Innovators and Influencers: Ron Corio, a pioneer of solar tracker reliability

By Stephen Smith, co-founder of Solvida Energy Group and Solvida Design + Engineering

The PV tracker business is not for the faint of heart. Even by the standards set by other volatile segments of the solar value chain, the tracker market is fiercely competitive with razor-thin margins. Survival requires world-class engineering, world-class customer service and, most importantly, world-class leadership and vision. Ron Corio, the CEO and founder of Array Technologies, fits that bill and has proved it over his firm’s nearly 30 years in the tracking business.

In 1989, Ron founded Array with a passion for solar engineering and mechanical design. He started the company with a vision to create a premier tracker system that could squeeze as much energy out of every PV module as possible, while requiring zero scheduled maintenance and providing the highest uptime in the market. Ron was determined to commercialize and scale an elegantly engineered product that would be resilient in the face of meteorological and topographical challenges. That initial engineering achievement, pioneered in the harsh desert of San Luis County, Colorado, in 2005, eventually developed into Array’s award-winning DuraTrack line of solar trackers.

Now in its third iteration, the DuraTrack HZ v3 is the top choice for PV project owners around the world. The v3 is the culmination of years of performance and design choices, and reflects a well of solar engineering and market experience unrivaled by any of Array’s competitors.

I’ve worked closely with Ron for many years. It is his attention to detail that has made Array into the well-respected and innovative leading company that it is today. The DuraTrack is the gold standard by which all trackers are judged. Array pushes other firms to up their games trying to keep up. That leads to better project economics and ultimately more solar power installed across the world. That’s been Ron’s influence on the global solar industry.

Today, thanks to Ron’s leadership, Array is establishing footholds in markets like Australia and the Middle East—well ahead of the competition. Yet again, Ron is out in front leading the industry into new frontiers.