Energetica India Magazine May-June 2021

for our employees. Kindly shed some light on STI Nor- land’s expansion from Europe to Bra- zil. J avier R eclusa : STI Norland was a pio- neer in Europe in both the development of fixed-tilt structures and solar trackers. Its first solar structure was designed in 1998, building the world’s first PV plant with solar trackers in Navarra in 2002. Since then, the company has taken part in the development and execution of many of the world’s most important so- lar plants, supplying solar trackers and fixed structures as well as undertaking their electromechanical assembly. Its pioneer spirit remains in force with the development in 2017 of the first du - al-row solar tracker in the market, the STI-H250™. Today, STI Norland is the largest suppli- er of solar trackers in Latin America and one of the fastest growing companies in Europe, according to the Financial Times ranking. The Spanish company focused on clean and renewable ener- gies has branches in 10 countries on 5 continents. Among them, the Brazilian is one of the most outstanding. Currently, the subsidiary is considered a leader in the PV solar energy sector in the south- energetica INDIA- May-June_2021 23 INTERVIEW “Photovoltaic solar energy market is maturing and ex- panding around the world, being the energy matrix considered for the next decades.” ern hemisphere, according to Wood Mackenzie and continues to grow with projects of all sizes. In Brazil, the company was born in 2015, after we saw opportunities in the Brazilian market because, at that time, the government decided to diversify the energy matrix, creating incentives and opening the first solar energy auctions in the country. Before that, solar energy in Brazil was extremely expensive and was not widely used because it is not competitive enough, in terms of costs, compared to other types of power gen- eration. For this reason, solar energy auctions try to increase the offer of prod- ucts in the Brazilian market, simplify the costs to install solar energy equipment and increase the demand for this type of energy capture. STI Norland Brasil ar- rived in order to help consolidate the PV solar energy market and make this ener- gy matrix one of the main in the country. Details about product offerings to the clean energy industry. J avier R eclusa : STI Norland operates in the manufacture of Trackers and Fixed Structures, in addition to offering con- struction, operation and maintenance services to investor companies or plant managers. In terms of products, one of them is the Fixed Structure, which has a pre-estab - lished slope for better use of the sun during the day. STI commercializes two types of Fixed Structures, the STI-F3 ™, a configurable single-pile structure for two PV modules in a vertical position (2Vx15). This structure adapts to high slopes (N-S) and any other project need, offering maximum optimization. And the STI-F5 ™, which is a bipost structure with a projection of up to 8 meters, ca- pable of supporting configurations of 4 modules vertically or 8 modules horizon- tally, suitable for areas with strong wind. Our engineers design and calculate the structure according to the particu- larities of each project and the calcula- tion standards of each country (ASCE, Eurocode, CFE, NCH, AS NZS, etc.) It is modular and adapts to the electrical configuration and the needs of the proj - ect, offering maximum optimisation, with modules up to 2 metres wide by 1 metre long and inclinations between 5 and 15 degrees. The second type of product is the Track- er, which consists of a metallic structure that supports the PV modules, but con- tains an intelligent system of algorithms that performs the movement of the entire structure to monitor the sun, guarantee- ing an additional energy gain, among others. The company’s flagship is the STI-H250 ™ tracker that has a double-row struc- ture with 60 PV modules per row in vertical position (1V). This optimized configuration allows one motor to move 120 modules, and also favors its adap- tation to any type of layout and terrain. This tracker was designed to obtain the best LCOE in the market and with the most advanced technology, being the first dual-row tracker ever developed in the market. It is approximately 60-meter long and counts on wireless communi- cation and a single self-powered motor that moves the two rows. STI Norland was a pioneer in developing this solar tracking technology. STI Norland Brazil has its factory in Camaçari, Bahia, where we produce part of the national components. How many projects have been com- pleted to date? J avier R eclusa : We already have over 300 projects completed and all of them are customized according to the scope of the plant and the specifics of each location. Can you shed some light on the com- pany’s recent financial data, and goals set? J avier R eclusa : As previously men- tioned, STI Norland is among the 1,000