Shoals Technologies Group Inc., a provider of electrical balance of systems (EBOS) solutions for solar, storage and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, and utility-scale solar tracker company Nextracker LLC, have unveiled a new North-South Big Lead Assembly (BLA) trunk bus product.

To address challenges associated with site access, Shoals and Nextracker have collaborated to innovate a new North-South BLA trunk product, which is specially optimized for NX Horizon tracker rows. In this North-South BLA product, the trunk bus runs parallel, rather than perpendicular, to the torque tube and transition boxes along the North-South row step down the size of the trunk bus along the tracker rows. Without any structures to impede site access, ongoing power plant O&M is simpler and faster.

Compared to conventional in-field North-South wiring methods, Shoals North-South BLA delivers a 43% savings in PV wiring installation labor, a 60% savings in DC wiring O&M, and a 0.25% increase in energy yield due to less DC wiring voltage drop.

“We are proud to partner with Nextracker to make our leading solar ecosystems work optimally together, resulting in utility-scale solar that is more cost effective for our customers,” says Jason Whitaker, CEO of Shoals. “We will continue to innovate collaboratively with Nextracker to enhance our North-South BLA product to further optimize its architecture and installation methodologies, enabling even more cost savings.”

“This collaboration with Shoals provides a critical solution to an industry-wide challenge,” states Dan Shugar, founder and CEO of Nextracker. “We are excited this North-South BLA product is now available, helping more projects realize the long-term benefit of our independent row trackers.”