United Kingdom Solar Tracker Market Overview, 2030

The use of solar trackers in the UK has increased, especially in big solar farms in Scotland, southern England, and other areas. Due to its vast stretches of underutilized land, Scotland has shown a growing interest in incorporating single-axis trackers into solar initiatives in order to maximize energy production in difficult weather situations. Although traditional tracker systems, made for sunny climates, face operational difficulties in the UK due to its erratic weather and frequent cloud cover, recent technological improvements have modified trackers for diffused light conditions, making them more and more practical in the UK setting. The debate between using single-axis and dual-axis tracker systems has been one of the main topics of discussion in the UK solar market because of their lower cost, mechanical simplicity, and capacity to increase electricity output by 15–25%, single-axis trackers have become preferred for utility-scale projects. On the other hand, despite their greater yield potential, dual-axis trackers are more complicated and costly to deploy widely, especially when compared to the UK's low levels of direct sunshine compared to Mediterranean or desert climates. In brownfields and old industrial areas, where land restoration and renewable energy development go hand in hand, trackers have established a strategic niche. By transforming otherwise abandoned land into productive clean energy areas, the installation of tracker-equipped solar farms on brownfield sites supports environmental restoration while also advancing the UK's sustainability objectives. The function of solar trackers in backing the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging is a particularly encouraging trend. Solar farms with trackers are becoming more and more prevalent in providing clean electricity to EV charging networks, particularly in rural and semi-rural areas where the grid infrastructure may be sparse, as the UK moves toward electric mobility.

According to the research report, ""UK Solar Tracker Market Overview, 2030,"" published by Bonafide Research, the UK Solar Tracker market is expected to reach a market size of more than USD 350 Million by 2030. With its growth trajectory closely related to the nation's renewable energy objectives and decarbonization commitments, the UK solar tracker industry is seeing a consistent rise trajectory. This expansion is being fueled by the growing number of utility-scale solar installations and the effort to improve the efficiency of solar projects, especially on restricted or variable land throughout the UK. The UK's 2035 decarbonization roadmap, which requires the electricity sector to be fully powered by net-zero emissions by that year, is one of the main market drivers. Solar energy will be essential to accomplishing this aim, and tracker systems provide a viable way to increase generation output without requiring more land, which makes them particularly appealing for big commercial and utility endeavors. Furthermore, their capacity to boost outputs makes them very complementary to battery energy storage systems (BESS), which are also growing quickly throughout the UK grid. The increasing number of collaborations between solar developers and grid operators has been a notable trend in recent years. These collaborations aim to improve grid flexibility and balance in order to guarantee that intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar, reliably contribute to the national grid. These grid alliances are becoming more and more inclusive of farms using trackers, which optimizes output during daylight hours and improves power delivery profiles. Among the key market players, Light source BP is one of the top developers adding trackers to their extensive projects both in the UK and overseas. In particular, in agrivoltaics or land-restricted urban contexts, the pairing of solar trackers with vertical PV systems is a notable emerging trend.

UK Solar Tracker Market by Axis Type is divided into Single-Axis Tracker and Dual-Axis Tracker. In the UK solar tracker industry, single-axis trackers are the most common type, especially in utility-scale ground-mounted installations. These systems, which are made to rotate along a single horizontal axis, track the sun's path from east to west throughout the day and often produce an energy production increase of 15–25% when compared to fixed-tilt arrays. Due to their cost-effectiveness and mechanical simplicity, single-axis trackers have become the popular choice for big installations, particularly in converted industrial areas, brownfields, and former agricultural land. Single-axis trackers are a valuable tool for developers looking to maximize electricity production in a nation where land is frequently scarce, as they help developers work towards the UK's 2035 decarbonization goals by providing an effective way to do so without needing more land. In contrast, in the UK, there is just a small market for dual-axis trackers, which can monitor the sun's movement from east to west and change its vertical angle to match the sun's elevation. These systems can achieve energy gains of up to 35–40%, but the higher upfront costs, increased maintenance requirements, and increased mechanical complexity make them economically unfeasible for widespread use, particularly in locations with high diffuse solar irradiance, such as many areas of the UK. Dual-axis trackers are mostly utilized in demonstration projects, research projects, and specialized business installations where each extra kilowatt of power produced is crucial. However, innovation in this market is ongoing. In some mixed-use or agrivoltaics projects, dual-axis trackers are sometimes used to maximize light capture throughout seasonal changes, especially in projects that use bifacial solar panels or integrated energy storage systems.

In the UK solar tracker market, the majority of tracker installations nationwide employ solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. Due to their versatility, decreasing costs, and consistent gains in efficiency, PV panels, particularly bifacial and monocrystalline modules, have established themselves as the cornerstone of the UK's solar energy development. Tracker systems, particularly single-axis trackers, are frequently used in big ground-mounted projects in order to optimize the output of these arrays, even under the frequently cloudy and diffuse sunlight conditions in the UK. Furthermore, the use of trackers in conjunction with bifacial PV modules has become more common because they can capture reflected light from beneath the panels, increasing energy output. Due to its modularity, PV technology is perfect for a wide range of UK applications, such as brownfield land redevelopment and agrivoltaics systems. However, the UK industry has very little use of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology. High amounts of direct sunlight are necessary for CSP, which is more prevalent in desert areas like North Africa, the Middle East, or some regions of Spain. Its moderate climate, frequent cloud cover, and low direct normal irradiance (DNI), the UK is not a good place to use CSP for residential applications. The UK's emphasis on grid flexibility and distributed renewable energy contrasts with the fact that CSP plants are often huge, centralized systems. In a similar vein, the United Kingdom has only used the concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology in a few trials. CPV systems can attain great efficiencies by focusing sunlight onto small, cutting-edge solar cells, but they need both consistent direct sunlight and accurate dual-axis tracking, which makes them technically complex and expensive in the atmospheric conditions of the UK.

Ground-mounted installations are by far the most common use for tracking systems in the UK solar tracker market, particularly in utility-scale solar farms that are spread throughout the nation's rural and semi-rural areas. In accordance with the UK's environmental restoration objectives, these facilities, which usually utilize single-axis trackers, are located on former industrial areas, brownfield sites, or converted agricultural lands. Ground-mounted systems with trackers significantly increase energy production, often by 15–25%, and enable project developers to optimize the usage of the land at their disposal. Ground-mounted tracker systems have become a strategic tool for raising energy output without taking up more land as the UK seeks to achieve its objective of a net-zero power industry by 2035, making them perfect for locations where land may be scarce or disputed. These systems are becoming more and more integrated with battery energy storage options to help stabilize grid output during times of fluctuating production. On the other hand, the majority of the UK's markets for residential and small-to-medium commercial uses are covered by rooftop solar panels, while trackers are not often used on rooftops. The structural constraints of UK buildings, which frequently include angled roofs, heritage conservation considerations, and restricted space, it is not feasible to install mechanical trackers in most urban settings. The price of installing rooftop trackers often outweighs the marginal increase in energy production, especially in the UK's diffuse light climate. With that said, there has been growing interest in flat-roof tracker applications, particularly in the commercial and industrial sectors. Large distribution centers, logistics warehouses, and factory roofs provide possibilities for lightweight, flexible tracking systems, enabling firms to optimize onsite renewable energy production and balance high electricity demands.

Considered in this report
• Historic Year: 2019
• Base year: 2024
• Estimated year: 2025
• Forecast year: 2030

Aspects covered in this report
• Solar Tracker Market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Technology
• Solar Photovoltaic (PV)
• Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
• Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV)

By Installation Type
• Ground-Mounted
• Rooftop-Mounted Show more