A big, not so simple clock moving a heavy array in all weather conditions, having to deal with constant changes in humidity, temperature, thermal stress, potential salinity, wear and tear, lubrication, gears, jams, etc.
A large reason solar is winning out over wind is because the lack of moving parts drastically simplifies installation and maintenance. A solar tracker isn't as complex or high up as a wind turbine, but it's still much more complex than a standard roof or ground mounted array that doesn't move.
Trackers made sense back in the 70s and 80s when solar PV tech was still new, but now it's far cheaper to just add more module capacity than to try to dynamically optimize each module's facing through the day.
alt Hacker News
A big, not so simple clock moving a heavy array in all weather conditions, having to deal with constant changes in humidity, temperature, thermal stress, potential salinity, wear and tear, lubrication, gears, jams, etc.
A large reason solar is winning out over wind is because the lack of moving parts drastically simplifies installation and maintenance. A solar tracker isn't as complex or high up as a wind turbine, but it's still much more complex than a standard roof or ground mounted array that doesn't move.
Trackers made sense back in the 70s and 80s when solar PV tech was still new, but now it's far cheaper to just add more module capacity than to try to dynamically optimize each module's facing through the day.