First Green solar product review/ TrueCapture by NEXTracker

About NEXTRACKER

    We’re creative, collaborative, committed problem-solvers from diverse backgrounds. And we’re on a mission to be the world’s leading energy solutions company delivering the most intelligent, reliable, and productive solar power for future generations.

Experienced Executive Team

Solar industry veteran Dan Shugar and his team founded Nextracker because no solar trackers met their requirements. So they redesigned, engineered and built an innovative system from the ground up. From the company’s earliest days, we’ve brought together some of the best minds in the business, and our people collectively represent hundreds of years of PV and solar tracker experience. Team members come from backgrounds in manufacturing, logistics, development, finance, engineering, construction and asset management, while our deep talent bench also features experienced interdisciplinary professionals from software, power electronics, motion control and other technical industries. When we say we understand your wants and needs, we speak from experience.

Consistent Market Leadership

Nextracker has been the number-one global market-share solar tracker company for five years and counting, according to global research firms WoodMackenzie and IHS Markit. We have delivered or fulfilled close to 50 GW of smart solar trackers for projects on five continents, including some of the largest solar farms in the world. Our TrueCapture and NX Navigator smart monitoring and control software platforms have revolutionized tracker performance, and represent our commitment to continuous innovation.

Bankability Backed By Flex

Founded in 2013, we’ve operated since 2015 as an independent subsidiary of Flextronics International Ltd. (Flex). Our Flex parent is a $26 billion company with more than 200,000 employees worldwide, offering a strong balance sheet and a worldwide supply chain and distribution network. With Flex’s 100 manufacturing sites in 30 countries, Nextracker delivers unparalleled scalability, reliability, and bankability.

Solar Industry Firsts by Nextracker

It’s no accident that Nextracker leads the industry in patented features and capabilities that increase plant performance and reduce costs for EPCs, developers and asset owners. Innovation and a customer-first attitude are embedded in our DNA.

When the company’s founders set out to redefine then-existing single-axis solar tracker technology, they started with a clean slate, designing and engineering a ground-breaking system with many factors in mind: durable, consistent performance in many site conditions; ease and speed of installation, commissioning and maintenance; self-adjusting algorithms for remote control; advanced monitoring and digital connectivity—all of which would lead to superior performance and lower overall cost of ownership to operate the plant.

Here are some examples of our technological and industry leadership:

• Self-powered, decentralized architecture with no hard links between the rows. This allows each row to be commissioned in advance of site power and simplifies operational maintenance.
• Advanced monitoring, control and commissioning software that speeds time to market, increases energy yield, and enhances plant performance.
• Extensive study of dynamic wind analysis and safety stowing, delivering major benefits in uptime and long-term durability.
• Integrated bifacial design features such as optimized mounting rails, large height-to-width aspect ratio, and spacing between the bearing and piers that maximize rear-side irradiance, eliminate structural shading and reduce mismatch loss factors.
• Data analytics-driven cradle-to-grave global services and support, from presale engineering work to construction support and project management to commissioning to O&M and asset management

The founders’ vision and the team’s efforts have paid off. Nextracker has delivered or fulfilled close to 50 GW of tracker systems worldwide, more than any other tracker company.

        <h2>Product Description</h2>        
                                    <img width="536" height="536" src="https://dcsgroups.in/temp/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NX_tracker_intro_image.jpg" alt="" loading="lazy" />                                         
    <p>The combination of Nextracker’s flagship one-in-portrait (1P) NX Horizon™ and two-in-portrait (2P) NX Gemini™ trackers offers customers the industry’s most comprehensive solar tracker portfolio, delivering greater flexibility to reliably configure systems at project sites for maximum energy output across a broad range of site and weather conditions. With close to 50 GW of trackers delivered or in construction, Nextracker has held the top global market-share position for five years and counting.

The complementary systems – optimized for monofacial, bifacial and thin-film PV panels – leverage field-proven innovations such as independent-row architecture, state-of-the-art windproof design, Zigbee wireless, and intelligent control systems like TrueCapture and NX Navigator. Both tracker solutions are integrated with state-of-the-art wireless communications and are backed by Nextracker’s global asset management and Digital O&M services.

Features of NexTracker systems:

• Bifacial-optimized architecture
• Advanced software and controls: TrueCapture, NX Data Hub, NX Navigator
• Flood and inclement weather-resistant
• Rigorous quality and reliability testing
• Global services support and connectivity

Built with field-proven quality and reliability, our flagship NX Horizon is the single-axis solar tracker of choice on more than 30 GW of projects around the world. Engineered for resilience, the NX Gemini (2P) solar tracker optimizes lifetime value and performance on sites with challenging terrain, irregular project shapes, and intense weather.

