NEXTracker has announced the shipment of advanced, single-axis trackers to leading Mexico-focused developer Buenavista Renewables. Located in Chihuahua state, Buenavista Renewables’s 16MW (DC) ‘Los Santos’ power plant will deliver electricity to a large cable manufacturer and a private educational network via long-term power supply agreements executed pursuant to Mexico’s self-supply law.

“We are proud to be the first developer to deploy NEXTracker’s advanced horizontal tracking technology in Mexico,” said José Ruiz, CEO of Buenavista Renewables’s Mexican operations. “Bankability and speed are key concerns for our projects, and we were impressed with NEXTracker’s proven ability to execute on very large projects in other Latin American countries.  NEXTracker’s highly experienced team supported us throughout the design process and optimized our site layout for maximum power capacity and performance.”

According to Dan Shugar, NEXTracker CEO, horizontal tracking is particularly well suited to conditions in Mexico.  “Many project sites in Mexico pose layout constraints, and NEXTracker’s independent row design provides a tremendous amount of design flexibility," he explained. "This enables developers to fit up to 30% more PV per site, maximizing investment in land and fixed development costs for superior financial returns.”

In addition to greater design flexibility, NEXTracker’s wide rotational range provides a significant energy yield gain and enables PV systems to take full advantage of the high ground reflectance typical of project sites in Mexico, Shugar noted. With fewer foundations and assembly points than other tracker designs on the market today, NEXTracker helps to mitigate geotechnical risk and accelerates project completion, he added.