NEXTracker, a Flex company, has announced a collaboration with First Solar to provide patent-pending racking technology for First Solar’s Series 6 panel rollout this year.
First Solar’s engineering, procurement and construction group has also selected NEXTracker’s NX Horizon for multiple utility-scale solar projects in the southwestern U.S. The projects total 634 MW of Series 6 modules in Rosamond, Calif. (193 MW); Willow, Calif. (129 MW); and Phoebe, Texas (312 MW).
NEXTracker claims its mounting solution for the First Solar Series 6 panel features patent-pending panel clamps for error-proof rail alignment and rapid module installation. The mounting solution can be configured to accommodate a range of site conditions that may see wind speeds up to 130 mph, up to a 15% north-south slope and high corrosion. NEXTracker notes it has also 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,” says 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.”
The two companies have already partnered on over a gigawatt of projects with NX Horizon and First Solar Series 4 modules. A case study can be read here.
