Machine Learning Software Optimizes Solar Plants for Proven Financial, Performance Gains
FREMONT, Calif. USA, August 12, 2020 — Nextracker™, a Flex company, announced today that D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) will be upgrading its entire solar fleet that uses Nextracker’s smart solar trackers with TrueCapture™ energy enhancement and NX Navigator™ monitoring software. Through machine learning and real-time data analytics, Nextracker software continues to enhance plant performance with new features that deliver proven financial benefits and production gains. Launched in 2019, NX Navigator helps power plant operators to efficiently monitor and control their solar assets across a wide range of weather conditions including hail, snow, high winds, and hurricanes.
Nextracker’s TrueCapture software solution optimizes the performance of PV systems by employing robust data analytics, advanced algorithms, and angle adjustments based on real-time conditions in the field. As an initial adopter of the technology, DESRI has played a key role in helping Nextracker optimize the software and develop new monitoring and control platforms like NX Navigator.
“As an early adopter of TrueCapture three years ago, we benefited from increased energy yield production, lower operating costs, and better availability,” said Bryan Martin, Executive Chairman of DESRI. “Nextracker keeps adding functionality designed to further optimize our projects and is highly responsive to the input of our operations team to tune the platform. Earlier this year we started using NX Navigator’s snow shed capabilities at our northern sites to reduce losses attributed to snow cover. We are also implementing Navigator’s hail stow to help protect our systems from extreme weather in hail prone regions.”
DESRI, a leading developer and producer of renewable energy in North America, has solar and wind sites totaling over 2,400 megawatts of aggregate capacity. DESRI’s 15 operating projects that utilize Nextracker will be augmented with TrueCapture and its new NX Navigator control platform, while DESRI’s Nextracker-contracted sites under construction will be using the software as a standard moving forward.
“DESRI has developed an impressive fleet of utility-scale solar plants and we are pleased they have chosen to upgrade with TrueCapture and NX Navigator,” said Dan Shugar, CEO of Nextracker. “As evident by DESRI’s diverse portfolio, our technology is optimized to work across regions and help developers solve for site issues such as undulation and diffuse light conditions to increase yield and performance, and actively minimize risk from increasingly prevalent extreme weather like hail. We look forward to continuing our partnership with DESRI as we make the connected power plant of the future a reality through innovation and optimization.”
TrueCapture is being used on over 80 power plants on four continents worldwide. Production gains are site-specific and some sites have seen production gains of over four percent. The technology platform has been validated by third-party independent engineers including Black & Veatch, DNV-GL, Enertis, ICF, Leidos, Luminate, RINA, and UL.
To learn more about Nextracker, TrueCapture and NX Navigator, please visit www.nextracker.com/software and watch this video explainer, here.
About Nextracker
Nextracker, a Flex company, is a leader in the energy transition, providing critical yield-enhancing PV system technology, expertise, and strategic services to capture the full value and maximize the efficiency of solar plants. Delivering the most comprehensive portfolio of intelligent solar tracker and control software solutions for solar power plants, Nextracker is transforming PV plant performance with smart technology, data monitoring, and analysis services. For more information, please visit www.Nextracker.com.
About D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments
D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) and its affiliates acquire, own, and manage long-term contracted renewable energy assets in North America. DESRI’s portfolio of renewable energy projects currently includes more than 2,400 MW of aggregate capacity. DESRI is a member of the D. E. Shaw group, a global investment and technology development firm with more than $50 billion in investment and committed capital as of June 1, 2020, and offices in North America, Europe, and Asia.
