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Solar Panel Ground Mount Rack Industry News Review
2023-04-07
In 2023, the global solar panel ground mount rack industry experienced rapid growth driven by policies, technological innovation and market competition. Tracking racks became the mainstream of the market, with a stable pattern of leading enterprises, and localized production and material innovation became core trends of the industry.
I. Explosive Growth in Global Shipments and Market Size
According to Wood Mackenzie, global shipments of solar tracking racks reached 92GW in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 28%, demonstrating the strong momentum of the utility-scale PV market. The market is highly concentrated, with the top 10 suppliers accounting for 90% of the global share. Among them, Nextracker (23%), Array Technologies (16%) and GameChange Solar (12%) from the US continued to lead, with a combined share of over 50%.
The global solar panel ground mount rack market expanded simultaneously, with the market size expected to exceed $20 billion in 2023. Regional markets showed differentiation: as the largest single market, the US recorded shipments of over 37GW, up 10% year-on-year, boosted by large-scale projects under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA); Spain led the European market, accounting for more than 50% of Europe’s tracking rack demand; as the world’s largest PV market, China added over 140GW of utility-scale projects in 2023, with the tracking rack market reaching 4.3GW.
II. Technological Innovation Drives Cost Reduction, Efficiency Improvement and Standard Upgrading
Technological innovation has become the core competitiveness of the industry. Bifacial modules + intelligent tracking systems have become mainstream solutions, significantly improving power generation efficiency. In October 2023, Chinese leader Arctech put into operation a new multi-point drive tracking system featuring a modular design, which reduces steel consumption by 25% compared with traditional racks. Coupled with corrosion-resistant coating technology, its service life is extended to more than 30 years. The accessories sector has also been upgraded simultaneously. Shanghai Detroit Group launched the K-series anti-loosening nuts specially for PV, achieving zero maintenance through the wedge locking mechanism, which has been applied to large-scale projects in Yunnan, Xinjiang and other regions.
Policies and standards continued to be standardized. The newly revised Technical Requirements for Photovoltaic Power Station Racks issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development was officially implemented, adding structural strength specifications for areas with seismic fortification intensity of 8 degrees, requiring third-party fatigue test reports for connecting components, and accelerating the iteration of accessory products.
III. Localized Production and Material Innovation Become Industry Focus
The trend of global industrial chain localization has accelerated. Policies such as the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s Net Zero Industry Act have promoted the construction of local production capacity. US local rack production capacity expanded rapidly, with Nextracker establishing its second factory in Nevada during the year; Chinese enterprises accelerated their overseas expansion, with exports to Southeast Asia, Latin America and other regions surging by over 50% year-on-year, becoming an important growth pole.
Material innovation has achieved remarkable results in cost reduction. Zn-Al-Mg coated steel has been widely used in core components such as main shafts and purlins, reducing costs by more than 10% compared with the traditional hot-dip galvanizing process and shortening delivery cycles. China accounts for nearly 50% of the global Zn-Al-Mg coated steel production capacity, promoting its global popularization. Meanwhile, weathering steel has emerged with its advantages of environmental protection and low cost. Enterprises such as Shougang and Baowu have launched high-strength weathering steel products, which can realize 25-year full life cycle maintenance and become a potential direction for the second-generation rack materials.
IV. Enterprise Competition Pattern and Project Updates
Leading enterprises continued to consolidate their advantages. Nextracker maintained a 20% annual growth rate and won an 850MW large-scale power station rack order in Brazil in 2023; GameChange Solar entered the top three for the first time with a 55% annual growth rate, raising its market share to 12%. Chinese enterprises accelerated global layout, with Arctech and Trina Solar ranking among the top five globally with 9% and 6% market shares respectively, enhancing international competitiveness through overseas factory construction and technology export.
Projects in the North American market were accelerated. In July 2023, Ameresco and Valmont deployed a 718kW DC / 500kW AC ground-mounted PV project at the Bristol facility, adopting Valmont’s single-axis tracking system with an annual power generation of over 980,000 kWh. Globally, ground-mounted systems account for approximately 67% of total PV installations, serving as the core installation method for large-scale PV projects.
V. Industry Challenges and Future Trends
The industry faces dual challenges: first, intensified price competition, as the winning bid prices of global PV power stations continued to decline, and falling rack prices squeezed profit margins of midstream enterprises; second, supply chain fluctuations, with global localization policies and volatile raw material prices increasing operational risks for enterprises.
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