I. Technological Innovation: Flexible Mounts Break Traditional Bottlenecks

In August 2022, China’s first rooftop flexible-mount PV project – the 6.00264MWp distributed solar project at Fengzhu Textile in Jinjiang City, invested in and built by Fujian Jinjiang Thermal Power Company under the National Energy Group – successfully achieved grid connection. The project is located inside the new plant of Fengzhu Textile in Andong Park, Jinjiang City, utilizing about 47,000 square meters of workshop and dormitory rooftops to install a distributed solar PV system, operating under a “self-consumption, surplus to grid” model.

The biggest technical highlight of this project is the innovative application of flexible mounts. The workshop rooftops had complex conditions, with lighting louver heights reaching 5–6 meters, severely shading the rooftop PV modules. To maximize installed capacity within the limited roof area, the project adopted a flexible mount solution: steel columns were erected on the concrete roof columns of the textile dyeing workshop, and PV modules were clamped onto steel cables under tension.

Compared with traditional fixed mounts, the flexible mount solution allowed large-area continuous installation across the plant, accommodating 11,116 PV modules. That was an increase of 7,359 modules and nearly 4.3MWp of additional capacity, generating an extra 5.17 million kWh annually. The project’s installed capacity was 6.00624MWp, with an average annual output of 6.9868 million kWh. After operation, it is expected to save about 2,291.67 tons of standard coal per year, reduce dust emissions by approximately 1,900.41 tons, and cut CO₂ emissions by about 6,965.84 tons.

Compared to conventional fixed mounts, the flexible mount system offers large and adjustable spans. On the same land area, the PV module capacity of flexible mounts is about three times that of fixed mounts. Industry experts note that flexible mounts have advantages such as flexible layout, higher power generation efficiency, good crack resistance, lower steel consumption, and lighter load. They can be used in complex terrains like tidal flats, fish ponds, wastewater plants, rugged mountains, barren slopes, and pools, showing broad application prospects.

In terms of patented technology, significant progress was also made in 2022. In March 2022, a project titled “R&D and Application of a Quick-Install Bracket Connector for PV Mounts” passed scientific and technological achievement evaluation. It developed a quick-install structure that secures rails to support beams – flexible, simple, stable, and reliable, capable of compensating for height differences caused by uneven ground. In July 2022, China Energy Engineering Group Yunnan Electric Power Design Institute added three new national utility model patents, including “An Angle-Adjustable PV Mount,” suitable for small PV projects. Using simple, reliable mechanical components to adjust the tilt angle of PV arrays, it significantly increases solar radiation capture during summer and autumn, offering easy installation, compact structure, convenient operation, and high cost-effectiveness.

II. Major Applications: Breakthrough Practices in Complex Scenarios

In the second half of 2022, flexible-mount PV technology achieved significant breakthroughs in large, complex applications. The most representative project was the distributed PV project at the Wuhan Beihu Wastewater Treatment Plant, independently invested and developed by China Energy Engineering Group Central Southern China Electric Power Design Institute. Located in the Beihu wastewater plant in Qingshan District, Wuhan, it is one of the key projects of the “Yangtze River Protection” initiative.

The project has a total capacity of 23.7MWp, covering about 115,000 square meters. Under sufficient sunlight, it generates about 23,000 kWh per hour, supplying about 20% of the plant’s daily electricity demand for its production operations. PV modules are installed on existing building rooftops and over water tanks. Over the secondary sedimentation tanks and biological tanks, a prestressed flexible mount system was used, with an installed capacity of 23.1MWp, steel column height of 8 meters, maximum continuous span of 730 meters, and a single maximum span of 59.3 meters – the largest single span in any domestic flexible mount system. The entire mount system used approximately 715 tons of steel and 165 kilometers of steel cables, significantly reducing the use of piles and concrete.

The project set several national records: largest installed capacity among all wastewater treatment plants nationwide, largest number of distributed large-span flexible mounts, and the longest single span for a flexible mount. After grid connection, it will provide about 22 million kWh of green electricity annually over a 25-year operating period, all used for the plant’s own production, saving about 8,000 tons of coal and reducing CO₂ emissions by about 20,000 tons per year.

The biggest challenge during the design phase was achieving a perfect “water + PV” integration. Wastewater plants typically consist of large-span tank structures, which conventional PV structures cannot accommodate. Moreover, new PV construction could not involve large-scale excavation that would disrupt normal plant operations. Thus, the project had to become an “aerial structure” with high clearance, large spans, and minimal foundations. The design team abandoned conventional steel trusses and adopted a prestressed large-span flexible mount solution. At the two ends of the flexible mounts, a “herringbone column + prestressed pipe pile” structure was used, inserting piles into limited areas to complete the end design. The greatest difficulty was in the secondary sedimentation tank area, where the flexible mount had to span a 55-meter-diameter tank. After repeated evaluations, the team adopted a cable truss structure to achieve a 59.3-meter single-span prestressed flexible mount – a first in China.

