I. Market Landscape: PVBL2023 Global Top 10 Tracker Rankings Unveiled, Leading Players Hold Steady

On May 22, 2023, the 8th Century PV Conference and PVBL2023 Global Top 100 PV Brand Value Awards were officially released in Shanghai. The event also unveiled the much-anticipated PVBL2023 Global PV Brand Value (Tracking System) Top 10 Ranking.

Due to the high concentration of the tracker market, the leading players’ positions have become increasingly stable, and the market landscape is now clearly defined. Nextracker, the long-standing tracker leader, firmly tops the list with a global market share exceeding 30%, having led the global tracker market for eight consecutive years. Array Technologies follows in second place, with a slight increase in global market share in recent years. Spanish manufacturer PV Hardware ranks third.

Arctech (Chase Solar) ranks fourth globally with an 8% market share. Financial data shows that in 2022, Arctech’s annual operating revenue reached RMB 3.703 billion, a year-on-year increase of 53.29%; tracker shipments were approximately 3.33 GW, and fixed-tilt shipments were approximately 7.22 GW, for total shipments of about 10.55 GW (6.86 GW domestic, 3.69 GW overseas). Trina Solar’s tracker business achieved shipments of 4.4 GW in 2022, a significant leap compared to 2021; by the end of 2022, cumulative global shipments of the TrinaTracker Pioneer series had reached 3 GW.

In terms of pricing, due to larger module wattage, innovations in structural materials, and cost pressure at power plants in 2022, the price of fixed-tilt systems was around RMB 0.25/W, while tracking systems were priced at about RMB 0.47/W. Notably, the penetration rate of tracking systems in China remains below 10%, indicating substantial room for future growth.

II. SNEC 2023: Global PV Event with a Flood of New Tracker Launches

From May 24 to 26, the 16th (2023) International Photovoltaic Power Generation and Smart Energy Conference & Exhibition (SNEC 2023) was held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. As the “barometer” and bellwether of the global PV industry, this largest industry event attracted over 3,000 exhibitors from 95 countries and regions, with more than 400,000 daily visitors. The venue was packed with enthusiasm.

2.1 TrinaTracker: New Product Launch and Major International Contracts

TrinaTracker held its first offline China launch of the all-new Pioneer 2P tracker, which is fully compatible with the latest N-type modules and excels in string economics and reliability. The new Pioneer 2P uses Trina’s self-developed multi-motor control system, eliminating mechanical drive wear and making installation and maintenance more convenient. It provides enhanced solutions for complex scenarios such as desert, agricultural-PV, and fishery-PV integration.

On the first day of the exhibition, Trina Solar and Dongfang Electric International Corporation signed a 510 MW tracker project in Uzbekistan. TrinaTracker will supply Vanguard 1P solar trackers for solar plants in Jizzakh and Samarkand. Once connected to the grid, the two plants will generate 1.1 TWh of renewable electricity annually, reducing CO₂ emissions by about 110,000 tons per year. This is the second project where TrinaTracker exclusively supplies Uzbekistan, following the first PV plant project in 2021 – demonstrating the excellent performance and industry recognition of TrinaTracker products in the local market.

At the booth, TrinaTracker also demonstrated its exclusive rapid installation method. A 3-meter-long demonstration table vividly simulated on-site installation and maintenance. The patented TrinaClamp allows quick and easy module installation, reducing installation time by up to 20%. The globally patented spherical bearing offers up to 30° adjustability, relieving additional stress caused by system deformation. In addition, the industry’s first VR experience of a smart PV plant became a highlight, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a desert PV plant using 3D full-scene simulation.

2.2 Grace Solar: AI+ Empowerment

Grace Solar appeared at SNEC 2023 with the theme “AI+ Empowerment, Extraordinary Light,” launching a new generation of digital technology combined with PV mounting products. Grace Solar’s General Manager of Sales, Ms. Li Ruoying, was invited to speak at the “Smart O&M and Grid Integration for PV Plants” forum, delivering a presentation titled “Upgrading AI Intelligent Control in Trackers.” As AI intelligent control technology continues to advance, Grace Solar integrates AI with PV plant O&M to enable remote monitoring, diagnostics, and more precise tracking, significantly reducing maintenance costs and achieving human-machine-device interconnection.

