As the UK navigates its energy transition, the establishment of the National Wealth Fund and the development of GB Energy are poised to redefine the country’s investment landscape.

Featuring key policymakers and invests, this panel will explore how these initiatives are set to unleash new opportunities in the energy sector, driving greater investments, innovation and sustainable growth.

• Exploration of the financing ecosystem through pre-development through to construction
• What early financing needs do sponsors have that aren't being met?
• What can capital providers offer in the way of early financing?
• Granular details of approaches to project financing from deal points to milestone achievements

The next wave of industrial and commercial electricity consumption is expected to come from data centres, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, internet of things, heavy industry and the electrification of transport.

• Are tech giants, large corporates and heavy industry seeking to develop and own themselves? And where are they seeking to collaborate with existing market participants?
• What are corporate, commercial and industrial energy offtakers seeking from their energy generating partners?
• How are asset owners and capital providers futureproofing their long-term strategies to capitalise on the fastest growing source of energy consumption?
• Could banks be more aggressive in prices for project financing involving CPPAs?

 

• What are the expected cost trajectories for solar PV installations in Europe by 2025?
• How do these forecasts compare with current cost structures?
• What factors, such as technology advancements, supply chain dynamics, EPC contracting and policy changes, will impact the cost per MW of solar deployment in the near future?
• Are there significant differences in deployment costs across different European markets?
• How do regulatory environments and market conditions influence these variations?

• Does the sector expect continued volatility in interest rates and inflation in 2025 and beyond?
• How has a post 0% interest rate environment affected valuations, the fundraising environment and the ability to close deals for European solar and storage platforms?
• Are investors doubling down on investment pipelines, trimming portfolio or recycling capital for project pipelines?
• With the market needing greater levels of liquidity, what roles are equity and credit expected to play in2 2025?
• What strategies have investors and project sponsors deployed to adapt to the new cost of capital environment?

There will be 10 interactive roundtables taking place simultaneously – with each roundtable focused on a specific country or region covered on the programme.

Each roundtable will be moderated by a developer and or investor with high exposure to the respective market providing first-hand insights. Each roundtable will explore the roadblocks and opportunities for investment and deployment of PV.

Each roundtable will focus on one of the following countries or regions:

• The United Kingdom - Chris Hewitt & Monika Paplaczyk
• Greece
• Italy - Luca Matrone & Alessandro Cohen
• Romania - Karthik Panicker
• Poland
• France - Peter Kavanugh
• Germany - Jan-Phillip Kock
• The Republic of Ireland - Conall Bolger
• Iberia (Spain & Portugal) - Cristina Torres-Quevedo
• The Nordics (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) - Helena Fagraeus Lundstrom & Richard Nicolin

This is the best opportunity at the summit for delegates to identify and network with project sponsors and capital providers either already active or seeking entry into specific European solar markets.

• How is power price volatility and negative capture prices affecting lender’s appetite for merchant financing?
• For lenders still bullish on merchant financing, how are you approaching the structuring project finance?
• What do lenders want to see from project sponsors seeking merchant financing?
• What currently makes projects attractive for traditional debt and mezzanine providers?

The global carbon credit market’s current value is estimated at around $2 billion. This is expected to skyrocket to as much as $100 billion by 2030. Our panel of carbon market experts, sustainability leads and responsible investors takes you on an exploration on growing opportunities presented by an emerging revenue & financing stream from carbon markets.

• What is the trajectory for carbon credit demand and pricing by 2030?
• What regulatory risk do carbon markets face in a European context?
• With growing scrutiny emission reductions claimed by various projects, how can project sponsors and carbon credit buyers minimise risk of greenwashing?
• Under what conditions could a European renewable energy project produce carbon credits?

Credit markets are becoming more important due to lower valuations and a growing need for liquidity, with more credit opportunities for funds.

Structured credit financing is increasingly common, with complex financing arrangements involving senior, junior, and very junior debt. How are leading funds and platforms approaching structured finance?

• What do investors want to see from their partners in relation to ethnical sourcing policy?
• How are institutional investors approaching implementation of sustainable governance and monitoring across a broad portfolio of companies and extensive value chains?
• What considerations should procurement teams have on their radar relating to the plethora of sustainable supply chain regulation?
• What technologies and services are being deployed to collect and monitor data?
• How relevant are ethnical sourcing policies for smaller developers and platforms?
• What does sustainability across the entire solar lifecycle look like?

• In what ways are industry players moving away from classic project financing to less common financing structures like bridge-to-bond models, pre-paid PPAs, vendor loans to support renewable energy projects?
• What strategies should developers use to effectively utilize HoldCo structures and financing to enhance their returns on renewable energy projects long-term?
• How can securitisation benefit large collections of utility-scale and commercial & industrial (C&I) renewable projects, and what specific opportunities does it provide?
• How are sponsors leveraging green bonds, mezzanine, and junior debt in project financing
• When are green bonds an appealing option for financing solar or storage projects, and what steps are necessary to make this financing method more widespread for renewable energy initiatives?

• Real-world strategies for maximising grid sharing opportunities
• What financial instruments and structures are ideals for projects sharing a grid connection?
• How are investors and project sponsors leaning on hybridization to navigate bottlenecks in grid capacity?
• How are IPPs and developers reimaging their business models in the context of grid scarcity?

Solar and BESS is an established pairing in the world of renewables co-location that will continue to dominate the profile of European project pipelines… but how far can we go in maximising the value of a single grid connection?

Is a single project featuring wind, solar, BESS and an electrolyser a pipe dream or an emerging reality?

