Cristoforo de Vargas
Iron Line employees tour the new Unimacs solar panel factory in Las Vegas, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023.
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 | 2:00 am
A Las Vegas factory that makes solar panels announced plans Monday to begin manufacturing equipment that can improve the efficiency of solar systems by 30% or more.
The factory will soon start producing Nextracker torque tube adapters, which will automatically align the panels to the sun throughout the day.
Unimax's factory on West Tompkins Street in Las Vegas makes steel poles that each support four to six solar panels, depending on their size.
Railroad poles can help solar systems generate at least 30% more energy, Nextracker CEO Dan Sugar said.
Demand for solar power continues to grow, Sugar said, with projects being built in Nevada, Utah, Arizona and surrounding states.
Unimacts has partnered with Nextracker to manufacture solar panel racks in Las Vegas since January.
Unimax CEO Matt Arnold said the company's goal is to produce 150,000 racks of all types of solar panels at the Las Vegas plant.
The plant serves customers within a 400-mile radius, but the new rail towers will be distributed widely because there aren't many manufacturers, Arnold said.
Unimacts began working with Nextracker six years ago at a plant in Mexico. Last year, the sugar company asked to start producing its products in the western United States.
"We chose Las Vegas," Arnold said. "We're here to train, develop, grow and develop new skills among employees."
Abby Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, said 59 new solar power plants were announced last year.
"A few years ago I couldn't sit here and talk about exporting solar technology," he said. That was not the conversation we had.