2.3 Mibet: Heavy Launch of Multi-Point Drive Hybrid Tracker

Mibet unveiled its “Multi-Point Drive Hybrid Tracker” at SNEC 2023. It uses a multi-point parallel drive solution combining slewing drives and push rods, effectively solving the risk of main-shaft asynchronous torsion and wind vibration caused by long single cantilevers in vertical 2-row configurations. The product incorporates the latest AI algorithms to track the sun’s altitude angle, increasing the perpendicular component of sunlight on the panel, thereby boosting power generation. It also features monitoring, diagnostics, and data analysis functions, enabling real-time plant-wide equipment monitoring, automatic fault identification, protection, and alarm.

2.4 Cosen: From CSP to Tracking PV

As a leader in China’s concentrated solar power (CSP) industry, Cosen leveraged over 10 years of experience in designing, developing, manufacturing, and operating high-precision smart tracking products to develop the Zhisheng series of tracking PV mounts. This series uses a multi-point parallel drive and high-strength structural design, supporting mechanical/electrical synchronous drive. The load on the mount is more evenly distributed, and it is compatible with all mono- and bifacial modules. The product incorporates self-developed intelligent tracking algorithms with terrain-adaptive tracking capability, achieving more precise control and increasing plant power generation by 8–15%.

2.5 Other Highlights

Several other companies also showcased their latest achievements. Akcome Metal held a launch ceremony for its SMART-P push-rod tracker series under the theme “Boundless Light, Smart Future.” Jingzhao Energy introduced single-row single-axis, double-row tracking, and multi-point drive tracking systems, all independently developed, capable of increasing power generation by up to 30% when paired with bifacial modules. Kseng presented distributed PV mounting solutions, the Intelligent Light tracking solution, and BIPV products. Jiangsu Guoqiang Xingsheng exhibited its GQ-T Chaoyang series trackers. Ruizhi Zhonghe showcased its flexible full-drive tracking system. Xiamen Jingsheng displayed its Horizon series trackers and other new products.

III. Technological Innovation: AI Intelligent Control and High-Precision Algorithms Take Center Stage

From this year’s SNEC exhibition, it is evident that AI intelligent control technology is profoundly reshaping the PV tracking system technology landscape. Grace Solar systematically elaborated on the upgrade path of AI intelligent control in trackers. Mibet’s multi-point drive hybrid tracker also incorporates the latest AI algorithms to improve power generation.

In academia, May 2023 saw a number of important research results. On May 15, the top international journal Applied Energy published a paper titled “Innovative sensorless dual-axis solar tracking system using particle filter.” The proposed system requires no historical meteorological data or sun position sensors. A 60-day comparative study under various weather conditions showed a net power generation increase of 20.1% compared to a fixed flat-plate system.

Additionally, on May 26, Beiyang Electric Group completed performance testing of its self-developed PV tracking prototype in Weihai. The product tracks the sun’s position in real time and automatically adjusts the angle and direction, increasing power generation by about 20% compared to traditional fixed systems. Beiyang completed algorithm development in two key areas – tracking structure design and light-intensity tracking – and now holds the core technology.

IV. Major Project News: World’s Largest Single Solar Plant Successfully Operates

On May 31, Dongfang Electronics announced that its PV tracker control system (Tracker SCADA) had been successfully commissioned at the 2.1 GW Al Dhafra PV project in Abu Dhabi. Located in the Al Dhafra region southwest of Abu Dhabi, the plant covers about 20 km² and is the world’s largest single-site solar power plant. It uses approximately 3.5 million solar panels, supplying clean electricity to about 160,000 households in the UAE and reducing CO₂ emissions by 2.4 million tons annually.

The Tracker SCADA achieves real-time data acquisition from more than 29,000 PV trackers, with I/O points reaching 600,000 – a scale unprecedented in China or abroad. The system precisely adjusts tracker angles based on sun position and weather conditions, optimizing panel tilt and orientation to capture maximum solar energy. In severe weather (wind, sand, rain, snow, hail), it provides precise control to greatly reduce the risk of damage. The system also sends analytical information in real time to cleaning robots, enabling fully automatic control.