Nextracker, a Californian firm that develops technology to enhance output from PV and solar energy systems, has been selected by Arevon Energy for its upcoming 1.5 gigawatt (GW) portfolio of projects in Indiana and Nevada.

Nextracker will supply NX Horizon smart solar trackers together with its TrueCapture and NX Navigator software and control systems for monitoring, control, and asset management.

Indiana will host five of these solar power plants: Elliott (200 MW), Gibson (280 MW), Ratts 1 and Ratts 2 (both 150 MW), and Posey (300 MW). The 250 MW Citadel project will be located outside of Reno, Nevada. The US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and Rep. Susie Lee recently toured the seventh site in the portfolio, the 232 MW Townsite plant in Boulder City, Nevada.

Data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) projects close to 5 GW of solar will be installed in Indiana over the next five years, ranking the state’s pipeline as the sixth largest in the country. SEIA estimates that Nevada, ranked seventh, will install more than 4 GW over the same period. These seven projects totalling more than 1.5 GW will be key to these two states meeting their renewable energy goals. They are all expected to be operational by the end of 2023.

Standardising tracker and software technology across multiple renewable energy project sites increases the overall efficiency of the portfolio while mitigating risks and reducing the potential for failures. This efficiency boost is accomplished by locking in the system designs and component procurement in advance, which creates turnkey installation and commissioning.

Arevon’s license of TrueCapture software should boost power production, and NX Navigator’s monitoring and control system will help actively minimise risk from increasingly prevalent extreme weather.

“Nextracker was our first choice to help standardise construction practices across the portfolio and create efficiencies and greater cost savings,” said Justin Johnson, Arevon’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “We have already seen Nextracker’s TrueCapture software boost energy gains by 2.72% at one of the solar projects we service, so we have direct experience with this innovative solution and how it can add value to every project in the portfolio.”

“Sophisticated asset managers and project developers like Arevon know the importance of standardising their utility-scale solar projects with advanced data monitoring and optimisation software,” said Ryan Booth, Nextracker’s Vice President of Utility Sales. “Our partnership with Arevon highlights how the future of solar development will leverage system standardisation to improve project value in an increasingly competitive sector.”