Credit: Nextracker
Solar tracker developer Nextracker is debuting three new product solutions at RE+ 2023 in Las Vegas next week, each new iterations of existing hardware and software at the company.
The first is NX Horizon Hail Pro, which leverages the existing features of Nextracker’s flagship NX Horizon solar tracking system, including its unique balanced design and independent row architecture. Hail Pro is designed to make NX Horizon stow quicker for hail storms and can stow during grid outages with no operator intervention. The new Hail Pro solution adds automatic stowing using weather service information, hail readiness services and has the option to integrate Hail Pro-75 for stowing at up to 75° for locations subject to extreme hail. Nextracker developed the Hail Pro solution in collaboration with customers, independent engineers and experts from the insurance industry who regularly deal with cases of hail damage.
“Getting insurance in hail prone geographies like Texas is an increasingly challenging issue solar project developers and owners face today,” said Michael Alvarez, COO and co-founder of Longroad Energy. “Advanced technology like Nextracker’s new Hail Pro suite is directionally where our industry needs to be going.”
The second product releasing at RE+ is Nextracker’s latest innovation for hilly sites that increases the capabilities of its NX Horizon XTR terrain-following tracker, which has been deployed in dozens of utility-scale projects since 2019. NX Horizon XTR-1.5 reduces and in some cases eliminates earthwork on extreme terrain sites, without complex joints or additional components. XTR uses shorter piles for foundations that can save thousands of cubic yards of cut and fill, which can accelerate construction schedules, minimize environmental impact and reduce project risk. Minimizing disturbance also prevents long-term soil erosion and preserves habitats.
Nextracker has added a new tracking function to its motion control software, TrueCapture, called Zonal Diffuse, which can enhance energy generation during rapidly changing irradiance conditions. This new technology includes additional high spatial resolution sensing and new control algorithms, adjusting trackers to variations in cloud cover across the entire power plant. Plants equipped with Zonal Diffuse can “chase clouds” for additional gains, without compromising tracking performance during clear sky conditions. Zonal Diffuse complements TrueCapture’s terrain-adaptive “Row-to-Row” tracking mode and “Split Boost,” a tracking optimization algorithm for half-cell modules.
“Our product development priorities are informed by listening to customers and innovating to create value for them,” said Dan Shugar, Nextracker founder and CEO . “The suite of hardware and software technologies launched today benefits customers by accelerating construction, reducing risk in extreme hail and generating more energy in rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. These technologies deliver improved solar project profitability and expand the geographic areas where solar is cost effective, furthering our vision of a world powered by renewables.”
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