Spanish solar developer Soltec has agreed to provide 164MW of its SF7 solar tracker to a Blue Ridge Power project in the state of Virginia.
Blue Ridge, a US developer, has three projects in Virginia, although did not specify which of the facilities would receive the trackers. The company currently has 7GW of projects in operation in the US, with a further 1.5GW in its pipeline, and the addition of tracking technology to this growing portfolio will help the company optimise its operations.
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The SF7 tracker is a two-in-portrait tracker, meaning it can be applied to two rows of panels simultaneously, and Soltec has been keen to highlight some of the more efficient aspects of the trackers, which have, according to the company, 15% fewer parts than other utility-scale trackers.
“It is a pleasure for us to continue contributing to the decarbonisation of the American economy alongside Blue Ridge Power, who is a repeat customer for Soltec,” said Soltec CEO Raúl Morales. “It is always an honour that such important players in the renewable energy world continue to trust us and our product.”
This is Soltec’s latest tracker deal in recent months, following its arrangement with Repsol to provide 300MW of trackers for three solar projects in Spain, signed last December. The company’s continued expansion of its tracker business – alongside its sale of solar portfolios, including an 850MW portfolio in Spain to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners last month – suggests that the company is focusing more on expanding its footprint in the tracker sector, rather than power generation itself.
Last year, Morales told PV Tech Premium that Soltec plans to capitalise on “unprecedented interest” in the US tracker industry and double its revenues in the country, as interest in the US solar sector continues to grow. Earlier this year, the US Energy Information Administration forecast the US to add a significant 36.4GW of new solar generation capacity.
