peter wheale - nextracker

Copyright ©2016 NEXTracker, Proprietary and Confidential

NEXTRACKER & AUSTRALIA

MARCH, 2017

Proprietary and Confidential ©2016 2

Agenda

NEXTracker History

Distributed vs Central Technology

Operations & Maintenance (O&M)

Tuning and Optimization

Utility Projects Installed

NX Fusion Plus NEW

Proprietary and Confidential ©2016

TRACKERS VS. FIXED

Boost from tracking

Tracker Compared to Fixed Mount

Daily Power Production

15% to 20% more energy yield than fixed

in sunny locations; and 5-10% more cost

Better match to utility load, TOU

multipliers, customer peaks

Tracker cost decreased over 75% in last

20 years (1995 – 2015)

Yields lower LCOE

Yields more revenue/kWh

3


7.5GIGAWATTS

#1GLOBAL

TRACKER

SUPPLIER

150MW SHIPPED

WEEKLY

Sold, shipped or installed

worldwide

MW shipped in 2015

according to GTM

Research October

2016 report

Megawatts shipped

worldwide (weekly)

NEXTRACKER BY THE NUMBERS


FLEX OVERVIEW (formerly Flextronics)

NEXTracker & Flex, scaling the solar industry together

$26B

Annual Revenue

200K

Employees

100

Manufacturing sites + 30

global officesMicro-inverters

shipped

>10M 2GW

PV module

annual capacity

14,000Active global suppliers

1.2 million Active components

52 million Sq. ft. manufacturing

>1,000 Global customers

2,500Design engineers

NASDAQ: FLEX


EXECUTIVE TEAMUnmatched Tracking Experience

Tyroan HardyCOOSunPower | PowerLight

Marco GarciaChief Commercial OfficerSuniva | STP | PowerLight

Alex AuCTOSPG | Akeena

Mike MehawichCMOSkyline Solar | Applied Materials

Marco MillerVP OperationsSunPower | PowerLight

Over 7GW collective PV system design, installation and

project management experience

Dan ShugarCEOSunPower | PowerLight | PG&E

Sandor NagySr. VP Supply ChainFlex | GE Healthcare

7


UNMATCHED TRACKER LEGACY

1993650 kWFresno,

California

2011310 MWSan Luis

Obispo, CA

200614 MW

Las Vegas,

Nevada

200410 MWBavaria,

Germany

20147 MW

Lancaster,

California, USA

201570 MWMoree,

Australia

73 MWCrucero, Chile

69MWJaviera, Chile

Future

NEXTracker team has driven the growth of trackers for over 25 years — from niche technology to preferred choice for the

world’s largest PV plants

NEXTracker Projects:

80 MWCholuteca,

Honduras

134 MW

Mustang California,

USA

8

2016416 MW4 Brothers

Utah, USA

105 MWPunjab, India

327MWBlythe,

California, USA

Prior companies:

2017

750 MWVillanueva

Mexico

203 MWUpton,

Texas, USA

190MWPirapora,

Brazil


GLOBAL PRESENCEManufacturer of award-winning, cost-effective PV solutions

India

China

Australia

Headquarters

Fremont, CA

Mexico

Chile

Brazil

9 Global offices, deployments in 8 countries across 5 continents

NEXTracker Offices

LEGEND

Tennessee

Spain

Chile

Mexico

Manufacturing

Portugal

China


BANKABILITY & 3RD PARTY VALIDATIONNEXTracker has been extensively evaluated by leading third party organizations

• Comprehensive wind tunnel testing / Certified

Report from best-in-class CPP

• Independent Mechanical & Structural

Engineering Review by International Firm

Kleinfelder

• Favorable Bankability Studies from Leading

Independent Engineers DNV GL, and

SAIC/Leidos

• Superior quality programs with

key suppliers; ISO 9001 certified

10


NX HORIZON SINGLE-AXIS TRACKER


Built-in physical protection against

over-rotation

Typical LinkedRow Tracker

Typical max rotation:

+/- 60 degrees

VS.

BalancedNo offset

DESIGN ELEGANCE Self-Powered Tracker

Unbalanced Offset

Torsional Load: Creates over-turning moment on slew gear

Typical max rotation:

+/- 45–52 degrees

No physical over-rotation protection

12


NX HORIZON SELF POWERED TRACKER (SPT)

13

• Solar powered tracker movement with

wireless communications

• Every row self-contained and independent

Self Powered Controller (SPC)

precisely measures array angle and

controls tracker position Integrated Li-Ion backup battery provides

power reserve and overnight control

Zigbee wireless mesh communication

communications & control for each tracker

row

DC Motor drives

tracker row

1

234

5

Dedicated PV panel powers SPC

controller and motor


WHY SELF-POWERED?

