NEXTracker's NX Drive energy storage system (ESS) to improve stability on Canada's largest transmission grid by satisfying demand peaks for commercial and industrial (C&I) end-users

FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NEXTracker™, a Flex company, announced today that Leclanché, a global integrator of energy storage, has selected NEXTracker to supply its NX Drive™ energy storage system (ESS) for battery solutions the company is installing at commercial and industrial businesses in Ontario, Canada. NX Drive is a standardized battery enclosure system for generation-plus-storage and stand-alone storage applications. In this installation, NX Drive ESS will be utilized as a stand-alone system, incorporating a storage inverter and entire ESS within the enclosure to help power several small businesses in metropolitan Toronto. Selected for its long-term value, intelligent design and quality components, each ESS unit has a capacity of approximately two MWh.

"NEXTracker's NX Drive ESS technology exceeded our safety and aesthetic design requirements while reducing the required footprint," said Thom Reddington, Leclanché Sr. VP North America. "NEXTracker's expert team of storage engineers and advisors have been excellent partners and highly responsive; they were able to design the solution to incorporate the entire PCS (power control system) which includes not just a battery in the container, but also a fully integrated inverter and entire ESS system."

"By partnering with Leclanché on this innovative program, we can help commercial and industrial customers minimize their energy demand costs with our NX Drive ESS," said Dan Shugar, NEXTracker CEO. "With the Canadian power supply relying more on renewable but intermittent power sources, NX Drive takes the pain out of these grid management challenges by providing an integrated and reliable storage system."

NX Drive provides a flexible, pre-engineered balance-of-system (BOS) solution for virtually any generation-plus-storage or stand-alone storage application. NX Drive consists of a standard ISO form-factor enclosure with pre-engineered and integrated electrical, mechanical and thermal management safety features. Customers can also upgrade battery modules as technology evolves, and integrate photovoltaic and/or storage inverters, depending on design preference. Using advanced, patent-pending technologies to ensure safe operation and optimized performance, the NX Drive system infrastructure supports standard customer-supplied or NEXTracker-sourced Tier 1 lithium-ion batteries.

These Leclanché energy storage projects support the larger trend in Ontario towards clean, reliable energy generation and grid resiliency. In 2010, Ontario launched the Long-Term Energy Plan which has phased out coal-fired electricity generation and built a clean system that is more than 90% free of greenhouse gas emissions. Now the Energy Plan is focused on ensuring there is a robust supply of electricity to power homes and businesses across Ontario by increasing the renewable mix on the grid using energy storage applications. ESS systems like NX Drive will help improve stability for Canada's transmission grid by managing unbalanced supply/demand scenarios like the steep demand peaks Ontario currently faces. Market dynamics are driving project owners to seek repeatable, flexible and pre-engineered solutions such as NX Drive to help accelerate the deployment of industry-leading energy storage technologies.

To learn more about NX Drive, watch this video here.

About NEXTracker

NEXTracker, a Flex company, advances the power plant of the future with solar tracker and energy storage innovations to increase performance and reduce costs for project and plant owners. As the number-one tracker supplier worldwide with over 10 GW delivered, NEXTracker is globally recognized for delivering the most advanced photovoltaic solutions for hundreds of projects across five continents. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company has offices in Australia, India, Latin America, and Europe. For more information, visit: NEXTracker.com and follow the company on Twitter @NEXTracker.