- Returns from solar and storage – an analysis of what to expect and how to keep them high
- Asset owners speak back: solar, solar+storage and storage as asset classes – how do they compare with other infrastructure investments?
- Thoughts from institutional investors about how the industry can attract long term capital to the market
- How to increase deal value and project size – examples from recent deals
- How effective has securitization been at attracting investors with low risk appetites?
- Macro issues affecting investor risk appetite: economics, politics and climate change
The future of solar and storage industries are intertwined, as dispatchable solar becomes a new normal. In 2018, the U.S. added nearly 10GW of solar and 300MW of storage. This year, almost 2GW of solar-plus-storage projects have been announced to be delivered over the next four years. Developers seek to deliver both technologies, and investors are trying to understand the risks involved. More than a trend restricted to sunny states with arbitrage opportunities, join to hear BloombergNEF’s take on:
- U.S. solar market update: how new capacity and price declines will fare as tariffs distort supply
- How solar-plus-storage contracts are structured to value different services, and how these contracts are evolving.
- With a new solar-plus-storage contract announced each month, who are the players to watch?
- The changing landscape of solar development – portfolio acquisitions, and new market entrants
- What are the drivers for the drop in energy storage costs?
- What is the technology evolution underlying the growth in energy storage?
- Why is there a dominance of lithium-ion, and will that change?
- Increasing confidence levels for bankers § Finance structures for storage/solar+storage
- Providing transparent KPIs and operational metrics that deliver on the results financiers are modelling
- Risk scores which can analyse the risk characteristics of a storage project giving a quantitative metric for a specific project
- How to attract capital to a project – what do you need to do to work with providers in the future?
- How is the project finance market evolving and how are debt providers working on more complicated project designs?
- How does the cost of capital compare for solar, co-located solar and storage, and stand-alone storage?
- Are we in a lithium bubble or are capital providers ready for other storage technologies?
- How are lenders dealing with complicated capital stacks?
This afternoon session will feature a deep dive into how we can drive uptake for renewables at a state level, a city level and through corporate energy buying.
- The interplay between Federal policy-making and state-level policy-making in driving the market forward
- Review of states with a 100% renewable target – is the infrastructure and the capital there to support it?
- From cities to corporates – how can you work with large energy users?
- Did we reach the 6.4 GW* highs from the corporate market predicted in 2018 – what can the industry do to improve this?
- What new mechanisms are available to hedge risk? What is the relationship between generation, energy buyers and networks now?
- What is the size of the corporate PPA market in 2020?
* EY identified corporate buyers entered into over 6 GW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the USA in 2018
It works: great minds, great beer (or wine) and the chance to get your own questions answered: our round tables with beer are always a huge success.
Suggested topics include:
- Locations for new development – where are people prospecting for business?
- The economics of solar + storage – when do attendees think they will work?
- Community projects – accessing one of the hottest markets in the USA
- Utilities’ role in the industry – how do we overcome the barrier of what utilities can own and what role can private companies play in building and leasing storage assets?
- Storage as a low-carbon alternative to peaker plants, and ageing infrastructure
It works: great minds, great beer (or wine) and the chance to get your own questions answered: our round tables with beer are always a huge success.
Suggested topics include:
- Locations for new development – where are people prospecting for business?
- The economics of solar + storage – when do attendees think they will work?
- Community projects – accessing one of the hottest markets in the USA
- Utilities’ role in the industry – how do we overcome the barrier of what utilities can own and what role can private companies play in building and leasing storage assets?
- Storage as a low-carbon alternative to peaker plants, and ageing infrastructure
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2018 saw a flurry of excitement in community energy. Has 2019 met those expectations and what could 2020 hold? This session will show the audience:
- Overview of deals in 2019 – project sizes, locations and mix of technologies
- Will we see growth in community energy projects in 2020?
- Availability of aggregation programs
- Who’s financing projects?
- How are stakeholders dealing with unrated counterparties?
- Investment into the sector and fundraising
- What are the use cases for standalone storage, and how to define your area of focus
- How the economics work for merchant storage stand alone, and what revenues and returns are possible
- Why solar+storage makes sense: the co-location value drivers
- What an optimal storage+solar configuration could look like: ratio of storage to solar to grid, battery duration etc.
- Risk and financing considerations
- Deal microscope – how have successful deals been structured?
This session will look at what developers are doing to prepare for the ITC phase-out. We will look at this at a company level in terms of business models, technology level in terms of project design and the uplift provided by novel technologies or improvements in tech. We will also look at cost of capital and how capital providers can assist.
- Equipment, balance sheets and raising capital – what are companies doing to prepare?
- Are there lessons from European markets?
- What has been effective in the move towards parity?
- What part will technology play?
- How quickly will we enter a solar + storage market as the norm? What are the barriers?
- Improvements in technology – how do newer PV projects compare with older counterparts?
- Is the industry ready to embrace digitization, what ROI can it provide?
- Cost of capital 2019: what is it and is there any room for manoeuvre?
- Working with partners: how are developers working more effectively with their supply chains, lenders and investors?
- How will the ITC phase-out affect different parts of the PV industry: utility scale, C&I, resi and the nascent solar+storage sector?
This afternoon session will feature a deep dive into how we can drive uptake for renewables at a state level, a city level and through corporate energy buying.
- The interplay between Federal policy-making and state-level policy-making in driving the market forward
- Review of states with a 100% renewable target – is the infrastructure and the capital there to support it?
- From cities to corporates – how can you work with large energy users?
- Did we reach the 6.4 GW* highs from the corporate market predicted in 2018 – what can the industry do to improve this?
- What new mechanisms are available to hedge risk? What is the relationship between generation, energy buyers and networks now?
- What is the size of the corporate PPA market in 2020?
* EY identified corporate buyers entered into over 6 GW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the USA in 2018
Like speed dating but with less awkward outcomes, this fast-paced session will help you meet more of the audience.
So how does it work?
- Participants will receive either a red or a blue card
- Red card participants are “hosts” and will remain where they are
- Blue card participants will move every 3-minutes when the bell rings
- Networking will take place at stand-up cocktail tables with six people to a table: three reds and three blues
- Bring lots of business cards and hone your elevator pitch!
- Updates from the wildfires in California: can we put systems in place to avoid future disasters?
- What are the key challenges with integrating storage into the wholesale markets?
- How will transmission help enable large deployment of solar and storage?
- Beyond rate design: finding ways to go beyond traditional investment of storage
- Distributed generation
This session will look at how the floating solar market may pan out in the USA. Using case studies from built projects, we will look at:
- The intricacies of funding floating solar: how have projects been funded?
- How does the design affect the due diligence process?
- What opportunities exist in America?
- How can we scale-up from pilots to larger projects?
- Lessons from the USA offshore wind industry