Solar

Nextracker, Unimacts announce second solar production facility near Las Vegas

Nextracker, Unimacts announce second solar production facility near Las Vegas
A Unimacts machine is used to manufacture steel tubes for use in Nextracker solar tracking equipment (courtesy: Nextracker)

There is an unquenched demand for solar steel in the desert, and proof is in the production lines.

Nextracker, a solar tracker and software solutions company, and Unimacts, a provider of industrial manufacturing and supply chain solutions, have jointly announced another new factory near Las Vegas, their second such endeavor in about nine months.

The new 160,000-square-foot facility in Sloan, Nevada, will produce steel torque tubes used to hold and rotate solar panels in solar power plants.

Last September, Nextracker and Unimacts christened a new facility, owned and operated by Unimacts, that produces steel components exclusively for Nextracker used in ground-mount solar power generation plants.

Together, the two factories will support more than 2 GW of new solar power each year, primarily serving projects in Nevada and southwestern states. Nextracker continues to drive domestic manufacturing to meet growing renewable energy demand; including the Sloan factory, the company has opened or expanded more than 20 U.S. manufacturing facilities since 2021, including production lines in Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Nevada.

A Unimacts machine used to create steel tubes for Nextracker (courtesy: Nextracker)

“American manufacturing has quickly become the heartbeat of the clean energy revolution,” ​​said Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker and keynote speaker of GridTECH Connect Forum – California. “There is a trifecta of perfect conditions for this manufacturing renaissance: a terrific workforce, a great localized clean steel industry, and strong demand for renewable energy. Over the last three years, Nextracker has operationalized over 20 factories, catalyzing thousands of jobs. This is what growth and scaling look like.”

Join us at GridTECH Connect California, June 24-26, 2024, in Newport Beach, CA! With some of the most ambitious sustainability and clean energy goals in the country, California is at the cutting edge of the energy transition while confronting its most cumbersome roadblocks. From electric vehicles to battery storage, microgrids, community solar, and everything in between, attendees will collaborate to advance interconnection procedures and policies in California.

The new factory increases Nextracker’s annual domestic solar tracker capacity to more than 30 GW. The Southwest region is poised to capitalize on its solar resources, as Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico all rank among the top 13 states for projected solar growth. Nevada marked the highest manufacturing workforce growth compared to any other U.S. state (17%) since 2018. 

“In partnership with Nextracker and Unimacts, Copia Power is building a renewably powered future. The transition to clean energy in America can be built with American-made products and constructed with local tradespersons, and that is the type of economic growth we are seeing here today,” said Ryan Galeria, chief development officer of Copia Power. “Copia is proud to supply reliable, clean, and affordable renewable power to millions of Americans in the coming years.”

A Unimact steel line worker prepares critical steel components for solar power generation projects in the southwestern U.S. (courtesy: Nextracker)

“Unimacts is proud to play a role in providing key components and supply chain management, which is enabling the energy transition,” added Alan Hayes, CEO of Unimacts. “The federal incentives allow us to confidently invest in U.S. manufacturing, provide manufacturing jobs in Nevada and growth in the local economy. Having inaugurated our first Nevada site for solar component production in Las Vegas just nine months ago, we’re pleased to be once again partnering with the Nextracker team, expanding clean energy manufacturing capacity and contributing to local jobs.”

The growing base of domestic solar manufacturing also excites American Clean Power CEO Jason Grumet.

“Today’s announcement is a great example of clean power driving an American manufacturing renaissance in Nevada and across the United States,” he said. “Creating and expanding supply chains here at home strengthens America’s energy security, creates good-paying jobs, and boosts the economy. These new manufacturing facilities also exemplify the key role of American technology in creating a clean, reliable, and affordable grid.”

ACP estimates that the IRA will help create 550,000 new clean energy jobs – more than doubling the current clean energy workforce. As a result, the clean power industry will support a direct workforce of nearly one million Americans by 2030.

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