NEXTracker, a Flex company, announced its collaboration with First Solar to provide an innovative patent-pending racking technology for First Solar’s Series 6 panel rollout this year. The First Solar engineering procurement construction (EPC) group also selected NEXTracker’s NX Horizon for multiple utility-scale projects in the southwestern United States, totaling 634 MW using the Series 6 module: Rosamond, Calif. (193 MW), Willow, Calif. (129 MW) and Phoebe, Texas (312 MW).

The NEXTracker mounting solution for the First Solar Series 6 panel features patent-pending panel clamps for error-proof rail alignment and rapid module installation. NEXTracker’s mounting solution can be configured to accommodate a wide range of site conditions that may see wind speeds up to 130 mph, up to a 15% north-south slope, and also high corrosion environments. NEXTracker has further enhanced NX Horizon for future First Solar Series 4 projects, with optimized logistics and cost saving features.

“With First Solar’s Series 6, they have created an elegant, superior thin-film technology, with high efficiency and a beneficial temperature coefficient,” said Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of NEXTracker. “The excellent diffuse light response of First Solar’s photovoltaic cells pairs perfectly with TrueCapture, NEXTracker’s proprietary smart control system, to increase yields in PV power plants. We’re extremely pleased to be collaborating with First Solar on their latest system designs to offer attractive levelized cost of energy to global customers.”

“For the past year we’ve invested in partnering with the right suppliers who could complement our Series 6 technology in terms of innovation in system performance,” said Georges Antoun, Chief Commercial Officer of First Solar. “As part of our core ecosystem, NEXTracker is not only the global market share leader in solar tracking technology, but also delivers unparalleled design and customer service. We look forward to more successes together.”

The two companies have already partnered on over 1 GW of projects with NX Horizon and First Solar Series 4 modules. Read one case study here.

News item from NEXTracker