Nextracker will unveil its new suite of products at RE+ next week, including hardware, smart software and process innovations.
NX Horizon Hail Pro – updates for Nextracker’s flagship NX Horizon smart solar tracking system, including its unique balanced design, integrated UPS and independent row architecture. NX Horizon can now stow up to four-times faster than standard trackers — time that is crucial when hailstorms hit and stow with no operator intervention in the event of a grid outage. The new Hail Pro solution adds automatic stowing using weather service information, hail readiness services and, where desired, 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 are at the forefront of solving the industry multi-million-dollar challenges.
“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.”
NX Horizon XTR-1.5 – this latest innovation for hilly sites doubles the capability of the NX Horizon XTRTM terrain following tracker. NX Horizon XTR-1.5 significantly reduces and even eliminates earthwork on extreme terrain sites, without complex joints or additional components. XTR can save many tons of steel with shorter piles and thousands of cubic yards of cut and fill; with the benefits of accelerating construction schedules, minimizing environmental impact and reducing project risk. Minimizing disturbance also prevents long-term soil erosion and preserves habitats, an important factor when it comes to ease of permitting for new projects.
Zonal Diffuse – a software expansion for TrueCapture, Zonal Diffuse is a new tracking function that enhances 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 Nextracker founder and CEO, Dan Shugar. “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.”
News item from Nextracker
