Solar Trackers: Orientation to Sun Position Increases System Value

PV systems, whose modules track the sun’s position (so-called tracking systems), achieve a higher market value than fixed-tilt PV systems. A recent EWI analysis compares two exemplary systems for the year 2024 and shows: The tracked solar system would have achieved a 43 percent higher market value. When considering the net system value (difference between electricity market value and costs for the system & grid), tracking systems deliver more than twice the value contribution compared to fixed-tilt solar systems. Furthermore, by 2030, tracked PV systems could save around 3.2 billion euros in grid expansion costs, as the higher number of full-load hours reduces the capacity requirement for the same solar power feed-in to achieve EEG targets.

In the EWI analysis “Analysis of the System Value of Solar Tracking Systems in Germany,” a team from the Institute of Energy Economics (EWI) at the University of Cologne, commissioned by Nextpower LLC, examines how single-axis tracking systems could increase the system value of solar power. The generation behavior of both systems was mapped and related to the electricity prices of 2024. The analysis was supplemented by a cost analysis and the consideration of the dimensioning of the grid connection.

Higher generation in the “Shoulder Hours” Increase Market Value

A key advantage of tracking systems lies in the temporal distribution of electricity generation. While fixed-tilt systems reach their peak at midday, tracking systems produce significantly more electricity in the so-called “shoulder hours” – in the morning and late afternoon. Since electricity prices are generally higher at these times than during the midday feed-in peak, tracking systems achieve a higher market value (see Figure).

“Although tracked PV systems are more expensive than fixed-tilt systems, the higher market value achieved clearly outweighs this,” says Dr. Nils Namockel, Project Lead at EWI, who authored the analysis together with Philipp Kienscherf and Lisa Restel. This results in a net system value that is more than twice as high as that of conventional systems.

Billion-Euro Savings in Grid Expansion Possible

In addition, tracked PV systems have significantly higher full-load hours. This allows them to utilize the existing grid capacity to a greater extent than fixed-tilt systems. The analysis shows that to achieve EEG targets by 2030 (80 percent renewable share of gross electricity consumption), a theoretically complete deployment of tracking systems compared to fixed-tilt systems could reduce PV capacity by around 23 percent. This reduction could lower grid expansion costs by about 3.2 billion euros by 2030. “Even in light of the currently observed shortage of grid connections, tracking technology can thus represent a lever for a cost-efficient energy transition,” says Namockel.