Tender Volume Exceeds 35.5 GW, Industry Prosperity Continues

According to statistics from Polar Solar Power Network, from January to August 2022, the tender volume for PV mounting brackets by domestic PV power plant developers exceeded 35.5 GW. Among them, State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) (8.68 GW), PowerChina (6.15 GW), and China Datang Corporation (5.74 GW) ranked among the top in tender volume. Private enterprises also gradually entered the market, with bracket tender capacity reaching 800 MW.

From the bid award results, 27.8 GW of the 35.5 GW tender volume had announced bid-winning results. A total of 70 companies won bids, including Jiangsu Guoqiang Xingsheng, Arctech, Trina Solar, Ruifengda Metal Products, subsidiaries of PowerChina, Jinhai Xinyuan, and Suzhou Jusheng Solar Technology. Among the companies that disclosed detailed bid-winning scales, Jiangsu Guoqiang Xingsheng, Arctech, and PowerChina subsidiaries ranked in the top three.

As a leading enterprise in the mounting bracket industry, Guoqiang Xingsheng performed particularly well in 2022. According to statistics, from the beginning of the year, Guoqiang Xingsheng secured a total of 7.05 GW of bracket orders from Huadian, Huaneng, and SPIC, and was successfully selected as a supplier for several central state-owned enterprises. In the fourth quarter, Guoqiang Xingsheng was simultaneously supplying 102 PV projects worldwide, covering multiple countries and regions including China, Europe, South America, and the Middle East. Its total annual order volume was expected to reach 15-20 GW.

Tracking Brackets: From "Blue Ocean" to Mainstream, Intensive Technological Breakthroughs

Tracking brackets were the most watched sub-sector in the PV mounting bracket industry in 2022. Compared to traditional fixed brackets, tracking brackets can adjust angles according to changes in the sun's incident angle, typically achieving a power generation gain of 5% to 35%. With the accelerated construction of large-scale wind-solar bases and the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) becoming the core indicator for investment decisions, tracking brackets ushered in an inflection point for development in the domestic market.

Dongxing Securities estimated that by 2025, the total market size of the mounting bracket industry could reach RMB 117.7 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.4%. Among this, the market size for tracking brackets is expected to reach RMB 65.1 billion, with a CAGR of 20.0%, significantly faster than that of fixed brackets.

In 2022, leading companies made frequent moves in the tracking bracket field:

Arctech: In November, announced a private placement plan to raise no more than RMB 1.151 billion for capacity expansion projects such as parallel actuators for tracking systems. In December, signed a 2.8 GW "SkySmart II" tracking system supply agreement with the largest project developer in Gujarat, India. This order brought its cumulative shipments in the Indian market to 7 GW. For the full year, the company's total bracket shipments reached approximately 10.55 GW (6.86 GW domestic, 3.69 GW overseas), achieving operating revenue of RMB 3.703 billion, a year-on-year increase of 53.29%, and net profit attributable to parent company increased by 195.57% year-on-year.

TrinaTracker: In May, at the Intersolar Europe exhibition, launched the newly upgraded SuperTrack intelligent tracking control system, further empowering the tracking system with intelligent technology. Compared to conventional tracking algorithms, this system can achieve a maximum power generation gain of 8%. In December, the "Test Method for Intelligent Tracking Performance of PV Tracking Brackets" project, led by Trina Solar, was included in the 2022 third batch of standard formulation and revision plans of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), becoming the first industry standard project for tracking bracket intelligence.

In terms of major project wins, TrinaTracker exclusively won the bid for the horizontal single-axis tracking bracket procurement for the Qinghai Lenghu wind-solar-storage complementary demonstration project, which has a total installed capacity of 200 MW wind power, 100 MW PV, and 45 MW/180 MWh energy storage. Winsun New Energy successfully won the bid for the SPIC Ganzi Prefecture southern PV demonstration project, with a procurement capacity of 532 MW – the world's first ultra-high altitude PV demonstration base. Suzhou Jusheng Solar Technology won the bid for the flat single-axis tracking bracket procurement for the Three Gorges Corporation's Qinghai Qingyu DC II project, with a bid price exceeding RMB 100 million.

