Shoals Technologies Group Inc., a provider of electrical balance of systems (EBOS) solutions for solar, storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, and utility-scale solar tracker company Nextracker LLC have unveiled a new North-South Big Lead Assembly (BLA) trunk bus product.
Optimized for NX Horizon tracker rows, the trunk bus runs parallel – rather than perpendicular – to the torque tube and transition boxes along the north-south row and steps down the size of the trunk bus along the tracker rows. Without any structures to impede site access, ongoing power plant O&M is simpler and faster.
Compared to conventional in-field north-south wiring methods, Shoals North-South BLA delivers a 43% savings in PV wiring installation labor, a 60% savings in DC wiring O&M, and a 0.25% increase in energy yield due to less DC wiring voltage drop, the companies say.
“We are proud to partner with Nextracker to make our leading solar ecosystems work optimally together, resulting in utility-scale solar that is more cost effective for our customers,” says Jason Whitaker, CEO of Shoals. “We will continue to innovate collaboratively with Nextracker to enhance our North-South BLA product to further optimize its architecture and installation methodologies, enabling even more cost savings.”
“This collaboration with Shoals provides a critical solution to an industry-wide challenge,” states Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker. “We are excited this North-South BLA product is now available, helping more projects realize the long-term benefit of our independent row trackers.”
