European Renewable Energy Developer IbVogt Chooses Nextracker’s Terrain-Following Solar Tracker

Ability to adapt to uneven terrain and go light on land is crucial to Europe’s demand for solar power to meet growing energy needs

Nextracker secured a new deal in Europe for its terrain-following solar tracker NX Horizon-XTR (XTR), demonstrating demand for tracking technology that enables solar developers to build on land with complex topography and unique environmental constraints. The German international solar developer, IbVogt, chose Nextracker’s XTR for the 150 MW Garnacha solar power plant in Spain. The project is backed by a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google and is expected to begin production October of 2023. Leading the global market in solar trackers and optimization software, Nextracker’s advanced technology systems allow solar panels to follow the sun’s movement and maximize energy output.

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“Due to the local zero grading requirements on our project, we needed a solar tracker solution that would have minimal environmental impact and allow us to secure local permits,“ stated Patrick Zenker, Global Procurement Director of IbVogt. ”

“Due to the local zero grading requirements on our project, we needed a solar tracker solution that would have minimal environmental impact and allow us to secure local permits,“ stated Patrick Zenker, Global Procurement Director of IbVogt. ” With a 10-gigawatt track record, NX Horizon-XTR gave us peace of mind and low risk.”

“With gas price volatility, European leaders are looking for the lowest cost, most reliable form of energy, and that is utility scale solar power,” said Dan Shugar, Founder and CEO of Nextracker. “Europe’s exceptional environmental stewardship, unique cultural sites and challenging topography provide the perfect conditions for our terrain-following trackers that maximize energy output with a light-on-land footprint.”

Nextracker’s NX Horizon-XTR™ allows rows of solar panels to adjust to uneven terrain, following the natural curvature of the earth. Its terrain-following capabilities enable developers to work on challenging sites that would otherwise be infeasible. It also cuts costs by limiting grading work and associated delays, simplifying the permitting process, and reducing the need for soil-related maintenance.

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Solar projects using NX Horizon-XTR have a lighter impact on the environment as they leave more soil intact, benefitting the local ecology and reducing risk of soil erosion. The projects also require less steel for extended pilings, lowering a project’s overall carbon footprint.

The Garnacha project expands Nextracker’s multi-gigawatt portfolio in Europe. The company has offices in Seville and Madrid, with dedicated employees working with customers across the continent with deep expertise to support the life cycle of every project.

“The Nextracker European team has achieved an important milestone of reaching over 3 GW of projects with major solar developers, utilities and European EPC companies for projects in Europe as well as Brazil, USA, Canada and Africa,” said Arturo Herrero, Nextracker SVP Europe.

Nextracker, a leading solar tracking company with 70 GW shipped globally to five continents, has deployed their terrain-following NX-Horizon XTR on close to 10 GW of utility-scale solar globally. Nextracker’s solar trackers increase energy production by 20-30% more than fixed-tilt applications that do not track the sun.

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