The benefits of bifacial PV module technology can be significantly amplified when mounting on the NX Horizon and NX Gemini independent-row single-axis solar trackers and are additive to the enhanced energy harvest made possible by the TrueCapture smart yield optimization system.

NX Horizon: Field-Proven Performance and Reliability

Accepted as the gold standard of solar trackers by developers, owners, EPCs and operators, the NX Horizon has been the tracker of choice on more than 45 GW of solar power plants worldwide. The one-in-portrait (1P) smart solar tracker system delivers the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and has been deployed more than any other tracker. Combining best-in-class hardware and software, NX Horizon helps EPCs and asset owners maximize performance and minimize operational costs.

Superior BIfacial Performance up to 1.5%: NX Horizon produces significantly more bifacial energy than typical 1P trackers. For example, NX Horizon would deliver an 8.0% bifacial energy gain for a specific site vs. a 6.5% gain from other standard trackers. How? NX Horizon’s optimized design, which features PV modules elevated higher above the tubes and a tracker drive system not located under the modules themselves. This bifacial performance superiority has been empirically validated with PVsyst for sites at NREL, PVEL, and Nextracker’s Center of Solar Excellence. Learn more, here.

Design Flexibility, Rapid Installation: NX Horizon’s reliable self-powered motor and control system, balanced mechanical design and independent row architecture provide project design flexibility while lowering operation and maintenance costs. With its self-aligning module rails and vibration-proof fasteners, NX Horizon can be easily and rapidly installed. The self-powered, decentralized architecture allows each row to be commissioned in advance of site power and is designed to withstand high winds and other adverse weather conditions.

Smart Controls, Optimized Performance: When paired with the TrueCapture smart control system, NX Horizon provides as much as 6% more energy production. Further unlocking the advantages of independent-row architecture and the data collected from thousands of sensors across its built-in wireless network, the software continuously optimizes the tracking algorithm of each row in response to site terrain and changing weather conditions.

Long-Term Durability: Quality and reliability are designed and tested into every NX Horizon component and system across our supply chain and manufacturing operations. Nextracker is the leader in dynamic wind analysis and safety stowing, delivering major benefits in uptime and long-term durability. 

NX Gemini: Ready for
Challenging Site Conditions

The NX Gemini two-in-portrait (2P) solar tracker optimizes lifetime value and performance, helping project developers and asset owners get the most from their power plant. Ideally suited for sites with challenging soils, high winds, and irregular boundaries, the ruggedized 2P tracker features a patent-pending distributed drive system for maximum stability in extreme weather, eliminating the need for dampers and producing virtually zero energy losses associated with stowing.

Cost-Effective Installation on Difficult Sites: NX Gemini’s flexible 2P module configuration allows for the maximum number of modules per foundation, requiring only 60 meters and seven foundation posts to provide support for up to 120 modules on four 1500-volt strings. With the lowest number of foundations per megawatt on the solar tracker market, NX Gemini helps reduce tracker installation costs on difficult sites. Construction velocity is further enhanced by a simple assembly process, which uses electric tool-actuated swaged fasteners and bolted connections, with no field cutting, drilling, or welding required.

Bifacial Ready, Software Intelligence: NX Gemini leverages the field-proven innovations found in NX Horizon, such as independent-row architecture, intelligent control systems, and wireless communications. The 2P tracker can be equipped with monofacial, bifacial or thin-film PV modules and integrated with the entire Nextracker software ecosystem, including the TrueCapture and NX Navigator advanced smart control and monitoring platforms.

Bifacial: Optimized for Performance

Bifacial PV modules are one of the most compelling performance-enhancing technologies for large-scale solar. By harvesting energy from both sides of the same module with the right site conditions, appropriate albedo, and optimized module design, bifacial will boost plant output by a significant margin.

Significant Power Output Increase: The pairing of Nextracker’s NX Horizon and NX Gemini smart solar trackers with bifacial PV modules significantly enhances energy harvest and increases power output. Data from Nextracker’s bifacial test center and field testing shows DC gains of 6-15% or better (depending on albedo) with mono-PERC bifacial modules mounted on Nextracker systems.

Maximized Rear-Side Irradiance: NX Horizon’s bifacial-friendly design features optimized mounting rails, large height-to-width aspect ratio, and spacing between the bearing and piers that maximize rear-side irradiance, eliminate structural shading and reduce mismatch loss factors. When modeled with PVsyst versus competitive 1P tracker designs, NX Horizon increases up to 2% more annual bifacial energy gain compared to other systems. When bifacial is combined with TrueCapture smart tracker control and yield optimization software, the energy gains can be even greater.

High-rise rails 90 mm tube to cellBearing gapsDrive system gap