KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): Global photovoltaics (PV) tracker shipments grew by 28% in 2023 to 92 gigawatts direct current (GWdc), reflecting a strong year for utility-scale solar in most regions across the world. The top ten vendors accounted for 90% of the global market share, according to Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac).

In its “Global solar PV tracker market share” report 2024 released on Thursday (July 25), WoodMac said that for the ninth consecutive year, Nextracker and Array Technologies continued to lead the market, taking the first and second positions in the global tracker market, respectively.

It said they were followed by GameChange Solar, who made it to #3 in the rankings for the first time.

WoodMac said Nextracker extended its lead over Array with 20% annual growth, while GameChange achieved an impressive 55% growth to close the gap between second and third positions.

It said these three US-based manufacturers combined for more than 50% of global tracker shipments, and 90% of the United States market.

WoodMac said that the United States, the largest individual market for PV trackers, experienced a 10% year-over-year (y-o-y) increase to over 37 GWdc of shipments in 2023.

It said this was helped by the Inflation Reduction Act incentives, which kickstarted construction for many new large-scale projects across the country, according to the report.

In Europe, Spain was the largest market in the region with more than 50% of the continent’s demand.

PV Hardware (PVH) ranked first in shipments for Europe and second in Spain, behind Solar Steel.

The two vendors were joined in the global top 10 by two other Spanish manufacturers, Soltec and Axial.

All these companies capitalised on both domestic and international demand, particularly in the rest of Europe and Latin America.

By contrast, the PV tracker market in China fell to 4.3 GWdc in 2023, despite the country exceeding 140 GWdc of utility-scale solar installations in 2023.

Instead, Chinese manufacturers experienced much higher demand for fixed-tilt products, as low installation costs were a main driver for developers in China.

Despite this drop in Chinese demand, TrinaTracker and Arctech still rose into the global top six by expanding their regional presence in the Middle East, central Asia, and Latin America.