Array Technologies, the global pioneer of solar tracking technology, is continuing to grow business at a steadfast pace Down Under. The company entered the Australian market just 18 months ago, and has since been awarded 15 projects exceeding one gigawatt (GW) of installed capacity, making it the fastest tracker supplier to reach the milestone in the Australian marketplace. Last week, GTM Research released its annual tracker report noting the company has taken an impressive 55 percent market share in Australia.
“Australia is an exciting market for us here at Array. The pace at which the country is embracing solar demonstrates how cost-competitive utility scale solar in Australia is today,” said Jeff Krantz, vice president at Array Technologies, “We have embraced our leadership role in the market, leveraging our 29-years of experience to help to set the standard for bankable solar PV in Australia.”
Australia is one of the most promising solar markets globally for solar tracker deployment. The Australian Photovoltaic Institute estimates that a pipeline of around 35 GW of utility scale solar PV projects are in various stages of development. On the back of this, the growth in the demand for solar trackers is unparalleled: 83 percent of utility scale projects currently being installed in the country are deploying solar tracking technology.
The 15 projects in which Array is currently involved cover a wide range of climactic zones, each bringing with it unique installation and design challenges. Seven of the 15 projects Array is currently supplying are in Queensland, five in New South Wales, two in Victoria, and one in Western Australia. One particular project highlight is the 148 MW Ross River project in Northern Queensland. The utility-scale project is located 16 km north of Townsville, in an area classified as Wind Region C – making it prone to tropical cyclones.
The Array DuraTrack HZ v3 can withstand both the sustained high winds and extreme wind gusts, even exceeding 200 km/h, in the event of a Tropical Cyclone. It has attained AS 11.70 certification for Wind Region C operation. Additionally, its passive wind mitigation system vastly reduces the risk of failure in the event of high winds.
Alongside its robust design and operation, Array Technologies says its success in Australia is due to its architecture being particularly well suited to the Australian solar market. In comparison with other solar tracker architectures, the DuraTrack HZ v3 has 150 times fewer components, resulting in a massive reduction of potential failure points, and vastly lower operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. Secondly, its simple design architecture makes it the fastest tracker to install, creating significant cost savings for installation.
“The whole system is so well thought out and makes the installation an extremely simple process,” said Trevor Ingold, Site Supervisor at Tranex Solar Pty Ltd.that installed a 600-acre solar project using Array Technologies’ trackers in Parkes, New South Wales.
Array anticipates continuing to grow its market share in Australia, with newly expanded offices, on-the-ground engineering, logistics support, and a substantial pipeline for 2019.
