Que: How do you see STI Norland’s journey on completing 25 years in the renewable energy industry?

Ans: STI Norland has been a key part of the development of solar energy for more than 20 years, since 1996. Above all, the people who are part of our company are convinced that photovoltaic (PV) energy is the future and want to contribute to change in the global energy model.

STI Norland was born in the city of Pamplona, Spain, since then, our vision is to deliver products for the production of clean and renewable solar energy with ethics and commitment.

Also, our mission is to make a difference in improving the country’s energy efficiency, producing and delivering the best products for the generation of PV solar energy, ensuring: adequacy of products and services for our customers; profitability for our investors; sustainable growth of the company and an environment of constant development for our employees.

Que: Kindly shed some light on STI Norland’s expansion from Europe to Brazil.

Ans: STI Norland was a pioneer 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 solar 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 dual-row solar tracker in the market, the STI-H250™.

Today, STI Norland is the largest supplier 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 energies 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 southern 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 generation. For this reason, solar energy auctions try to increase the offer of products 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 arrived in order to help consolidate the PV solar energy market and make this energy matrix one of the main in the country.

Que: Details about product offerings to the clean energy industry.

Ans: STI Norland operates in the manufacture of Trackers and Fixed Structures, in addition to offering construction, 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-established 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, capable of supporting configurations of 4 modules vertically or 8 modules horizontally, suitable for areas with strong wind. Our engineers design and calculate the structure according to the particularities of each project and the calculation 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 project, 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 Tracker, which consists of a metallic structure that supports the PV modules, but contains an intelligent system of algorithms that performs the movement of the entire structure to monitor the sun, guaranteeing an additional energy gain, among others.

The company’s flagship is the STI-H250 ™ tracker that has a double-row structure with 60 PV modules per row in vertical position (1V). This optimized configuration allows one motor to move 120 modules, and also favors its adaptation 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 communication 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.

Que: How many projects have been completed to date?

Ans: 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.

Que: Can you shed some light on the company’s recent financial data, and goals set?

Ans: As previously mentioned, STI Norland is among the 1,000 fastest growing companies in Europe, ranking 347th overall. Among the companies in the solar sector, the manufacturer of trackers was ranked 9th. This is the fifth annual ranking that the Financial Times publication brings and STI Norland is the only solar tracker company to appear on the list.

The ranking, made in partnership with Statista, used as a criterion the European companies that achieved the highest compound annual growth rate in revenue between 2016 and 2019. In this period analyzed, STI Norland accumulated growth of 471.6%, evolving from a turnover from 18.3 million euros in 2016 to more than 100 million euros in 2019.

Since 2015 when the organization was set up in Brazil, the company has grown exponentially and, only in 2020, compared to the previous year, it accumulated 95% growth in Brazil and increased its staff by 128%, moving the office to a new headquarters in São Paulo.

Undoubtedly, recognitions like these, are very important achievements for STI Norland. This shows us that we are following the right path and that we are achieving our goals and mission. It makes us proud of the work we are doing and the path to a more sustainable world that we are helping to build.

As goals, we have many and quite bold ones. We are always looking to do more. I believe that constantly improving our products, with a focus on the tracker, is one of our main constant goals, so that it can increasingly capture more energy, at the lowest possible cost. In addition, we aim to further expand our work. We are already present in countries on all continents, but there is still a lot to grow and innovative solutions to propose, this is our goal: to boost renewable energies in the world.

Que: How do you feel after accomplishing this milestone?

Ans: For me, the photovoltaic solar energy market is maturing and expanding around the world, being the energy matrix considered for the next decades, and we are happy to be able to accompany this movement, bringing more and more technology and efficiency to the sector.

Since 1996, we have embraced the mission of helping to develop and mature the PV solar energy market worldwide and we are growing with it. I need to thank all the people who made this achievement possible. Thank you, employees, suppliers and customers.

Our story began in the city of Pamplona, in the north of Spain, but it has already won the world, being recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in Europe, which is why I am so happy to be part of this story, which is helping to rewrite the future of the planet, boosting renewable energies.