Hear directly from capital providers, developers, asset managers and technical leads on strategies to navigate challenges on:

• Technical feasibility
• Planning and permitting
• Financing and bankability
• Revenue certainty and structure

• Do institutional investors place higher value on solar projects, portfolios and platforms that synergise with the agriculture sector?
• What concerns do landowners and rural communities have for the roll out of large scale solar deployment? What role are they seeking to facilitate for solar in the coming decade?
• Real-world examples: How does the integration of natural capital considerations into utility-scale solar deployment impact project sponsors approaches to site selection, multifunctional land use, biodiversity enhancements and collaboration with local communities?
• How are project sponsors balancing profitability and environmental considerations?

Why does sustainability regulation matter for solar? And can you afford to ignore or delay your focus?

This session will review the regulations applicable to the solar sector and assess the best approaches available which not only enable compliance but add value to the bottom line.

Sustainability regulation is increasingly focused on three key areas:

• Disclosure (to enable key stakeholders to assess and value Sustainability risk and upside)
• Operations (to change what you do or how you do it)
• Greenwashing (to prevent you misrepresenting your position)

Explore the forefront of sustainable finance through real-world examples of Dark Green projects under the European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). This session will highlight successful implementations, discuss their impact, and analyse the factors contributing to their classification as Dark Green under SFDR.

• What are the best practices for identifying, assessing, and managing risks associated with different types of projects and regional markets
• How are renewable platforms leveraging BESS to hedge risk across various geographies and regulatory markets?
• How are renewable platforms approaching their balance project types, geographic location, and risk to enhance overall returns?

All asset managers know very well, the decisions made during the development of a solar and co-located projects can either empower future asset managers or limit their ability to maximise performance and profits.

This session features leading asset managers and asset owners of operational European solar and storage projects discussing what development leads can do early to minimize long-term underperformance.

• What opportunities are available in rooftop and behind-the-meter ground mount PV for those seeking to avoid regulation and grid scarcity risk?
• What are landowners seeking from contracting partners before closing deals?
• What risks does scaling standalone rooftop portfolios across Europe present for energy capture prices?
• How are project sponsors approaching the bundling of behind-the-meter assets from the perspective of auto consumption, VPPs and enabling smarter grid?

This panel discussion will explore the complexities and strategic decisions involved in transitioning to an IPP, providing valuable insights for those navigating this evolving business model.

• Is it better to act as a developer with a focus on margin or to become an IPP with a stable, low-risk profile?
• Should IPPs take on market risk directly, or is it more prudent to work through intermediaries like energy traders?
• How have different IPPs approached vertical integration across their transition?
• What are the capital requirements and considerations needed to make the transition?
• How can IPPs structure their projects to attract low-cost finance and institutional investors in a changing market environment?
• What is the next step for IPPs?

• How have asset managers adapted in the context of a volatile power price environment?
• What unique repowering strategies are asset managers deploying to supercharge capacity, performance at relatively minimal costs?
• How are asset owners balancing O&M and asset management interest across an asset’s lifecycle?
• What strategies, technologies and tools are asset owners deploying to improve and pro-long existing portfolios?
• What is needed downstream to secure greater IRR on investments in solar portfolios?

Join us for an in-depth case study on the  Glasgow Airport Hydrogen Innovation Hub project which involves producing green hydrogen onsite, optimizing storage and refueling processes, and ensuring safe integration within the airport's existing infrastructure. The discussion will also cover how the project is structured, role of AI in optimizing electrolyzer and storage solutions, and the ongoing work to expand this model to other regional airports. This session is essential for anyone interested in the future of complex net-zero transitions involving hydrogen technologies, behind-the-meter project structuring, private wire solar and microgrids.

As the renewable energy sector rapidly evolves, a significant challenge has emerged: the shortage of skills and people.

This panel discussion will delve into the pressing issue of human resource constraints in the solar industry, how renewable energy companies responding and considerations for a "Just Transition".

In addition to hearing from industry stakeholders, we will also hear from HR specialists and head-hunters who will shed light on the current trends in recruitment within the renewable energy sector, including:

• The challenges and solutions in sourcing and retaining top talent.
• How salary trends and employment conditions are shifting in response to high demand.
• The timeframes and strategies for identifying and securing qualified candidates.

• How are asset management leveraging digital clones to model generation and forecast performance?
• What predictive maintenance, AI forecasting and automatic fault detection capabilities can asset managers acquire to minimize downtime?
• What is on the horizon of possibilities for smart monitoring and management of assets through AI tools?

• What is the outlook for the secondary market? Buyer-seller dynamic, valuations, market liquidity, etc.
• What is driving larger levels of consolidation across European markets?
• What does increasing levels of consolidation in the market mean for smaller platforms and new entrants?
• What are investment funds acquiring development platforms looking for?

This session will begin with quick-fire presentations from each capital provider on the equity investment, acquisition and partnership opportunities they’re currently seeking. Capital providers have been selected to cover a range of activities, European markets and investment mandates.

Transaction sizes represented range from £1 million - £3 billion.

Capital providers will then host their own roundtable where delegates can attend to discuss business 1-2-1.

Whether you’re capital raising, seeking project finance, looking to sell projects and portfolios, this will be the best opportunity at the summit for delegates to identify and network with active dealmakers in the European solar and storage space.

From the changing cost of capital environment, return expectations, negative capture prices and increasing divergence in perspectives on the value of projects, portfolios and platforms, one thing is clear – there is friction in the deal-making landscape for solar.

We will be joined by a diverse panel of limited partners, general partners, banks, developers and advisers sharing their perspectives of navigating the European solar and storage deal-making scene.