IbVogt Selects Nextracker to Supply Solar Trackers for 150 MW Power Plant in Spain

Solar tracker solutions provider for utility-scale and distributed generation projects Nextracker has secured a new deal in Europe for its terrain-following solar tracker NX Horizon-XTR™ (XTR).

IbVogt, German international solar developer, has chosen Nextracker’s XTR for the 150 MW Garnacha solar power plant in Spain. The project is backed by a twelve-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google. The project is slated for  production in October of 2023.  Nextracker claims that it is leading the global market in solar trackers and optimization software, and the firm’s advanced technology systems allow solar panels to follow the sun’s movement and maximize energy output.

“Due to the local zero grading requirements on our project, we needed a solar tracker solution that would have minimal environmental impact and allow us to secure local permits,“ stated Patrick Zenker, Global Procurement Director of IbVogt. ” With a 10-gigawatt track record, NX Horizon-XTR gave us peace of mind and low risk.”

“With gas price volatility, European leaders are looking for the lowest cost, most reliable form of energy, and that is utility scale solar power,” said Dan Shugar, Founder and CEO of Nextracker. “Europe’s exceptional environmental stewardship, unique cultural sites and challenging topography provide the perfect conditions for our terrain-following trackers that maximize energy output with a light-on-land footprint.”

The solar tracker firm says that its NX Horizon-XTR™ allows rows of solar panels to adjust to uneven terrain, following the natural curvature of the earth. Its terrain-following capabilities enable developers to work on challenging sites that would otherwise be infeasible. It also cuts costs by limiting grading work and associated delays, simplifying the permitting process, and reducing the need for soil-related maintenance. Further, the firm maintains that solar projects that employ NX Horizon-XTR have a lighter impact on the environment. This is because they leave more soil intact, benefitting the local ecology while also curbing the risk of soil erosion. At the same time, the projects also need less steel for extended pilings, lowering a project’s overall carbon footprint.

With the establishment of the Garnacha project, Nextracker is eyeing expansion of its multi-gigawatt portfolio in Europe. The firm currently has offices in Seville and Madrid. Its employees are working with customers across the continent.

“The Nextracker European team has achieved an important milestone of reaching over 3 GW of projects with major solar developers, utilities and European EPC companies for projects in Europe as well as Brazil, USA, Canada and Africa,” said Arturo Herrero, Nextracker SVP Europe.

The solar tracking firm has to its credit global shipments worth 70 GW to five continents. The firm has deployed its terrain-following NX-Horizon XTR on nearly 10 GW of utility-scale solar globally. As per Nextracker, its solar trackers augment energy production by 20-30% when compared to fixed-tilt applications that do not track the sun.

Recently, Nextracker priced its stock offering at $24, the upper end of the price band indicated earlier. The pricing indicates strong demand among investors, besides the strong outlook for growth in it’s home market in North America and beyond.