FTC Solar is a fast-growing, global provider of solar tracker systems, technology, software, and engineering services. Solar trackers significantly increase energy production at solar power installations by dynamically optimizing solar panel orientation to the sun. FTC Solar’s innovative tracker designs provide performance and reliability, with an industry-leading installation cost-per-watt advantage. Founded in 2017 by a group of renewable energy industry veterans, FTC Solar is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and maintains sales and support offices in Australia, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. 

Voyager Tracker

Voyager is a single-axis, two-in-portrait solar tracker, engineered to reduce installation time and provide optimal energy production. Voyager has up to 56% fewer posts per MWdc and up to 40% lower installation time than industry average, based on a 3rd party comparison of Voyager vs. a selection of other 1P and 2P systems in the marketplace. Its 60-meter row configuration is designed to handle installations on rugged, sloping sites, achieving optimum MW per acre with minimal grading and lower balance-of-system costs through efficiencies in electrical string layout. Other engineering innovations, such as a patented “slide and glide” module assembly method promote lean construction and other efficiencies.  With the SunPath yield enhancement software, Voyager can achieve up to a 6% improvement in energy production over its normal configuration.

 

Customer Collaboration

FTC Solar strives for close customer relationships throughout the design and construction phases of a solar project. The company organizes pre-construction training sessions at its research facility near Denver, Colorado and provides hands-on instruction on assembly techniques, methods, optimal crew sizes and workflows. 
FTC Solar has engineered the construction process – as well as the hardware that makes up the Voyager tracker system – to facilitate “lean construction,” a method that streamlines every action and eliminates wasted time.
Finally, FTC Solar has instituted the “Golden Row,” which is fast becoming a company tradition: For the Golden Row, FTC Solar joins its customers to build the first row of a new array, working side by side, marking critical dimensions, and walking through every aspect of the installation together.

FTC Solar Software

FTC Solar has three software products developed to serve the solar industry. 

SunPath energy yield enhancement software is an optional addition to FTC Solar’s Voyager tracker system. SunPath combines powerful algorithms that can increase solar energy production by up to 6%. It uses terrain-based backtracking to minimize the impact of row- to-row shading on solar trackers. Another algorithm adjusts tracker response to diffuse light conditions to optimize energy production. (see our article about SunPath on Energy Central for more details).

SunDAT solar PV design software is a commercial-scale 3D design tool. Whether you are designing a C&I rooftop system, large canopy structure, utility-scale PV systems or residential projects, SunDAT helps you automate workflows and achieve maximum efficiency in your design process. SunDAT provides energy modeling, easy handling of obstructions and keep outs and is especially adept at handling rugged or sloped terrain on projects that are using solar trackers. 

Atlas solar project management software is a powerful tool for companies that have multiple projects in the pipeline, such as EPCs, solar developers and community solar specialists. Atlas can provide visibility into your entire company portfolio, supporting strong financial management and helping diverse stakeholders stay organized and coordinated. Atlas combines powerful project and financial management tools, collaboration features, a document repository, and personnel and task management modules that are standard in the best project management software into a platform built specifically for the unique needs of solar projects. Atlas has multiple useful integrations with products such as Salesforce, QuickBooks, NetSuite, Dropbox, Google Drive, Sharepoint, Slack and others.