The reshoring of American solar trackers

This is a partner episode, brought to you by Nextracker.

While we were all at home during COVID desperately trying to get our hands on toilet paper, exercise equipment, and home furnishings, solar executives like Dan Shugar were trying to get steel and power electronics to massive PV farms under development.

As equipment and workforce disruptions spiraled due to lockdowns, the cost of installed solar started going up for the first time in nearly a decade.

“Costs just skyrocketed. And so at this point in my career. I wasn't going to proceed like that,” explained Shugar, the CEO of Nextracker, the world’s top solar tracking company.

It became very obvious that Nextracker had to build more U.S. manufacturing to serve local markets, where utility-scale PV was still booming. And within a couple years, they built a large network of factories.

“We've catalyzed over 20 factories across the United States with over 30 gigawatts of major components being manufactured here and shipping finished goods today. That's just a huge retooling of the supply chain,” explained Shugar.

To date, Nextracker has shipped 100 gigawatts of trackers. More and more of them are being produced in key locations around the U.S.

In this episode, produced in collaboration with Nextracker, Stephen Lacey speaks with Dan Shugar about progress in onshoring, innovations in tracker technology, and where the solar industry is headed next.

Learn more about Nextracker’s efforts to bolster domestic content for solar power generation in the U.S.