Nextpower Expands Into Batteries and Solar Tracking Through Acquisitions
“The trackers do what sunflowers have been doing for millions of years,” Dan Shugar told Fortune.
Nextpower operates as the spine of the U.S. solar sector by lifting solar panels toward the sun, maximizing daily energy production. Dan Shugar describes the devices as the stem of the industry, operating in slow motion to keep arrays oriented for optimal capture. According to Fortune, the company controls 55% of the U.S. solar tracker market and roughly 30% globally.
The 13-year-old firm changed its name last year from Nextracker to reflect a diversified business model. Shugar told Fortune that the company developed a platform strategy covering everything in solar except the cells themselves, alongside a push into batteries. Nextpower’s stock is up 12% this year to a market cap of $15 billion, earning a 24th-place rank on Fortune’s Fastest-Growing Companies list.
Jefferies energy analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith declared Nextpower the firm’s franchise pick in the power and utilities sector this month. Dumoulin-Smith told Fortune that the company represents a bet on the highest quality in a disregarded sector, adding that the diversification into battery energy storage is a major bonus.
Solar power remains the fastest-growing source of new power in the U.S., despite attacks on renewable energy by the Trump administration. Shugar told Fortune that oil-rich Texas and California are now neck-and-neck for utility-scale solar capacity with over 15 gigawatts each. One gigawatt is enough to power 750,000 homes at full strength, while about 80% of new U.S. solar projects are built with battery storage systems.
Battery integration allows solar systems to deploy stored electricity at night, operating closer to nonstop baseload power. Nextpower acquired Prevalon Energy for up to $365 million in July, alongside Spain-based power inverter business Zigor and its U.S. subsidiary Apex Power for $80.5 million. Shugar told Fortune that the battery business makes Nextpower more attractive to the AI and robotics industries as hyperscalers build power-hungry data centers.
The company completed a $378 million purchase of Germany’s Zimmermann PV-Steel Group in October to expand in Europe. Acquisitions also include Bentek for $78 million last year for electrical components and Origami Solar for $53 million for panel frames. Shugar told Fortune that domestic manufacturing and onshoring efforts have kept the impact of rising tariffs and diesel prices relatively muted.
The biggest long-term headwind remains the Trump administration’s elimination of tax credits last year for solar and wind projects. Most solar projects currently in the works have until 2030 to be completed with their tax breaks intact. Shugar told Fortune that the company’s project backlog has tripled since going public four years ago, rising from $2 billion to over $6 billion.
Congress is currently considering infrastructure permitting reform legislation to boost electric transmission and solar farm construction. Energy research firm Enverus stated that new solar contracts would need to rise about 49% to offset the loss of tax credits. Shugar told Fortune that the next presidential administration starting in 2029 potentially could work with Congress to restore renewable tax credits.
“If more power is a national imperative, then everything should be incentivized to come online,” Shugar told Fortune. “But we don’t want to see the government picking winners and losers.”