Business 3 min read By Callum Montgomery
Nextpower dominates US solar trackers as sector rebounds
Nextpower, formerly Nextracker, controls about 55% of the US solar tracker market and has broadened into batteries, inverters and solar components, even as federal tax credits for renewables have been ended.
Nextpower, the solar equipment company formerly known as Nextracker, controls about 55% of the US solar tracker market and holds roughly 30% of the global market. The company's products, which tilt panels to follow the sun, can add up to about 30% more energy output, and its position has made it one of the central suppliers to the country's fastest-growing source of new power.
The company was renamed from Nextracker last year and was founded 13 years ago. It has since moved well beyond trackers into batteries, inverters and other solar components. Its shares are up 12% this year and its market capitalisation is about $15 billion. Fortune ranked the company 24th on its list of the fastest-growing companies, and Jefferies has named Nextpower its top pick among power and utilities stocks.
Growth has been driven in part by acquisitions. In July the company agreed to buy the Prevalon battery business for up to $365 million. It also acquired the Zigor inverter business and Apex Power for $80.5 million, bought the Zimmermann PV-Steel Group for $378 million in October, and paid $78 million for Bentek last year. It added the Origami Solar frame business for $53 million. In total the company has completed 13 acquisitions in five years.
The company's order backlog has grown from $2 billion to more than $6 billion since it went public four years ago. Its domestic factories have expanded, and the company says tariffs and higher diesel costs have had only a muted impact on its operations.
The main headwind is policy. The Trump administration ended solar and wind tax credits last year. Nextpower and the wider industry point out that most projects can still be completed by 2030 with the credits intact. Enverus forecasts that new solar contracts must rise by about 49% to offset the loss of the credits. Congress is weighing permitting reform covering transmission and solar, and the next administration, which takes office in 2029, could restore renewable tax credits.
The sector is expected to rebound after the midterm elections. Solar is the fastest-growing new source of power in the United States, Texas and California each exceed 15 gigawatts of utility-scale solar, and about 80% of new US solar is now paired with batteries, a trend that plays to Nextpower's diversified portfolio. Nuclear and fossil plants continue to receive federal subsidies in other forms. Nextpower's chief executive, Shugar, opposes government picking winners and losers in the energy market.
Source: fortune.com
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