The US tracker maker Nextracker has announced full compatibility of its products with the entire portfolio of Vertex ultra-high power modules at the world-leading Chinese photovoltaics company Trina Solar. It did so in a workshop titled “Ultra-High Power Photovoltaic Technology Contribute to a Low Carbon Future” at the BloombergNEF summit in Shanghai in early December.

 Vertex compatibility with the tracker portfolios of Nextracker, Arctech Solar, TrinaTracker, ARRAY and 10 other leading global tracker brands featured,  in the White Paper on Tracker Compatibility for Trina Solar 210 Vertex Modules, issued in November.

Nextracker is an innovation leader for  trackers compatible with high power modules. According to the 2021 PV Module and Inverter Bankability report, published by BloombergNEF, respondents were most concerned about tracker compatibility with the recently introduced ultra-high power modules. In this regard, Eric Kuo, Director of Technical Product Management at Nextracker, presented extensive compatibility testing and results at the workshop.

Module sizes have been undergoing rapid changes, with 210mm-size modules becoming the mainstream, Kuo said. Power station developers attach great importance to having uniform mounting hole positions and sizes, and Trina Solar's 210mm Vertex modules are a pioneer in module standardization, he said.

In May 2021 the China Photovoltaic Industry Association held an online workshop on module size standardization at which more than 20 companies and organizations, including Trina Solar, agreed on the overall dimension and mounting hole locations of their 210mm modules. Standardized modules significantly reduce the number of mounting fittings, which makes it easier to install high-power modules at low BOS cost, easing concerns of owners as well as installers.

To ensure full compatibility with high-power modules, global tracker makers such as Nextracker and TrinaTracker have completed a series of functional tests that ensure compatibility and reliability even in severe weather such as hurricanes, hailstorms and floods. In particular, Nextracker has upgraded its trackers to meet the new requirements of frame size, weight and mounting hole positions. With higher driving torque and stronger purlins, the trackers offer higher static and dynamic load, stronger structural support and ultimately perfect compatibility.

Also in 2021, Nextracker issued an approval on the full compatibility of its trackers with 210mm ultra-high power modules, including the Vertex 500W, 550W, 600W and 670W modules. Nextracker now has a variety of tracker products that are fully compatible with Vertex 210mm series modules.

TrinaTracker has launched two series of tracker products, namely Vanguard and Agile, which are fully compatible with the complete Vertex module portfolio, including the flagship 670W+ modules

“The energy gain from using trackers is key to improving system efficiency, reducing solar power costs and achieving the dual-carbon targets,” said Duan Shunwei, General Manager of TrinaTracker.

More importantly, compatibility with Vertex ultra-high power modules also enhances tracker value in integrated systems, so as to achieve 1+1>2 energy gain results, reduce costs and increase efficiency in various application scenarios.