Tennessee-based solar equipment provider Create Energy has announced that its subsidiary, SOL Components, has been granted a U.S. patent for a specialized solar panel rail system.
The patent, titled “Solar Panel Rail,” was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Sept. 1, 2026 and covers the mechanical design behind SOL Components’ QuickGrip technology, which aims to cut labor requirements and eliminate loose hardware during mechanical tracker installation.
The patent filing details a hat roll-formed high-strength light-gauge steel rail engineered to mount directly to tracker torque tubes. A key feature of the design involves preassembled panel rail brackets that are nested during shipping and unfold on site without tools.
Once unfolded, the brackets allow an installer to secure the rail to the torque tube using a single carriage bolt across the bottom of the tube (shown in Figure 3 of the patent document, below).
According to the patent, this single-bolt interface eliminates the need for installers to slide hardware over long sections of tube or balance separate nuts and bolts from above. The bracket design also automatically squares the panel rail against the torque tube, removing the need for workers to align rails using a carpenter’s square or straight edge.
Mechanical indexing for module installation
To position and secure photovoltaic modules, the QuickGrip rail includes stamped indexing flanges and tabs that are integrated directly into the roll-formed profile.
The indexing flanges box in a module frame along the short-side direction (north-south on a single-axis tracker), while adjacent tabs hold the frame in the perpendicular direction. The flanges and tabs combine to create a way for modules to hang in place before final fastening.
The mounting system supports modules in multiple tracker architectures, including one-in-portrait (1P) and two-in-portrait (2P) layouts (as illustrated in the figures above). For 2P deployments, multiple QuickGrip rails can be joined to connect to modules on both sides of the torque tube.
Further details
Create Energy says the QuickGrip rails can reduce tracker and electrical balance of systems (eBOS) installation time by as much as 50% when paired with the company’s integrated eBOS solution, which is built into its single-axis tracking system.
“This patent reflects the ingenuity and dedication of our engineering, product development, and operations teams,” said Create Energy CEO Dean Solon in a statement. “Innovation is at the core of our mission, and securing this patent demonstrates our continued investment in technologies that improve solar deployment, reduce costs, and create long-term value for customers and partners.”
SOL Systems is a recent addition to the Create Energy ecosystem. The latter company announced the acquisition of the former in June, 2026, saying at the time it planned to integrate the SOL Systems tracker components into its OnTrack suite of solutions, which provides a “one-stop shop” of equipment and materials for solar developers.
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