Balzer’s Canada to distribute Mechatron dual-axis solar trackers
Saskatchewan’s leading industrial manufacturing and construction company, Balzer’s Canada Inc. (BCI), has installed four Mechatron dual-axis trackers at their headquarters in Regina. This is the first project by the company’s new operating unit, Mechatron Trackers, now the exclusive distributor of the technology in Canada.
“We’re setting a new standard for sustainable contracting in Canada,” says Ron Balzer, president and CEO of BCI. The 200 kW grid-tied system at Regina, commissioned in late October, is expected to produce approximately 750,000 kWh yearly, providing net-zero energy operations for the 23-acre company campus by the end of this year, Balzer says. Each tracker supports 72 Thornova 580 Watt panels feeding power into two 100 kW Solis inverters.
With a LCOE at 0.02/KWh and an ROI at 22%, the Mechatron dua-axis tracker pays for itself within three to five years, depending on prevailing utility rates.
The strategic plan is for Mechatron Trackers to build the dual-axis trackers across every Canadian province. “We expect to build and install Mechatron trackers across the country as the best suited solar tracker technology for our Canadian climate, because of the gearless, low maintenance design,” says Josh Engen, solar project coordinator for BCI.
BCI manufactures steel products, and designs, builds and maintains large industrial projects in the oil and gas, utility, mining and wastewater industries, among others, utilizing company facilities in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Through a partnership network in Saskatchewan, BCI will be able to manufacture the vast majority of the components for Mechatron trackers sold in Canada, Engen notes.
Tapping the highest insolation in Canada
The initial focus for the new entity will be western Canada. “We see a great potential for the Mechatron trackers to be utilized in the prairie provinces — Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba — since these provinces have the highest levels of yearly sunlight hours in Canada,” Engen says.
“The elevated pedestal mount design is quite appealing to farmers due to the high demand for land space. Business owners also seem to appreciate the increased production with a smaller footprint when they have limited space,” Engen adds. “The footprint of the concrete pillar of the M18KD Mechatron tracker is a mere 10 square feet, minimizing the impact on land use.”
“As soon as we learned about Mechatron’s M18KD, with its unmatched accuracy, durability, and yield, we knew it was the right choice,” says Balzer. “This system isn’t just about meeting our own net zero goals — it’s about leading the way for greener industrial construction across the prairies and beyond.”
Delivering the highest energy density in the industry
Dual-axis trackers present the highest energy density of all solar industry mounting designs, among which the Mechatron M18KD is the largest, supporting up to 90 panels. The trailing edge of the 30-foot high trackers is 15 feet, which permits full equipment operation under the canopy.
Apart from providing the highest energy yield in the solar industry, Mechatron trackers are also extremely reliable, according to Michael Fakukakis, CEO of Mechatron Solar. “Mechatron trackers present the highest reliability in the industry with 99.98% up-time demonstrated across our installed fleet of 150 MW of projects in Europe and North America over the past fifteen years,” he says.
The unusually high-yield M18KD tracker generates 40% more energy than ground-mounted solar arrays and 20% more than single-axis arrays. With a single mast the tracker also has the smallest ground footprint in the global solar market, ideal for vineyards, carports and other terrain-constrained sites.
Each M18KD tracker supports 90 solar panels with 72-cut cells each, or 72 panels with 144-cut cells each, culminating in a yield of over 43 kW on a single mast. With a ground coverage ratio of up to 50%, the M18KD solution requires only 4 acres per MW of array.
A closer look at the M18KD dual-axis tracker
The gearless, hydraulic design drives more through 360 degrees of Azimuth rotation and 60 degrees of Zenith inclination. Highly weather-resistant, the M18KD tracker withstands wind gusts of up to 115 mph. The M18KD also withstands snow loads of nearly 35 psf, although snow loads typically are shed using automated snow sensors and motion management software.
Using bifacial solar panels, the Mechatron Solar tracker has demonstrated an energy yield boost ranging from 13% in California to 23% in Nova Scotia. The dual-axis M18KD tracker captures more reflected light on the underside of the solar panels than lower fixed-mount and single-axis trackers, while it captures more light than smaller dual-axis trackers that have lower tables.
Mechatron Solar has completed a Black & Veatch Bankability Report, as well as UL 3703 certification standard evaluation by Solar PTL. The company’s expanded manufacturing facility now has an annual production capacity of 200 MW of trackers.
