Solar solutions provider Nextracker will have a dedicated production line at a factory in Memphis, Tennessee, to manufacture low-carbon steel components for use in its solar trackers, the company announced May 18.
MMS Steel Tubes USA, a joint venture between steel product makers Metalogalva and Soufer, opened its first U.S. factory in Memphis earlier this spring. It will produce steel torque tubes for the solar trackers, which are commonly used to rotate solar panels perpendicular to the sun to maximize the amount of energy they absorb.
“We chose Memphis for our first U.S. plant to support Nextracker’s utility-scale solar demand across the Southeast,” CEO of Metalogalva Group António Pedro Antunes said in a statement. “Memphis has the transportation, infrastructure, and capable workforce necessary to support a solar manufacturing program like this.”
The dedicated tube mill will supply projects in Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi and Georgia, according to the release. Tennessee-based solar provider Silicon Ranch, which is developing many of those projects, has signed multi-year supply agreements with Nextracker totaling 4.5 gigawatts.
“Nextracker’s new Tennessee tube mill not only helps us maintain our 100% track record for successful project delivery but also enables us to support additional investments in American manufacturing while lowering carbon production processes of our supply chain,” said Silicon Ranch Co-Founder, President and CEO Reagan Farr.
