Nextracker. Nextracker (NXT) is an American solar tracker manufacturing company based in Fremont, California.

History 
In 2014, Solaria Corporation spun off their tracker technology to create Nextracker, with Dan Shugar as the CEO.

Flextronics purchased Nextracker in 2015 for $330 million. Nextracker expanded in more than 20 U.S. manufacturing lines in Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Nevada between January 2021 and August 2024. , the company’s total global manufacturing capacity was approximately 1,000 MW per week, supporting up to 50 GW of annual shipments.

In February 2023, the company raised $638 million in a U.S. initial public offering, selling 26.6 million shares of Class A common stock at $24 per share, resulting in a corporate valuation of more than $3.5 billion. It debuted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on February 9, 2023, under the ticker symbol, NXT.

Technology 
As of March 31, 2024, Nextracker had more than 600 patents related to solar tracking hardware systems, including innovations that increase energy yields, reduce costs, and expand tracking system applications.

Solar trackers 

The company pioneered decentralized, single-axis trackers that connect each row of solar panels to its own motor and control system. This design allows each solar panel row to move independently to position the panels toward the sun, maximizing energy yield for the entire fleet.

The company’s terrain-following trackers adapt to a site’s natural contours, reducing grading requirements, minimizing environmental impact, and expanding the viability of solar projects on landscapes with extreme terrain.

In 2024, Nextracker introduced tracker technology that uses weather-forecasting data and AI to automatically adjust solar panel angles into a stow mode ahead of hailstorms to avoid direct hits. The product was developed to mitigate the rising cost of insuring solar arrays from hail and other weather-related damage. The same technology is also used to stow panels during grid outages without operator intervention.

Software, controls & training 

The company’s integrated software serves as the brain for a solar tracking system. It monitors weather conditions, checks for blind spots, and directs the position of individual rows of solar panels to optimize energy yield. A new tracking function added in 2023 adjusts trackers to variations in cloud cover across an entire power plant, enabling plants to chase clouds for added gains without compromising tracking performance during clear sky conditions

PowerworX Academy 

The company’s PowerworX Academy provide operators of utility-scale solar power plants from around the world with training in tracker installation, commissioning, operations and maintenance. Graduates receive professional development credits from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners.

Sustainability and legacy 
In April 2024, Nextracker introduced a solar tracker system with a carbon footprint that is up to 35% lower than traditional trackers. The low-carbon tracker system, which is produced with an electric arc furnace manufacturing process and uses recycled steel, received the Carbon Trust Product Carbon Footprint Label certification.

In 2023 and 2024, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) teamed with Nextracker to advance PV tracker reliability during severe weather events. The company built two self-powered PV tracking systems that were deployed at the NREL’s National Wind Technology Center in Golden, Colorado for a large-scale study on the impact of severe weather on the equipment.

In 2023, Nextracker partnered with Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled to install solar PV systems at Government Primary Health Centres in Kondapur and Atmakur, both located in Sangareddy district of India. These 6kW PV systems donated by Nextracker help bring healthcare services to 50,000 underserved residents in the region.

In 2022, Nextracker partnered with Flex Instituto de Tecnologia to launch the Brazil Center for Solar Excellence, South America’s largest solar tracker research and development facility. Located in Sorocaba, Brazil, the research center, test lab, and training facility addresses every stage of a solar tracker system’s lifecycle.

References 

Companies of the United States

Companies based in Fremont, California
American companies established in 2014