The advent of the era of grid parity has prompted investors to adopt various new technologies to reduce the LCOE. Solar tracker, a new technology that can reduce the cost of electricity, has been favored in the past years. Generally, it can be divided into horizontal single-axis tracking system, tilted single-axis tracking system and dual-axis tracking system as the three common types.
The solar trackers can indeed increase the power generation, however, not all places, the tracking system can have a good effect. So what to consider when choose solar tracker for actual use?
一：High direct normal irradiance
Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) is the amount of solar radiation received per unit area by a surface that is always held perpendicular (or normal) to the rays that come in a straight line from the direction of the sun at its current position in the sky. Typically, you can maximize the amount of irradiance annually received by a surface by keeping it normal to incoming radiation. This quantity is of particular interest to concentrating solar thermal installations and installations that track the position of the sun.
The proportion increase of power generation has a good correlation with the direct radiation ratio of the project site. Generally speaking, the higher the direct ratio, the more obvious increase in power generation. Solar tracker is meaningful only where the proportion of direct radiation is large.
二：Latitudes
Latitude has a great influence on the power generation of solar trackers. In low and medium latitude areas, horizontal single-axis will have a better increasing effect, while in high-latitude areas, its effects are not obvious. And tilted single-axis or dual-axis tracking can have a obviously increase in high-latitude areas. Only from the perspective of the increase in power generation, low-latitude areas are suitable for horizontal single-axis solar trackers; high-latitude areas are suitable for tilted single-axis or dual-axis solar trackers.
In addition to considering the increase in power generation, the adoption of solar trackers will also increase the costs compared to fixed brackets, including bracket costs, floor space, and operation and maintenance costs. Especially for high latitude areas, the use of horizontal single-axis solar tracker has a slight increase in floor space compared to fixed brackets. However, the floor space of the tilted single-axis and dual-axis type is almost twice that of the fixed type.
On the whole, the horizontal single-axis solar tracker has achieved a relatively good balance in terms of radiation reception and costs, so it is the most widely used. Antaisolar offers innovative horizontal single-axis solar trackers, both for 1P or 2P configuration, and it has widely applied for solar plants for its great stability and high power generation efficiency. More details at solar trackers: https://www.antaisolar.com/tracking-system_c1