Wireless, self-contained motor power and communications at each row

Eliminates

communication

wiring & trenching

Eliminates costly

UPS system

Plug ‘n play

commissioning

14


ETL certified

to

UL 2703

SELF-GROUNDINGNEXTracker proprietary ultra-strong

fasteners displace grounding material

Metallic bearings enable

tracker-to-pier grounding

Savings up

to $0.01/W

Permanent

attachment

deters theft

Used in

commercial

aircraft

15


NEXTRACKER KEY ADVANTAGES

25–35% fewer foundations

Self-Powered Tracking (SPT)

10-30%+ more PV per site

5x faster cleaning & maintenance

1–2% more energy per MW

Smart wireless monitoring & closed loop control

Unlinked rows for easier O&M

120°rotational arc

16


CAPEX & OPEX SAVINGS

1. Less piers, requiring less steel

2. No trenching, less wiring

3. Operations & maintenance benefits due to

unlinked rows and cleaning mode

4. Fewer moving parts and sealed gears providing

barrier to sand and corrosive elements

5. Lower cost per unit of energy

6. Less motor power needed

1

2

3

4

5

6

17

CAPEX

savings

CAPEX & OPEX

savings

OPEX

savings

OPEX

savings


PV SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY LEADERIndustry Firsts

90 Module Row

1st to offer 80, now up to 93

module rows, balanced design,

less piers,

120° rotational arc,

Self Grounded Tracker

Structure Listed to UL2703

Eliminating need for additional

grounding components and

labor

Self-Powered Tracker

Eliminates need for AC

power; every row has

integrated UPS, inclinometer,

motor current monitoring, &

wireless communications

Predictive Analytics &

Digital O&M™

Auto-commissioning,

remote monitoring &

control, characterization of

electrical and mechanical

system health


CENTRALIZED & DECENTRALIZED

TRACKERS OPERATIONS &

MAINTENANCE (O&M)


Unblocked Rows Boost

O&M EfficiencyUnimpeded rows for service vehicles

Face to face module for easier and faster

cleaning (4-5x), less risk of damage to panels

20


MORE POWER & LAYOUT FLEXIBILITY

Typical Linked Row Layout• Less PV installed: 2.08MW

• Access roads reduce the power density by more

than 6%

Unutilized

corner areas

Access roads

required to

service arrays

NEXTracker LayoutMore PV installed: 2.88MW

• 38% more power due to

flexibility

• 1% more power due to

120 degree rotation

angle

*Layouts from actual customer project in the state of California, USA, 320W modules

Easy access with

optimum land usage

21


ENGINEERED TO REDUCE GRADING COSTS

+15%

15% North-South grade tolerance

East-West grade tolerance

Slotted connections provide radial adjustability

Un-

limited

Up to

$1M+ cost

savings

For grading utility-scale sites*

* Varies based on project size and site-specific conditions


O&M CONSIDERATIONS

• Conditional and routine

• Preventive and corrective

• Site and component


NX FLOOD CLEARANCE VS. LINKED ROW TRACKER

Stow feature, if allowed by AHJ for wind force mitigation, should be allowable for flood requirements (with a UPS)

NEXTracker offers standard pier height (.9 meters) option and an

extended height option (1.2 meters)

- clearance for all key mechanical & electrical components

- Both options from grade to lowest electrically active component (with

panels in stowed position)

NX Horizon

Controller Unit

Lower Damper

Mount

24

NEXTracker Pier Height Typical Linked Row Tracker Height

Limit switch

Drive linkage

- .3 meters above ground, well within risk height and flood damage


THE TORQUE VS TENSION

Torque Fastening Four Steps to Tension Fastening


DIGITAL O&M

• Real-time and historical data analysis

• Particular attention paid to:

• Tracker angle

• Controller health and battery performance

• Motor performance

• Slew gear performance

• Higher plant availability

• Reduced truck rolls


KEY O&M CONSIDERATIONS FOR TRACKER SYSTEMS

Un-Planned Maintenance

• Motor or drive failure

• Motor or drive stuck

• Drive line misalignment - damage

• Fastener failure

• Tracking Failure

• Damper Failure

• Communication Failure

Planned Maintenance

• Array cleaning Management

• Vegetation Management

• Fastener Retorque

• System wide inspection

• Motor and Drive Inspection and

management

• Battery backup - inspection and

management

• Calibration


WINNING PARTNERSHIPS

• Plan for 25+ year project service life

• Site management

• Predictive maintenance execution

• System monitoring

• Long term asset management

• Knowledge transfer and installation

training


ENERGY YIELD ENHANCEMENT &

SOFTWARE


CONTINUOUSLY INNOVATING TO INCREASE ENERGY YIELD

“Skip-Tracking”

feature increases

overall energy yield

up to 0.25%. Smart

sensors trigger “Skip-

Tracking” when

adequate DNI (beam

irradiance) is present

NEXTracker’s Row-to-

Row tracking with its

smart sensing

technology can

improve overall

energy yield by 4% on

Undulating terrain

Improved Backtracking with Skip-Tracking

Optimized Row-to-Row tracking on uneven terrain

Enhanced PV tracking with Diffuse Light Tracking

NX’s advanced

Diffuse Light

Tracking algorithm

enhances energy

yield up to 2%

during cloudy days

NEXTracker customers make full use of NX’s independent row design, enjoying the benefits of our patent-pending “Skip-Tracking”, “Row-to-Row

Tracking”, and “Diffuse Light Tracking” methods. Get up to 6% more energy yield vs. 3rd party trackers.

Industr

y

sta

ndard

NE

XT

racker

Advanta

ge


INDUSTRY’S MOST ADVANCED WIND SHIELD

SUMMARY: Safety wind stow criteria informed and developed by extensive wind tunnel studies & testing

with industry’s leading wind researchers CPP.

- On-site weather station(s) are used to measure wind speed and direction.

- Wind stow command is instantaneously propagated through the Network Control Unit (NCU) to all independent rows via ZigBee network.

Wind relief feature could stow Linked row trackers at 52 degrees. Compared to NEXTracker’s wind stow at 30 degrees, PV array experiences 25% more wind pressure, consequently increasing micro-cracks, PV reliability issues, and PV performance degradation over life time

When significant wind forces are against array, active, vector wind stow algorithm calculates directional component of the wind and stows arrays at 30°. Moreover, by stowing PV panel towards the direction of wind, we can ensure that wind is on the front side of the PV panel

Linked Row Tracker with passive wind stowNX HorizonStowing angleaffectsPV reliability

Effectively stows against more critical E-W winds

PV

experiences

25% more

pressure


INDUSTRY’S MOST ADVANCED WIND SHIELD CONT.

• Risky: stowing could take several hours for tracker block to re-engage with drive mechanism.

• Loss of profit: slow stow can significantly impact overall energy production up to 1% in windy regions

• Peace of mind: stowing and un-stowing operations completed within seconds.

• More power, more profit: With wind gust or persistent wind subsides, trackers are back to normal operation, increasing PV array’s energy yield

Un-stowingspeed affectsPV performance

Real-time monitoring for improved safety

• Smart design: Each NX Horizon tracker’s angle can be monitored and controlled remotely.

• Safety first: This allows for operators to preemptively stow the PV plant during forecasted weather events, and remain confident in its safety (e.g. Hurricane Matthew)

• Loss of PV reliability: Wind relief feature makes each tracker row disengage from its drive mechanism, protecting the tracker but sacrificing PV reliability.

• Needle in haystack: Lack of remote monitoring and control features at the individual tracker row makes it harder to ensure stowing during forecasted wind events.

NX Horizon self-poweredtracker

Linked row tracker with passive wind stow


Cost Savings Summary – NT vs. Linked Row Tracker

Starting Price Installation savings Energy yield gain(Capitalized)

O&M savings(Capitalized)

Effective Price

Co

st

/ W

att

Savings Across the Project Lifecycle


NEXTRACKER & AUSTRALIA


EXCEPTIONAL FLEXIBILITY & CUSTOMER SUPPORT: TWO DIFFERENT SERVICE MODELS

Agricultural and Remote Off-grid(.5 kW – 20 MW)

Mugga Lane Solar Farm, 600 kW

Utility Scale Solar (< 20 MW +)

Moree Solar Farm, 70MW


YOUR TRUSTED, LOCAL TECHNOLOGY PARTNER

Moree: 71 MW

Barcaldine: 25 MWDeGrussa Mine: 10.5 MW

Mugga Lane: 600 kW

Mt. Majura: 2.3 MW

110MW

Country Summary:

- 5 projects delivered and installed on-time

- Flexible technology to handle range of geotechnical & soil conditions unique to Australia (ex. Hard clay soil required flexible pier design in Moree)

- Largest tracker project in Australia with superior performance to date & country’s 1st hybrid solar + storage solution

Local Presence + Service Capability

- Est. in 2016, our Sydney office provides sales, engineering design, and timely project management support

Short Lead Times + Rapid Execution

- Established Asia supply chain with quick delivery to Australia

Sydney Office


MOREE SOLAR FARM

Overview: EPC Elecnor selected NEXTracker for its flexibility and proven technology. With the heavy, cracked clay found in Northern NSW, our design engineering crew developed a solution to address the challenges posed by shifting clay.

NX Advantage:

- NX Horizon flood clearance is ideal for this Australian region where flooding is common

- 33% less piers required vs. other trackers

- Flexible technology to handle range of geotechnical & soil conditions unique to Australia (ex. Hard clay soil required flexible pier design in Moree)

- Largest tracker project in Australia with superior performance to date

70MW


Overview: Selected by Elecnor w/ ARENA funding, Barcaldine is Queensland’s biggest solar farm and produces enough electricity to power ~9,800 households.

NX Advantage:

- Went online two months ahead of schedule due to ease and speed of installing NX Horizon

- To produce 57,000 MWh of clean energy, or 25MW

- Largest tracker project in Queensland

BARCALDINE SOLAR FARM

25MW


Overview: NEXTracker is supplying daytime electricity needs to remote DeGrussa Gold and Copper Mine in Western Australia. NX Horizon™ self-powered tracker represents a technological innovation and a substantial cost savings for the Australian mining industry.

NX Advantage:

- Offsets 1.3 million gallons (5 million liters) of diesel fuel per year, contributing to a steady stream of clean energy and cost savings.

- Includes 120˚ rotational tracking range and a self-powered drive system with integrated backup power

- Largest tracker project in Queensland

DEGRUSSA GOLD & COPPER MINE

10.6MW


POWERING AUSTRALIA’S RENEWABLE ECONOMY


GLOBAL PROJECTS


Project Name: Blythe Units 1 & 2

DC Capacity: 327 MW

Location Blythe, CA

Developer: NextEra Energy

EPC: Blattner Energy

BLYTHE

Blythe, California

327MW

42


BLYTHE 1 & 2


CRUCEROPOWER PLANT

Calama, Chile

Project Name: Javiera

DC Capacity: 69 MW

Location: Atacama Desert, Chile

Developer: SunEdison

Financing: CorpBanca, BBVA

73MW

44Proprietary and Confidential ©2016


CRUCERO POWER PLANT


JAVIERA POWER PLANTAtacama, Chile

Project Name: Maria Elena ‘Crucero’

DC Capacity: 73 MW

Location: Atacama Desert, Chile

Developer: SunEdison

Financing: OPIC (Overseas Private

Investment Corp), IDB (Inter-

American Dev Bank),

CorpBanca

69MW

46Proprietary and Confidential ©2016


JAVIERA POWER PLANT


NX FUSION PLUSWhat is it?

Flex PV Modules(by request )

NEXTracker Horizon

IDEAL Power

Storage-ready Inverter

Avalon VFB Battery• 25 kWh Capacity

• 10 kW Peak Power

• Integrated BMS

• Zigbee Wireless Network

• Controller Integrated into NX Data

& Communication Platform

• 300 – 350 Mono

• NX Opitimized Mounting

• 80 Panel Row

• Self-Powered Controllers

• Integrated UPS

• Motor & Tracker Controls

• Zigbee Wireless

• 30 kW Rating

• 97.5% Peak Efficiency

• 3-port Design Including DC

Battery Charge / Discharge

• Integrated EMS

NEXTracker

Machine Learning & Software

Optimization

• Predictive analytics

• Digital O&MTM & remote diagnostics

• Automated commissioning

• Flex ConnectTM cyber security

• Data security: NERC CIP compliant

Copyright ©2016 NEXTracker, Proprietary and Confidential

THANK YOU

Peter Wheale

VP Sales, Australia and Pacific

AU Mobile: +61 438 108 755

[email protected]

NEXTracker Australia Pty Lld

39 East Esplanade, Suite 303/304

Manly, NSW 2095

mailto:[email protected]

peter wheale - nextracker

Business