At the technical level, key breakthroughs in the tracking bracket field in 2022 focused on two directions: high wind protection and intelligence. Arctech released a technical white paper proposing to optimize the tracking bracket's high wind protection parameters through multi-point parallel drive technology. The standard high wind protection wind speed of its "SkySmart II" reaches 22 m/s, the highest in the industry. TrinaTracker's SuperTrack intelligent system was selected for the 2022 PV Industry Innovation Achievement Recommendation Catalogue. Leveraging the patented Bifacial Irradiance Model (BIM) technology, the system can dynamically and optimally adjust the tracking angle in real-time based on meteorological and system operational data, addressing the power loss issues of conventional tracking algorithms under high diffuse radiation weather and complex terrain.

Material Breakthrough: "Danxia Steel" Enables Bare, Coating-Free Use for PV Brackets

In June 2022, Meishan Iron & Steel successfully mass-produced "Danxia Steel" – a high weathering resistance, high-strength steel material specifically for manufacturing PV mounting brackets. Compared to traditional hot-dip galvanized or galvanized aluminum-magnesium-zinc coated products for PV brackets, "Danxia Steel" allows for bare, coating-free use, eliminates cold-rolling processes, requires no maintenance over a 25-year full lifecycle, and is 100% recyclable after use.

As a high-strength, thin-gauge steel material, "Danxia Steel" also enables lighter PV brackets and reduces steel consumption. If all PV brackets were produced using "Danxia Steel" based on a total installed capacity of 560 GW by 2025, CO₂ emissions from raw material production could be reduced by over 9 million tons, and CO₂ emissions from the bracket processing stage could be reduced by over 10 million tons. Currently, this product has been successfully applied in Qujing (Yunnan), Wuhai (Inner Mongolia), and Guyuan (Ningxia).

Policies and Standards: Distributed PV Bracket Safety Standards Intensified

In 2022, with the rapid development of residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) distributed PV, policies and safety standards for rooftop PV brackets were intensively issued:

In May, the group standard "Construction Specification for Rooftop Distributed PV Grid-Connected Power Generation Projects" (T/ZS 0280-2022) was released, systematically standardizing the installation, construction, and commissioning of brackets.

In October, the "Technical Specification for Adding PV System Engineering to Existing Building Roofs" (T/CECS 1176-2022) was released, approved by the China Association for Engineering Construction Standardization (CECS), with the China Construction Metal Structure Association as the lead editor.

In November, Haining City, Zhejiang Province issued a draft of its distributed PV project construction management measures, specifying that PV brackets must use anti-corrosion and anti-rust materials, and that wind load and gravity load levels must comply with national steel structure construction quality acceptance standards.

Several local governments issued notices emphasizing that rooftop distributed PV projects must implement workplace safety production responsibilities, managed under the principle of "who owns the property, who is responsible."

Profitability Turning Point: Falling Polysilicon Prices Release Benefits, Industry Rebound Anticipated

At the end of 2022, upstream polysilicon prices fell, creating an opportunity for a "turnaround" in the PV mounting bracket industry. Over the previous two years, the profitability of the mounting bracket industry had significantly declined due to the combined impact of raw material prices, international transportation costs, and rising polysilicon prices.

With the decline in polysilicon prices, not only is the profitability of mounting brackets expected to recover, but the installed capacity of downstream ground-mounted PV power stations is also likely to be boosted. Head Leopard Research believes that the PV mounting bracket industry is now at an opportune moment for a rebound, with the market compound growth rate expected to reach 19.5% from 2021 to 2025. CITIC Securities also noted that with falling polysilicon prices leading to lower module and installation costs, domestic ground-mounted PV power station installations are poised for rapid growth.

Data from Arctech's annual report shows that the company's comprehensive gross margin for its bracket business in 2022 was 12.6%, an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared to 2021, indicating a gradual recovery in profitability.