FTC Solar enters Australian tracker market

Share

After it designed over a dozen utility-scale projects with hundreds of megawatts of accumulated capacity Down Under, U.S.-based FTC Solar said it was expanding its local presence to focus on the delivery of its new Voyager single-axis tracker.

As it believes regional offices provide the best support to regional customers, the company has announced the opening of a Brisbane-based office.

Australia’s solar industry has grown exponentially in the last few years and is poised to continue this trajectory,” said FTC Solar’s CEO, Tony Etnyre. “FTC Solar’s experience in designing large-scale PV projects combined with our industry-leading tracker technology positions us to enable Australia’s continued renewable energy growth.”

The company says it has over 4 GW of worldwide projects under its belt with a range of applications including fixed ground mount, tracker, canopy and rooftop. Its product and service portfolio includes trackers, PV design software, and engineering services.

FTC Solar’s goal is to strengthen its presence in Australia to ensure higher uptake of its new tracker technology. The firm says its single-axis tracker Voyager recently achieved Independent Engineering compliance for key Australian codes and standards, and it has signed commitment letters with customers to deliver 190 MWp of the product in 2019.

“The FTC team that brings the Voyager tracker to market does so with the experience of designing and installing GWs of third-party single-axis tracker projects in addition to delivering over 1 GW of FTC Solar’s AP90 tracker,” the company says in a statement.

After the market exploded in 2017 exceeding 1.4 GW with the technology being deployed in more than 90% of plants under construction, Australia’s appetite for trackers has continued to grow.

Having high irradiance and areas of flat land particularly suitable for single-axis trackers, their use has gained momentum in Australia, particularly as the nation’s solar project pipeline expanded. Tasked with maximizing energy capture, trackers are also often installed at a growing number of Australia’s microgrid project, which are usually deployed as a substitute for network upgrades.

The leading market players in the Australian marketplace are two U.S. suppliers: Array Technologies and Nextracker.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

Popular content

1.4 GW of new renewable generation gets go-ahead for construction
11 November 2024 Investment in large-scale renewable energy generation continues to trend upwards in Australia with more than 1.4 GW of new solar and wind projects, wo...