strong policy incentives for PV projects, promoting the construction of large-scale ground-mounted PV plants and directly driving the growth in tracker demand.

In China, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), and the National Energy Administration (NEA) intensively issued policies supporting and regulating the PV industry, covering production, sales, fiscal policies, subsidies, land policies, and other related aspects. The "14th Five-Year Plan for Modern Energy Systems" explicitly sets a target of achieving a non-fossil fuel power generation share of approximately 39% by 2025, vigorously promoting the scale-up of PV power generation.

At the local level, Shanxi Province issued the "Shanxi Province PV Industry Chain 2023 Action Plan" in April 2023, explicitly aiming to stabilize the province's PV industry comprehensive capacity at over 20 GW by the end of 2023, actively deploying supporting industries such as mounting structures. Linyi City in Shandong Province plans to build an integrated PV-storage industry chain, with a total investment of 32.85 billion RMB, covering the entire value chain from silicon wafers, PV cells, PV modules, PV glass, PV mounting structures, to energy storage batteries.

VI. Safety Challenges: Risk Mitigation Under Extreme Weather

In 2023, frequent extreme weather events posed severe tests to the safety of mounting structures at PV power plants. In the summer, super typhoons such as Doksuri, Saola, and Khanun successively struck China's southeastern coastal regions, with maximum wind speeds reaching 16-17 on the Beaufort scale and instantaneous peak wind speeds exceeding 55 meters per second.

In actual disasters, power plants using flexible mounting structures and clamp installations suffered particularly severe damage, with over 600 modules damaged. Power plants with less damage were primarily affected by foreign object impacts. Connections between PV modules and mounting structures, between steel structural components within the mounting structure, and between the mounting structure and the ground can all become "attack points" for typhoons.

Furthermore, the design of mounting structure foundations under special geological conditions became a focus of industry attention. Under special geological conditions such as frost-heaving soils, saline soils, and collapsible loess, the foundation design for PV mounting structures must comprehensively consider the impact of ground settlement deformation to ensure the stability and durability of the structure. Industry experts recommend strictly adhering to PV power plant design standards, selecting high-quality equipment, and developing comprehensive typhoon prevention plans to cope with extreme weather.

VII. Outlook: Sustained Growth and Technological Innovation

Looking ahead, the PV mounting structure market will continue to maintain strong growth. S&P Global expects that from 2024 to 2030, the solar PV tracker market capacity will exceed 750 GW. The North American market is expected to account for 39% of the global share, followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at 31%, Asia-Pacific at 22%, and South America at 8%.

In terms of technological innovation, AI-driven intelligent control, multi-point parallel drive technology, and deep integration of bifacial modules and tracking systems will continue to drive industry progress. Trina Tracker's AI intelligent algorithm can add approximately 0.05 RMB/W of system value beyond conventional tracking solutions. Such technological innovations will further reduce the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and enhance the economics of PV power plants.

As the global energy transition accelerates and renewable energy targets continue to increase worldwide, ground-mounted PV mounting structures, as critical infrastructure supporting PV power plants, will see sustained growth in market demand and technological sophistication. The global PV tracker market is poised for even broader development, with technological innovation and global expansion becoming core drivers of corporate competitiveness.