Solar & Storage Finance USA Agenda

Foreign Entity of Concern compliance is no longer a checkbox, it is reshaping procurement strategy, financing structures, and OEM relationships across the industry.

• What does FEOC compliance require of asset owners and developers, and how far ahead of enforcement is the industry preparing?
• How is regulatory pressure on domestic content reshaping OEM selection, supply chain design, and project economics?
• Which procurement decisions made in 2022 and 2023 are now creating FEOC exposure, and what options do asset owners have?
• How are lenders and tax equity investors treating FEOC risk in project finance, and what disclosures are now standard?
• What does a FEOC compliant domestic supply chain look like at scale, and how far away is the industry from getting there?

How decisions made at the development stage can create operational uncertainties years later.

• Which procurement choices (e.g. warranties, data access rights, LTSA structures, augmentation obligations) are hardest to renegotiate post-COD?
• Finance modelers and legal teams routinely sign off on technical assumptions they don't fully understand, where does that asymmetry show up in the P&L?
• What do investors still misunderstand about the day-to-day cost of running a battery asset, and who is responsible for closing that gap?
• When an asset changes hands, what does a proper technical due diligence look like, and what do buyers routinely miss on state of degradation, maintenance records, and warranty transfers?

• Tariffs are a capex line item in every deal. How are developers modelling pass-through provisions into project finance, and how are offtakers responding to higher costs? 
• Post-safe-harbor equipment pricing is materially higher. What does a project Internal Rate of Return (IRR) look like now versus 18 months ago, and where is the viability threshold? 
• Defaulting to Tier 2 or Tier 3 suppliers to meet Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC) compliance carries long-term Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) risk. How are lenders and independent engineers stress-testing equipment quality assumptions? 
• Could domestic manufacturing close the BESS supply gap by 2028, and at what cost premium? 

• Merchant revenues have declined. So what does a bankable California revenue stack actually look like today, and how are lenders adjusting debt sizing against revised forward curves? 
• Standalone storage cannot be financed without a swap or toll. How are Resource Adequacy contract rates evolving, and what Internal Rates of Return can developers realistically target in 2026? 
• As PPA total contracted capacity has declined in the state over the past year, how can CAISO learn from more dominate offtaker PPA markets such as ERCOT, MISO and PJM?  
• Curtailment is eroding solar Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) competitiveness. Does co-location solve the economics, and at what cost to the standalone storage business model? 
• CAISO interconnection timelines add years to development schedules. What are the cost implications of queue delays, and how are developers pricing interconnection risk into project financing? 

• Production and Investment Tax Credits dominates deal structuring. Traditional tax equity from major banks has shifted. Some developers face a trade-off between going through regulatory hurdles to gain the tax credit versus importing components  and avoiding the tax credit altogether. 
• Projects under Section 48E in order to obtain necessary clean energy tax credits face additional scrutiny from tax equity investors, particularly regarding FEOC compliance. What are the capex implications, and how is this reshaping equipment procurement decisions? 
• Solar Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) expire after the end of 2027; storage credits run to 2033. So how should developers sequence capital allocation across those two timelines? 
• Major investors and banks have paused utility-scale tax equity over FEOC concerns. What does the tax equity supply shortage mean for project debt sizing and developer returns? 

Open networking and Expo Hall open.

• California Community Choice Aggregators (CCAs) are among the most active offtakers in the state. How are CCA procurement structures priced, and how do they compare to utility bilateral contracts for developer returns? 
• Arizona's removal of its renewable mandate has redirected developer pipelines to California. How is this affecting Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) pricing and bilateral contract negotiations in the state? 
• FEOC rules now affect utility network upgrade sourcing. What are the cost and timeline implications for projects dependent on utility infrastructure? 

• The grid need is clear, but what is the cost of capital for non-lithium storage today versus four-hour lithium-ion? Is the premium justifiable on a levelized cost basis? 
• California's CPUC mandates drive the largest LDES procurement pipeline in the US, but policy frameworks are still creating financing barriers. What policy fixes would move the economics? 
• Alternative chemistries offer supply chain advantages but carry technology risk. How are lenders stress-testing non-lithium technology assumptions in their underwriting? 
• The first credible non-lithium financings will set the template. What combination of offtake, policy support, and capital appetite is needed to get those transactions across the line? 

• Where are the costliest permitting delays in 2026, and what is the IRR impact of a 12-month approval slippage on a typical utility-scale project? 
• FERC fast-tracking large load interconnection requests is creating queue disruption. As hyperscale data centers major power demands supersede other individual developer projects sitting in the interconnection queue, and as network conditions change, how do developers manage financial risk of restudy costs? 
• Battery safety standards are fragmented across states, creating permitting unpredictability. How are developers pricing that risk into development budgets? 
• How are better-capitalised developers using permitting advantages to improve project economics versus smaller players? 

• What is the fully-loaded cost of CAISO interconnection for a utility-scale storage project in 2026, including network upgrade allocations? How does this compare to ERCOT and PJM? 
• Grid Enhancing Technologies can unlock 10-25% additional transmission capacity at a fraction of the cost of new lines. What is blocking adoption, and what would accelerate it? 
• California is competing for hyperscaler investment via the GIDAP process. Data centers are exploring islanding to bypass interconnection entirely. What do developers need to do to position projects for that offtake? 
• How will AI-assisted interconnection studies reduce study timelines and the cost uncertainty that currently makes project financing harder? 

• What does corporate offtake look like structurally, and how is it priced versus utility bilateral contracts? 
• Data center performance requirements, 24/7 availability standards, and underperformance penalties create a fundamentally different contract from utility offtake. What are the development cost implications for project sponsors? 
• Lenders treat utility offtake and corporate offtake very differently. What are the specific underwriting requirements for corporate counterparties, and which lenders are becoming comfortable with hyperscaler credit? 

Several projects in the battery universe are under financial stress, and tax equity has shifted toward projects with more robust compliance. These four roundtables put developers with live pipeline directly across the table from capital providers with active mandates. Pick the table that matches your situation. 

Roundtable 1 — Development Capital & the Bridge to Financial Close 

The hardest gap in the market. Developers who have hit NTP but cannot raise project-level financing. Sponsors who expected to contribute 15% equity are now being asked for 35%. Preferred equity providers, bridge lenders, and warehouse facility managers will host. 

Roundtable 2 — Recapitalization & Stressed Assets 

For developers with portfolios under stress and capital partners not seeing returns. Workout lenders, restructuring advisors, and infrastructure equity firms with appetite for recap transactions will host 

Roundtable 3 — Standalone Storage: Floor Structures & Merchant Risk 

For developers with standalone storage assets who need financing but will not sign a full toll. Floor and swap product providers, revenue insurance underwriters, and lenders comfortable with hybrid structures will host. 

Roundtable 4 — California & CAISO Assets 

A geography-specific table for developers with live California pipeline: co-located projects, RA-contracted assets, and VPP plays. Lenders and equity investors with an active CAISO book will host.