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If you put the panels in a diagonal (NW - SE), and you rotate each panel on its vertical axis, the need for space would be limited to a series of circles the diameter of the panel width.

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No expert on the topic but surely a manually rotated system achieves the benefits of tracking without the overhead of installation and maintenance for an automatic system. As long as the panels are easily reverted to default position when no one can go and rotate them through the day (thinking domestic setup in the garden).

Plenty of people have gardens and land that is tended to multiple times through the day anyway (for gardening, animals, workshop activity etc).

> the need for space would be limited to a series of circles the diameter of the panel width.

Now your panels start shading one another.

Maybe I wasn't clear, but in the precise NS and WE configurations, there should be no shading.

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