FTC Solar ships trackers for 330 MW Fraser Coast hybrid project
FTC Solar (Nasdaq: FTCI) has commenced shipments of its solar tracker systems for the Fraser Coast project in Queensland, Australia, a 330 MW solar installation paired with 180 MW of battery storage. The project is being developed by Global Power Generation (GPG), the generation arm of Spanish multinational Naturgy, and is expected to reach commercial operation in 2028.
GPG describes Fraser Coast as its largest renewable energy project in Australia and its second hybrid solar-plus-storage development in the country. The project was awarded to FTC Solar in March 2025, though the timeline was subsequently revised, with a formal notice to proceed issued in the second quarter of 2026. Tracker production and shipments are now under way; the contract value was added to FTC Solar's order backlog in 2025, though neither company disclosed the specific value of the tracker supply agreement.
The technology
FTC Solar is supplying what it describes as a one-panel-portrait (1P) terrain-following tracker design. Solar trackers increase energy yield at utility-scale installations by continuously orienting panels toward the sun throughout the day, typically lifting output by 20 to 30 per cent compared with fixed-tilt systems. FTC Solar's terrain-following configuration allows the tracker rows to follow natural ground contours rather than requiring extensive earthworks to achieve a level installation plane.
David Santo Tomás, GPG Australia's construction director, said the design "significantly reduced the need for civil work while saving valuable time and costs during installation." FTC Solar's chief executive Anthony Carroll noted that the company's stow capabilities enable shorter structural foundations, reducing both embedded materials and labour. These are meaningful cost levers on a project of this scale, where civil preparation and foundations typically represent a substantial share of balance-of-plant expenditure.
Market context
Australia has set a target of 82 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 under federal policy, a goal that has driven a material acceleration in utility-scale solar and storage procurement across Queensland and the other eastern states. The National Electricity Market is absorbing large volumes of variable renewable generation, making co-located battery storage increasingly standard for new solar developments: the 180 MW storage component at Fraser Coast is consistent with a broader industry shift toward hybrid project structures that can provide dispatchable capacity to the grid.
GPG and Naturgy have assembled a significant Australian portfolio. GPG's own figures put its Australian position at 1.3 GW in operation, 0.5 GW under construction, and a 2 GW development pipeline. Kuwait Investment Authority holds a 25 per cent stake in GPG's Australian operations alongside Naturgy's 75 per cent majority. That sovereign-wealth backing provides a capital base well suited to the long development cycles of infrastructure-scale renewable projects.
The solar tracker market itself is competitive, with FTC Solar competing against larger peers including Nextracker, Array Technologies and Arctech Solar. Winning repeat work from a developer of GPG's scale is a commercially significant reference for FTC Solar, which has been building its international project backlog beyond its core US market.
Forward look
The key milestones from here are the project's mechanical completion and grid connection ahead of the targeted 2028 commercial operation date. FTC Solar did not disclose whether Fraser Coast contributes to any updated revenue guidance. Investors tracking the company will also be watching whether the revised and finalised project schedule holds, given the earlier timeline slippage from mid-2025 tracker production to a 2026 notice to proceed.