The Economics of Tracking

More Energy than Fixed Systems
Fixed photovoltaic systems usually have modules tilted toward the arc the sun makes in order to increase the kWh energy production (example: tilt to the south in the northern hemisphere). There is an optimal tilt angle for each location to maximize the annual energy production. While fixed tilt increases energy production, there is more energy available to capture if the modules track the sun throughout the day. Single-axis trackers, like the RayTracker GC, provide a significant energy increase while being low cost and simple. In the example shown here for Sacramento, CA modeled with PV Watts, RayTracker GC gives you a 38% increase in energy production over non-tilted PV panels, and a 23% increase over flat panels tilted at latitude.




Reduced Cost For the Same Energy
There is a common misconception that tracking systems add to the cost of a solar project. In fact, tracking systems reduce the cost of a system required to produce a fixed amount of energy. This is because for a typical installation in California, a project developer eliminates the need for 20 - 25% more solar panels, racking, inverters, foundations, panel wiring, and associated labor. For a 100MW installation, the resulting savings could be $50MM.




Better Return on Investment
Implementing tracking in your solar installation improves the overall Return on Investment (ROI) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) due to the additional energy produced by tracking. It is well known that there is a significant improvement to total system IRR that is enabled by tracking systems as shown in the graph. However, if we look at the IRR on additional investment of adding tracking to a typical system of a given number of kW, we see that return is very dramatic — 25% to 30% for a typical project. This return increases where there are higher electricity rates.