If you’ve explored large-scale solar power plants, you may have noticed a mounting system that differs dramatically from traditional designs: instead of dense steel purlins and columns, it features taut steel cables and slender poles. From a distance, it resembles a vast net-like structure, effortlessly supporting expansive solar panels. This is a Cable Structure solar mounting system, also commonly referred to as a flexible mounting system or a prestressed cable-net structure.
So, what exactly is this? And what makes it special? Simply put, a Cable Structure solar mounting system is an innovative support structure that uses high-strength cables (such as steel wire ropes or steel tie rods) instead of traditional steel as the primary load-bearing components. Its core principle resembles familiar structures like tents or suspension bridges: cables are pre-tensioned (prestressed) to form a taut, stable spatial framework that supports and secures solar panels.
Compared to traditional rigid, bulky supports, the defining feature of cable structures is their flexibility. This characteristic delivers several practical advantages:
First, it easily spans greater distances. Traditional mounts require pile foundations and columns every few meters, whereas cable structures can achieve spans of tens or even hundreds of meters using portal towers or anchored foundations at both ends. This makes them particularly suitable for large-scale, continuous solar panel installations where numerous columns would be cumbersome.
Second, cable structures adapt better to complex terrain. When encountering undulating mountains, ponds, marshes, or factory roofs with obstacles, the earthwork excavation and foundation construction for traditional supports become highly cumbersome and costly. Leveraging its flexibility, the cable structure can cleverly adapt to topographical variations by adjusting cable length and tension, enabling construction that “follows the terrain.” This significantly reduces site leveling work and minimizes disruption to the original ecosystem.
Furthermore, cable structures significantly reduce steel consumption, offering greater economic and environmental benefits. Since the primary load-bearing elements are high-strength steel cables—whose material strength far exceeds that of ordinary steel—they can support equivalent loads with minimal material usage. This directly lowers steel costs and transportation expenses while lending the entire project a lighter, more aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Naturally, this design presents unique challenges, chief among them being sensitivity to wind loads. Given the structure’s lightweight and expansive nature, wind resistance design becomes paramount in cable-net construction. A superior cable-net solution ensures absolute safety and stability in high winds through precise wind engineering calculations, rational cable-net layout, and reliable tensioning systems or techniques.
cable-supported solar racking systems are not intended to completely replace traditional racks but rather to offer an optimized solution for solar power plant construction. It functions like an “intelligent net” woven for solar panels, excelling at addressing core challenges such as large spans, complex terrain, cost reduction, and efficiency enhancement. If you have a large parking lot, wastewater treatment plant, barren hillside, or fish pond and wish to develop a solar project, cable-supported solar racking is undoubtedly an option worth exploring and considering.
