NEXTracker remained the leading global PV tracker vendor in 2019, according to WoodMac’s latest tracker vendor rankings, followed by Array Technologies and PV Hardware.
Most of the top PV tracker vendors shipped 1.5 to 2 times as many trackers last year as they did in 2018.
The United States accounted for 50 percent of global tracker shipments in 2019, growing by 226 percent year-over-year, the most growth seen in any region.
The U.S. tracker market
The U.S. tracker market was so robust last year in large part as a result of companies safe-harboring equipment to achieve eligibility for the federal Investment Tax Credit.
Wood Mackenzie saw vendors attribute many more shipments to safe-harboring than initially anticipated. However, even excluding safe-harboring, the U.S. saw tracker market shipments double in 2019.
The ITC safe-harboring provision pulled tracker shipments into 2019 and accounted for between 35 and 40 percent of total shipments in the U.S.
NEXTracker and Array Technologies maintained their respective first- and second-place rankings in the U.S., while PV Hardware took third place. Collectively, they account for four-fifths of the market.
Global tracker landscape
Latin America was the world’s second-largest tracker market last year, led by Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Soltec, STI Norland and NEXTracker were Latin America’s leading tracker vendors last year.
Arctech Solar, NEXTracker and Array Technologies hold the Asia-Pacific region’s top three spots. Australia, the region’s largest market, saw a 10 percent market contraction in 2019. Australia’s utility-scale market declined last year and will continue to do so. As a result, Australia’s tracker market will come to account for a smaller percentage of the APAC region's market.
Globally, the vendor market was slightly less concentrated in 2019 versus 2018, though the top 10 vendors still claim 88 percent of the market.
Ideematec made its way back into the top 10 rankings after having dropped off in 2018. Though still a relatively small player, Ideematec saw the biggest year-over-year growth of any top 10 tracker vendor in 2019, increasing its shipments by a factor of three.
As WoodMac noted last year, tracker prices aren’t expected to decline significantly as the solar PV tracker market grows. This is prompting top vendors to diversify into software and services to maintain a competitive edge.
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Lindsay Cherry is a solar analyst with Wood Mackenzie's solar PV systems and technology team. The full Global Solar PV Tracker Market Share report is available here. (Disclaimer: Wood Mackenzie's primary data collection comes from annual vendor surveys, public filings, project databases and conversations with relevant stakeholders. Where necessary, market-based estimations are made.)