ARRAY Technologies debuts new foundations for solar trackers

Solar tracker maker ARRAY Technologies has introduced Atlas, a new line of foundation systems built to work with its trackers. Solar trackers are mounting structures that tilt panels to follow the sun across the sky, and how they're anchored to the ground affects installation cost and reliability. Atlas comes in two versions: Atlas I is meant for standard soil and uses a driven metal pile connected to the tracker through an adjustable steel piece that can correct small errors in how deep or level the pile was driven. Atlas II is meant for tougher soil conditions and uses foundations like helical piles or ground screws (screw-in anchors) with a two-legged support that allows more adjustment in height and side-to-side positioning.

This is large-scale solar equipment news, aimed at utility and commercial solar projects rather than home rooftop systems. It does not involve residential installations, so there is no direct action for homeowners here. The company behind it says the goal is to make big solar farm projects faster and cheaper to build by engineering the foundation and tracker as one system, rather than relying on generic steel piles not designed to work together.

If you are considering solar for your own home, this development would not change what you install or how much it costs, since rooftop solar does not use ground-mounted tracker systems like these. It is more relevant to companies building large solar farms.