Center unveils latest solar technologies to industry and serves as educational venue for K-12 school renewable energy programs
FREMONT, CA, JUNE 28, 2016 –Today NEXTracker, Inc. announced that it has inaugurated the Center for Solar Excellence at its headquarters in Fremont, CA. Designed as a world class testing and proving ground for solar technology innovations and emerging products, the Center provides enormous value to NEXTracker customers throughout the value chain including EPCs, developers, asset managers and project owners as they evaluate and assess technologies. It will also serve as an educational resource for the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) and its affiliated K-12 energy-focused school programs.
“NEXTracker is proud to be launching the Center for Solar Excellence. The Center allows us to easily demonstrate compatibility with top tier commercial PV components in a power plant setting, and provide a hands-on training facility for customers to learn the latest installation methods for the leading tracker. Conveniently located at our headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, our goal is to help guide financiers, developers and EPCs as they invest in key solar technologies,” said Dan Shugar, CEO, NEXTracker. “System providers have choices when it comes to procuring new technologies and products. Working with customers, partners and vendors, our Center will illuminate best ways to reduce risk and maximize project ROI. We are also extending the Center to partner with K-12 energy education initiatives; this is personally very rewarding.”
“For many years, our organization has worked to bring solar to schools throughout the region and to provide training and curriculum that allows teachers, students and communities to really understand the power of the sun,” said Mary Spruill, executive director of NEED.org. “NEXTracker’s Center for Solar Excellence brings all of this to life. From understanding the basics of solar to learning about possible careers in solar, the Center does it all!”
Visitors to the Center, including industry colleagues, government officials, students, researchers, and community members, can embark on an educational tour of sustainability and learn how the Company is building a clean, sustainable energy future, one solar tracker at a time. The Center is divided into three parts: The Center for Solar Excellence is the showcase, with the latest PV solutions, while the other two sections focus on R&D and NEXTracker’s popular monthly PowerworX Academy trainings, which the Company provides to its customers and third party installers. The Center’s solar arrays generate 150-200kW, powering NEXTracker headquarters and onsite electric vehicles. NEXTracker will inaugurate the center in July, during the week of Intersolar North America.
NEXTracker provides leading solutions for commercial, industrial and utility-scale solar power systems, with over 4GW of cumulative shipments. NEXTracker's fewer foundations and assembly points help mitigate geotechnical risk and accelerate project construction schedules. With independent rows and high slope tolerance, NEXTracker minimizes site preparation costs while enabling industry-leading power density. Its self-grounding and self-powered design provides valuable savings in labor and materials, while its 120 degree rotational range enables PV systems to take full advantage of high irradiance regions.
About NEXTracker
NEXTracker, a Flex company, advances the power plant of the future with advanced PV system innovations that empower solar power plants of all sizes to increase performance and reduce costs. With over 4GW of cumulative shipments worldwide, NEXTracker’s award-winning advanced photovoltaic solutions are energizing hundreds of solar power plants across five continents. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Company has offices in Mexico, China, India, Brazil, Chile, Australia, and Tennessee.