Nextracker Secures Major Contract with Bluescope for Australian-Manufactured Solar Trackers
Nextracker, a leading solar tracker and software company based in the US, has revealed a significant partnership with an Australian Bluescope-owned company to utilise locally produced steel and manufacturing facilities for solar projects in Australia.
With a strong presence in the Australian large-scale solar PV market, Nextracker plans to introduce locally manufactured components for the 480 MW (p) Aldoga solar farm in central Queensland. This initiative is in collaboration with Spanish energy company Acciona Energia.
Local Production of Tracker Components
The agreement with Orrcon Steel, a subsidiary of Bluescope specialising in tubes and pipes, involves manufacturing torque tubing for the trackers at the Salisbury tube mill in Brisbane. The finishing touches will be completed at a nearby Northgate site by Baojia, the entity responsible for delivering Nextracker products.
The Queensland energy minister, Mick de Brenni, officially inaugurated the new manufacturing facility. He emphasised the advantages of local manufacturing in driving the transition towards renewable energy.
According to Peter Wheale, the head of Nextracker’s operations in Australia and south-east Asia, the company’s trackers have previously been entirely imported. However, the new partnership will enable up to 70 per cent of the components to be produced locally.
