First Solar buys RayTracker, adds single-axis tracker, balance-of-systems technology

January 7, 2011
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

First Solar has acquired Idealab operating company RayTracker, a photovoltaic panel tracking technology and balance-of-systems firm based in Pasadena, CA. RayTracker's team will join First Solar's engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) group, and the acquired company’s customers will be transitioned to its new parent.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The new additions will bring expertise in solar technology innovation, reliability engineering, advanced PV system modeling, software engineering, product development, and high-volume manufacturing to the company, according to First Solar.

The RayTracker suite of technology includes GC-Series single-axis trackers, PV-Platform Software Toolset for system design and operation, wireless infrastructure, and other PV balance-of-system innovations.

Originally a product group of fellow Idealab company and concentrator PV developer Energy Innovations, RayTracker spun out as a separate entity in March 2009. The BOS firm experienced solid growth in 2010, saying it had tripled quarter-over-quarter revenue in successive quarters in the first half of the year.  

First Solar spokesman Alan Bernheimer told PV-Tech via email that the deal is indeed closed and that no terms have been disclosed. The nine employees of RayTracker will remain in Pasadena.

“Tracker technology is one of a numbe­r of initiatives under development in our systems group as part of our broader effort to enable lower LCOE [levelized cost of energy] pricing capability and further differentiate our solution in the market,” he explained. “Customers are increasingly interested in trackers for their potential to optimize energy yield and reduce the LCOE.

He also said that First Solar is “field testing the [tracker] technology,” although there are “no results to report.”

“We are not announcing any new products at this time,” he added. “First Solar is still evaluating the effectiveness of tracking and other advanced systems technologies and will announce product offerings through a customer release process when appropriate to do so.”

RayTracker stated in July that it would be increasing its outsourced manufacturing capacity to 25MW per month and that it had more than 1.5GW in its “pipeline of quoted projects.”

REC Solar, Martifer Solar, and groSolar have been cited as RayTracker customers that had used the newly acquired company’s equipment in their 2010 projects.

Although he could not provide any further information on the current manufacturing status of RayTracker's product line or First Solar’s strategy for tracker production, Bernheimer did say that the company “will continue to honor the contractual commitments of RayTracker. Other order requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.”

Read Next

Premium
October 17, 2025
According to Ronak Maheshwari of CRC-IB, there has been a struggle for US renewable power projects to secure necessary equity .
October 17, 2025
Norwegian renewable energy firm Scatec has signed lease agreements for 64MW of solar PV and 10MWh of energy storage capacity in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
October 17, 2025
A group of over 20 US states are suing the Trump administration for the cancellation of the US$7 billion Solar For All Scheme.
October 16, 2025
Masdar and Turkey have entered the final stage of US$1 billion agreement to develop the 1.1GW plant in Bor, Niğde Province, central Turkey.
October 16, 2025
T1 Energy and Nextracker have agreed to use the latter’s steel module frames at the former’s new 5GW module manufacturing facility in Dallas.
October 16, 2025
US utility-scale solar additions grew by 56% in 2024, reaching 30GW from 2023’s 19GW and representing over 54% of all new electricity generation capacity added in the country last year.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK