SolarPLUS 2026 Agenda
09:10 -
09:30
Presentation
- The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) will provide a state of the market industry update discussing the development of the solar market
- How the latest sets of solar deployment and capacity introduced, especially within commercial and industrial sectors, help increase the need, the relevance and reliability of solar and storage deployment to meet growing energy needs
09:30 -
10:00
Fireside Chat
- How FEOC restrictions have affected tax credit eligibility for projects using materials from certain foreign entities
- How are developers and financiers adjusting project timelines as July construction deadlines collide with permitting and federal approval delays?
- The deadline pressure developers face to meet safe harbor requirements and lock in expiring IRA tax credits
- The reciprocal tariffs and evolving trade policies, which impact procurement strategies and project costs
10:00 -
10:40
Panel Discussion
- How the impact of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) and its removal of tax credits for solar PV and wind energy would have in the US in the coming years
- The reverberating effects that the enactment of Foreign Entities of Concern is having in disincentivising solar development by removing tax credits like 45X as Chinese controlled firms remain firmly entrenched in the solar supply chain
- How project developers and EPCs are planning development projects given the short-term supply chain pressures involved?
- How is investment being channeled?
Moderator
Speakers
11:10 -
11:50
Panel Discussion
- Comparing merchant, hybrid, and contracted PPA revenue models for solar-plus-storage assets
- How ERCOT, CAISO, and PJM market structures shape dispatch strategies and revenue stacking
- Managing price volatility and curtailment risk when modelling energy, capacity, and ancillary service revenues
- Rising EPC costs, tariffs, and equipment price trends – how these impact IRR assumptions and project bankability
- Accounting for differing interconnection and performance requirements across U.S. ISOs
- Financing considerations: how lenders and investors assess collocated versus standalone revenue risk
Moderator
Policy Researcher and Project Lead, Interconnection Costs,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Speakers
Co-Chief Executive Officer and Founding Member,
Apterra Infrastructure Capital
11:50 -
12:30
Panel Discussion
- How new tariffs on modules and cells from Southeast Asia are reshaping procurement and project economics
- The impact of OBBBA FEOC restrictions and domestic content rules on eligibility for tax credits
- Rising module, inverter, and transformer costs and how developers are building contingencies into EPC budgets
- The shift toward U.S. and allied manufacturing to mitigate tariff and traceability exposure
- How investors are adjusting hurdle rates, contracts, and due diligence to reflect higher supply-chain risk premiums
- Managing project delays and cost overruns tied to customs holds, component shortages, and trade policy volatility
- Strategies to preserve bankability including dual sourcing, fixed-price contracts, and closer collaboration with EPCs and suppliers
Speaker
12:30 -
12:45
Presentation
Speaker
14:00 -
14:40
Panel Discussion
- How fragmented global PV manufacturing complicates traceability across polysilicon, wafer, cell, and module stages
- Why FEOC and UFLPA compliance are forcing U.S. buyers to demand full supplier visibility and audit-ready documentation
- How flexible “fab-lite” models create both resilience and risk for companies navigating tariff and origin rules
- What leading manufacturers are doing to map, certify, and verify complex upstream supplier networks
- Why transparent, verifiable sourcing is now central to investor confidence and long-term market access
Speakers
14:40 -
15:20
Panel Discussion
- Which permitting pathways and land ownership types carry the lowest long-term development and political risk?
- How are developers reassessing project pipelines to avoid exposure to new reviews and regulations?
- What practical red flags should investors and lenders look for when underwriting projects located near federal lands, water, or agricultural areas?
- How are developers balancing proximity to load centers and grid capacity with the need to reduce permitting and interconnection risk?
- Which project types and geographies currently offer the most predictable returns and lowest policy volatility for solar and storage development?
Moderator
Speaker
16:00 -
17:00
Interactive Roundtable
- Permitting, interconnection, community pushback
- Data centres as demand anchor
- O&M innovations and diagnostics
- Trade compliance and supply chain resilience
Moderators
09:15 -
10:00
Panel Discussion
- Sources of early and mid-stage capital replacing or bridging tax equity
- How developers are structuring projects when tax credits timing or eligibility is uncertain
- Which structures investors will still back and which they will not
Moderator
10:00 -
10:40
Panel Discussion
- How developers and investors are structuring revenue stacks in a market where incentives are stabilising but merchant exposure is growing
- The relative attractiveness of long-term PPAs versus tolling and capacity agreements in balancing risk and flexibility
- How lenders and tax equity view merchant and hybrid revenue models when assessing financeability
- Regional differences in offtake structures and pricing signals across ISOs and utility procurement programmes
- What innovations in contract design and risk allocation are emerging to support revenue certainty in volatile power markets
Speakers
11:10 -
11:30
Fireside Chat
- How increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events are reshaping solar project design, siting, and financial modelling
- The effect of rising insurance premiums, coverage exclusions, and deductibles on project bankability and investor confidence
- How owners and insurers are applying climate modelling, geospatial analysis, and loss data to quantify exposure
- The growing importance of resilience audits and physical adaptation strategies to secure financing
- What new insurance instruments, such as parametric or warranty-linked products, can offer in managing weather-related losses
11:30 -
12:10
Panel Discussion
- Key lessons from inverter, tracker, and module failures and their impact on plant availability and revenue
- How component quality assurance and factory audits are evolving to reduce latent defect risk.
- The role of digital twins, predictive maintenance, and real-time monitoring in preventing systemic performance issues
- How financiers and insurers evaluate reliability claims for new technologies and integrate them into due diligence
- Which contractual structures best allocate responsibility and recourse when technology underperforms or fails?
Moderator
Speakers
12:10 -
12:30
Fireside Chat
- With the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) reversing incentivised tax credit schemes from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), as well as other nuances in legislation, especially in Texas, regarding possible changes around measuring the amount of solar generated – all of which have significant financial consequences
- So how are developers within the utility scale solar market manoeuvring themselves in an evolved legislative landscape?
- Navigating trade policy impacts on Battery Storage costs and procurement
Moderator
Speaker
13:45 -
14:25
Panel Discussion
- How the surge in data center power demand is reshaping corporate procurement strategies and accelerating the shift to firm renewable supply
- Why rising energy prices and grid congestion are pushing buyers toward location-specific and reliability-focused contracting
- The evolution from traditional fixed-volume PPAs to flexible, hourly matched, and hybrid solar-plus-storage structures
- How developers are adapting to higher credit, delivery, and performance expectations from hyperscale and industrial offtakers
- What the next generation of PPAs will look like as reliability, price stability, and 24/7 clean energy targets converge
Speaker
14:25 -
15:10
Panel Discussion
- How hyperscale data centers are shaping solar procurement priorities as AI-driven demand accelerates
- What developers need to understand about data center load profiles, reliability requirements, and power quality expectations
- How offtakers are structuring long-term renewable agreements, from virtual PPAs to bespoke hybrid or behind-the-meter deals
- Key factors influencing site selection and interconnection, including proximity to substations, available capacity, and permitting speed
- How developers can differentiate through flexibility, speed of delivery, and integration of storage or firming solutions to meet 24/7 clean energy goals