During construction, thorough geophysical surveys avoided pipeline damage from piling. In the biological tank area, steel columns were cleverly placed using the upper tank wall structure, and a trolley installation method enabled a continuous 730-meter span of flexible mounts without modifying the original structure. The wastewater plant did not stop operations during the entire construction period. The 8‑meter clearance ensured that PV generation and water treatment operations ran independently, helping the plant pursue green development and reduce costs while improving efficiency.

In November 2022, the largest single flexible-mount PV project in Southwest China also began installation. Located in Yunnan Province, with a total capacity of 150MW, the PV field includes 50 arrays using a mix of fixed and flexible mounts, of which over 100MW are flexible mounts – the largest single flexible-mount PV project in Southwest China.

III. International Developments: Tesla Restarts Its Rooftop Solar Program

In the international market, 2022 also saw significant moves in solar roof mount solutions. According to Electrek, Tesla planned to restart its rooftop solar program in the fourth quarter, partnering with a U.S. real estate developer to install Solar Roof and Powerwall in Austin – potentially making Austin the world’s first Tesla solar community.

The project focuses on new homes in Easton Park, Austin, Texas. As early as 2021, Tesla signed agreements with two real estate companies, Brookfield and Dacra, to deploy solar roofs and Powerwalls at scale in a new Austin community, developing a large Tesla solar community. Although the developers did not disclose the exact number of new homes, the industry widely viewed this as an important step for Tesla’s solar roofs to enter the new-home market.

Rooftop solar is a form of BIPV (building‑integrated photovoltaics). The product embeds PV cells in tempered glass, functioning both as a roof and a power generator. Tesla also designed custom fittings, vents, and skylights to maximize color consistency and aesthetic appearance. Tesla has been testing the Solar Roof v3.5 in employees’ homes; if successful, the new version may improve durability and ease of installation over v3.

Tesla’s solar roof project has not been without setbacks. In July 2022, Electrek reported that Tesla had paused most solar roof installations, with progress far behind targets. Musk had aimed to produce 1,000 solar roofs per week by the end of 2019, but data showed Tesla deployed only 2.5MW of solar roofs in the second quarter – about 23 per week, less than 3% of the target. Despite this, Tesla did not give up and restarted the project. A resident of Easton Park said the choice of Tesla’s solar package was mainly because the solar roof generates more electricity than their daily needs, allowing them to sell surplus power back to the grid – “a long‑term passive income in the long run.”

Additionally, in January 2022, Louisiana saw its first Tesla Solar Roof system installed by Solar Alternatives. The system includes 291 Tesla SR60T1 solar modules with a total capacity of 17.46kW and two Powerwall home batteries. The installation was influenced by the local climate – after Hurricane Ida struck Louisiana in the summer of 2021, about 1.2 million power customers lost electricity. Extreme weather has driven more households to seek solar solutions that include energy storage.

IV. Market Overview: High Growth Driven by Policy Support

In 2022, China’s solar roof mount market continued to grow rapidly, driven by policy support and installation demand. According to data released by the National Energy Administration, China’s newly added grid‑connected PV capacity in 2022 reached 87.4GW, of which distributed PV accounted for 51.11GW (including 25.25GW of residential distributed PV). New distributed capacity grew 74.5% year‑on‑year. By the end of 2022, total cumulative grid‑connected PV capacity reached 392.04GW, of which distributed PV accounted for 157.62GW.

By region, in the first half of 2022, Shandong, Henan, and Hebei led in new distributed PV capacity, with 3,413MW, 3,078MW, and 2,745MW respectively. For residential PV, Henan led with 2,323MW of new capacity, followed by Hebei with 2,291MW, while Shandong, long the top province, fell to third place with 1,917MW. The slowdown in Shandong was mainly due to rising system costs and difficulties in sustaining the “solar loan” model.

In terms of market size, China’s PV mount market recovered to about 17.5 billion yuan in 2021, a year‑on‑year growth rate of 51.91%. With continuous growth in PV installations, the market size was expected to reach 19 billion yuan in 2022. Globally, the solar PV mount system market was valued at approximately $13.368 billion in 2022. The rooftop solar mount market was valued at $2.5 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $5 billion by 2030.

On the policy front, after the phase‑out of national subsidies in 2022, local subsidies stepped in as an important driver of the distributed PV market. According to Polaris Solar PV Network, as of May 2022, 38 local governments had introduced PV subsidy policies covering both residential and industrial users. The highest upfront subsidy reached 1 yuan/W, and the highest feed‑in tariff subsidy was 0.45 yuan/kWh. Zhejiang and Guangdong issued the most subsidies.

In terms of penetration, as market acceptance of tracking mounts increased, the penetration rate of tracking mounts in China rose from 16% in 2019 to 18.7% in 2020, and further to 21.56% in 2021, with an expected penetration rate of 23% in 2022. Multiple analysts believe that as tracking mounts become more reliable, less expensive, and as grid parity pressures plant owners to prioritize generation efficiency, the share of tracking mounts will continue to rise steadily.