Asteelflash/USI, a global electronics component manufacturer, has just unveiled its manufacturing line in the U.S. for Nextracker Inc., a provider of intelligent, integrated solar tracker and software solutions used in utility-scale and distributed generation solar projects.
Asteelflash has expanded its capability to include dedicated production of Nextracker’s patented self-powered controller (SPC) and high-voltage power supply. Key components of the Nextracker controller include printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), battery integration and other essential components used in the company’s solar tracking technology deployed globally.
Housed in a 197,000-square-foot facility in Fremont, Calif., the manufacturing line represents a multi-million-dollar joint investment in this first phase, creating new jobs and boosting local economic growth. Nextracker controllers are the “brain” and power supply enabling precision control of the company’s tracker systems such as NX Horizon, the company’s flagship product for large-scale solar power plants. Nextracker’s SPCs are highly reliable over a wide range of conditions and powered by a battery, allowing the trackers to still function even if grid power is down.
“Nextracker is thrilled to work with Asteelflash/USI as we continue to put in place the domestic manufacturing capacity we need to serve the rapidly growing solar market,” says Dan Shugar, CEO and founder of Nextracker. “Our expanding product manufacturing footprint brings new jobs throughout the country and enables us to better serve customers. We are pleased to add California to our production capability, with Silicon Valley having some of the best tech talent in the world.”
With these newly dedicated mechanical assembly production lines, Nextracker is further building out its supply capacity for domestic demand as well as for export, having opened over 10 new U.S. production facilities in the past year with its suppliers. In 2022, the company publicly inaugurated four new steel fabrication lines in Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Illinois. In May of this year, Nextracker announced another steel tracker factory in Tennessee.
“We are excited to announce our commitment to procuring Nextracker’s U.S.-made trackers as part of Clearway’s broader domestic content strategy and pleased to see the heart of their robust tracker technology, the self-powered controllers, be manufactured here in California,” says Craig Cornelius, CEO of Clearway, which recently announced a 2 GW volume commitment agreement with Nextracker. “With Nextracker’s precise control over tracker row angles and rapid stowing capabilities in extreme weather conditions, our growing fleet will set new standards of module protection and help ensure the reliability and resilience of the solar industry.”
