Manufacturer Trina Solar will supply its trackers Vanguard 1P, optimized with SuperTrack artificial intelligence, for one of the largest solar projects in Brazil, the Santa Luzia Complex.
Developed by Rio Alto Energias Renováveis, the photovoltaic project, located in the state of Paraíba, will have a capacity of 520 MW when its nine plants come into operation.
Construction of the project, which began this year, is expected to end this first phase of the first nine plants in 2024. Rio Alto projects the creation of 750 direct jobs in this implementation phase alone.
The project's first trackers arrive in Brazil in February next year. The remaining deliveries will be made sequentially until the end of 2023.
“We are delighted to be part of this project, offering the best solar PV generation technology currently available in the world. For Trina, it is also very important to help combat global warming and contribute to job creation,” explains Alvaro García-Maltrás, Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean at Trina Solar.
With this contract, the executive predicts that Trina Solar will end this year with sales of 1 GW in trackers in Brazil.
Rio Alto will use bifacial modules that will be installed on Trina Tracker's Vanguard1P trackers. The tracker, which was launched in December last year and has already been used at the Qinghai-Henan Solar Park plant in China - the second largest in the world - offers high stability and has a double shock absorber system, which provides greater security against strong wind gusts.
Furthermore, Vanguard1P has individualized rows, which have wireless communication and power supply through the project's own modules.
“For us at the Rio Alto Group, having a renowned company, with cutting-edge technology and recognized in the market like Trina Solar, adds value to the project and increases its reliability. We are proud to have partners committed to a sustainable energy future for everyone”, says João Batista Meirelles, director of Purchasing and Implementation at Rio Alto Energias Renováveis.
According to Trina Solar, the SuperTrack artificial intelligence system contracted by Rio Alto can significantly reduce the shading of one module over another in cases of uneven terrain.
The company explains that, in itself, solar trackers allow a gain of between 15% and 20% in energy generation compared to fixed structures. Coupled with artificial intelligence systems, the gain can be even greater: between 3% and 8% compared to traditional trackers.
“The design of our trackers maximizes the energy performance of the bifacial modules. With the SuperTrack intelligent control system, it is possible to adjust the best tracking angle in real time, taking into account both direct and diffuse radiation through an intelligent algorithm,” explains Marcus Fabrino, Sales Director at TrinaTracker in Latin America and Caribbean.
The executive also remembers that SuperTrack will be able to independently control each row of trackers, thus mitigating the loss of energy caused by shadows from one row on another on sloped terrain, such as the Santa Luzia Complex.
Technology and reliability were decisive for Rio Alto to choose Trina Solar trackers. “Our decision was based on trust in one of the largest module manufacturers in the world, Trina Solar, which has been investing a lot of resources in this new solar tracker market and presenting intelligent solutions,” said Edmond Farhar, CEO of the Rio Alto Group.
“We are very excited about this new partnership and we hope that we can write a new trajectory together for these and the other projects that we will build in the coming years”, he adds.
Trina Tracker has a very experienced team in Latin America, which has already dimensioned, manufactured and delivered more than 3 GW of trackers across the region.
