99% of New U.S. Solar Projects Use Single-Axis Trackers: Report

A latest report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory claimed that 99% of new utility-scale solar projects in the U.S. now feature single-axis trackers. The report said that single-axis tracking adds more than five percentage points to capacity factors in regions with the strongest solar resources.

The report said that utility-scale solar continued to lead solar deployment in 2024 (80% of new solar and 54% of all new capacity).

“Trackers can sustain some higher upfront costs because they deliver more energy per installed capacity. Historically, tracking projects have often been more expensive, but the cost premium has fluctuated and at times even reversed (like in 2016 and now in 2020),” the report said.

It also added, “Beginning in 2020, tracker installations grew rapidly. By 2024, 99% of all new capacity used trackers, and fixed-tilt has only been used at particularly challenging sites. Tracking projects ($1.61/WAC or $1.22/WDC) had lower overall costs than fixed-tilt projects ($1.90/WAC or $1.35/WDC) in 2024.”

It said that fixed-tilt PV is now primarily built at lower insolation sites, while tracking PV is increasingly deployed in those same areas (note the decline in its 20th percentile). Exceptions are fixed-tilt installations in windy regions (Florida), on brownfields and landfill sites, and on particularly challenging terrain. Only 2 out of 13 of these new 2024 projects have a southwestern orientation to maximize evening production.

The report also said that interest in hybridization (pairing PV with batteries) continued to grow in 2024 (33 new projects). All-in battery CapEx increased to $458/kWh in 2024. Added costs for a PV system grew with greater storage capacity ratio (0.57) and duration (3.3h) and were $1/WAC-PV in 2024 — equivalent to an LCOE adder of $25/MWh (after tax credits), it added.