Nextracker has just unveiled a new dedicated manufacturing facility in Las Vegas along with Unimacts, which will own and operate the facility.
The new facility will produce critical steel components exclusively for Nextracker used in ground-mount solar power generation plants to serve projects in Nevada and southwestern states. This is Nextracker’s sixth public dedication of a new manufacturing facility since 2022 and the 15th facility the company opened or expanded with key suppliers in the United States in that time.
The Las Vegas facility features expanded production capacity generating more than 100 new jobs currently, and over 200 expected by 2024. The plant includes Unimacts manufacturing machinery and equipment relocated from Mexico as well as new equipment.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), nearly 200 GW of solar manufacturing capacity have been announced or expanded since the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year.
“By partnering with Unimacts on this new production line, we’re bringing back American manufacturing jobs and building out America’s energy infrastructure to enhance energy security and de-risk the supply chain,” said Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker. “This plant will support our customers with quick shipping and American-made products.”
Unimacts CEO Matt Arnold added: “With the Nextracker dedicated line, we will be supporting gigawatts of utility-scale projects annually, powering homes and businesses across the Southwest and even as far east as Indiana and Kentucky.”
Nextracker began a significant reshoring initiative in April of 2022, with the opening of the JM Steel factory in Sinton, Texas. The company has continued to invest in solar manufacturing building out more than 25 GW of annual domestic solar tracker capacity with new dedicated production lines announced in Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee and now in Nevada.
“Nextracker and Unimact’s new facility is a shining example of how smart policy can uplift communities with jobs and local investment,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “The United States is in the midst of a clean energy manufacturing renaissance, and investments like this are helping drive us toward an abundant, reliable, American-made clean energy future.”
Nextracker and Unimacts held a dedication event to announce the new line at the Las Vegas facility, which also coincided with the solar industry’s largest show, RE+, taking place in Las Vegas this week. Present at the event were Hopper of SEIA; Jason Ellsworth, CEO of Clenera; Jennifer Cooper, VP of global supply chain at AES Corp.; David Crane, Undersecretary for Infrastructure in the U.S. Department of Energy; and Jon Wellinghoff, CEO of GridPolicy and chief regulatory officer of Voltus. They spoke to the importance of reliable clean energy, local economic development, and American energy independence.
— Solar Builder magazine
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