Nextracker teams up with Orrcon Steel for Australian components

US solar tracker maker Nextracker Inc (NASDAQ:NXT) on Wednesday unveiled an agreement with Orrcon Steel, a unit of Australia’s BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL), for the manufacturing of components for Nextracker’s smart solar trackers.

Australian-made critical components for Nextracker’s systems will be produced from BlueScope’s steel coil at Orrcon Steel’s Salisbury Tube mill in Brisbane. The components will then be finished at Orrcon Steel’s Northgate site by Baojia, Nextracker’s global manufacturing partner for delivery to engineering procurement contractors (EPCs).

The opening of a new facility in Northgate, Brisbane, was attended by Queensland Minister for Energy and Clean Economy Jobs, Mick de Brenni. The facility, which has created 16 jobs, will produce up to 50,000 tonnes of torque tubes, sufficient to supply over 2.5 GW of utility-scale solar farms.

The first projects that will receive components made there is the 480-MWp Aldoga solar farm of Acciona Energia, which will be constructed near Gladstone.

“This foundation strengthens Nextracker’s commitment to deliver energy security to Australians with a local supply chain and new manufacturing jobs to make clean energy affordable and accessible,” commented Peter Wheale, Nextracker general manager for Australia, Southeast Asia and New Zealand.

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