Nevados Engineering Receives Research Grants for Solar Tracking System

Nevados Engineering, developer of all-terrain tracking systems that reduce the costs of solar energy projects, received $3 million in research funds to support further development of its technology.

The San Francisco-based company received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SunShot Initiative and $1 million in matching funds from the California Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program.

The funds will help Nevados continue developing its innovative tracking system which allows solar developers to build on uneven land.

“The world is not flat,” said Yezin Taha, Nevados Engineering co-founder and CEO. “More than one billion dollars was spent last year alone to flatten land for solar development projects. Our solution alleviates the tremendous cost of excavation and grading.”

Nevados is testing a full-scale solar project on rolling terrain near Davis. It is also testing a new control system that optimizes the energy output of the project’s four solar modules in real time.

Nevados is a portfolio company of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), a central coordinating hub for clean energy start-up companies in the Los Angeles area. LACI received a $5 million EPIC grant last year to support clean energy entrepreneurship and networking opportunities in the Southern California coastal region.

“This is a good example of how state and federal agencies can work together to support innovation,” said Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller. “And a good example of how partnerships such as the one between the Energy Commission and LACI, work to help bring innovative clean energy technologies to the marketplace.”

The SunShot Initiative supports research to drive down the cost of solar electricity, and the EPIC program funds innovations and strategies that advance clean energy technologies.