In 2023, the global photovoltaic industry continued its rapid growth. As the "skeleton" of power stations, the PV mounting system saw explosive growth in technological innovation and market demand. From microscopic breakthroughs in materials science to large-scale procurement for major energy bases, the PV mounting industry in 2023 was no longer just a competition of "steel frames" but shifted toward system-level solutions that deliver higher efficiency and lower Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE).

Patents & Technological Breakthroughs: Focus on Installation Efficiency and Energy Gain

In 2023, domestic PV leaders significantly accelerated their intellectual property布局 in the mounting system field. In November 2023, LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. obtained a patent titled "A support truss for PV mounting system, PV mounting system and PV power station" (Patent Authorization No. CN220107854U). The patent aims to significantly improve on-site construction efficiency through a unique design of profile bending and splicing.

Meanwhile, optimization for bifacial modules became a technology hotspot. In December 2023, at the "2023 PV Industry Annual Conference" held in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, Jinko Power's "Patent R&D, Promotion and Application of a Bifacial PV Module Mounting System" was selected into the "2023 PV Industry Innovation Achievement Recommendation Catalogue." To leverage the rear-side power gain of bifacial modules, this solution increases the distance between the mounting rail and the module back sheet to over 90mm (the industry standard is typically only 20mm), aiming to reduce rear-side shading and thereby achieve an additional power gain of approximately 0.9‰–2.4‰. According to Jinko Power, the solution reduces steel consumption by 10%–25% compared to traditional mounting systems and has been applied in multiple projects, including the 110MW Tongling project and the 100MW Qiqihar project.

Market Trends: Large-Scale Centralized Procurement & Brand Building

As downstream installed capacity soared, the concentration and standardization of the mounting industry increased significantly in 2023. In October 2023, State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC), China National Coal Group, and CGN New Energy announced the results of large-scale PV mounting system procurements, with a total volume exceeding 33GW and 26 companies winning bids. The procurement types covered fixed mounts, zinc-aluminum-magnesium coated steel mounts, single-axis trackers, and flexible mounting systems. Notably, in this large-scale procurement, the highest winning bid unit price for dual-axis trackers reached RMB 2.07/W, indicating that complex, high-cost, high-yield mounting systems still have a specific market niche for high-precision applications.

Beyond market expansion, central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) also took a key step in brand building. On December 26, 2023, PowerChina held a brand-building results release conference for wind turbine towers and PV mounting products in Beijing. This was the first centralized launch of brand building in new energy equipment manufacturing by central SOEs, marking a transformation of the PV mounting business from pure product manufacturing toward a standardized, serialized modern industrial system.

Going Global & Industry Recognition: "Made in China" Shines on the International Stage

In 2023, Chinese PV mounting companies were not only active in the domestic market but also played a central role in the global supply chain. In November 2023, at the China New Energy High-Quality Development Conference held in Linyi, Shandong Province, Solar First was awarded the "2023 Top 10 PV Mounting Brands" for its full-scenario solutions, including tracking systems, floating mounts, and BIPV. Data shows that by the end of 2023, the company had shipped over 10GW of products to more than 100 countries and maintained the No. 1 market share in Malaysia for three consecutive years.

In addition, Chinese companies launched highly targeted innovative products for overseas commercial and industrial (C&I) distributed markets. In early November 2023, Antai Solar launched the "SnapFit C&I Mounting System" at the All-Energy Australia exhibition. The product features a "one-click" clip-in design, claiming to save up to 50% of installation time and requiring only one M8 tool for the entire installation process. This innovation directly addresses the high labor cost pain point in overseas markets, offering a "less walking, one-click install" user-friendly experience.

Empirical Validation: Mounting Selection Has Far-Reaching Impact

As China's PV installed capacity exceeded 600 GW, how to verify mounting performance in real-world operating conditions became an industry focus. In early 2024 (based on full-year 2023 data), the National PV and Energy Storage Empirical Test Platform in Daqing, Heilongjiang Province, released a report indicating that in high-latitude, cold-temperate regions, "dual-axis tracker + bifacial module + string inverter" and "single-axis tracker with a 10-degree tilt + bifacial module" are currently the two design solutions with the highest power generation. The platform's academic committee explicitly stated that promoting the use of single-axis trackers with tilt in high-latitude regions is an effective way to increase overall power generation.