9:00AM - 9:05AM
Welcome Address
9:05AM - 9:25AM
Clean Power 2030 – Year Two Progress
Two years into Clean Power 2030, this session reviews tangible progress toward the UK’s clean energy goals. It highlights achievements in generation, storage, smart grids, and EV integration, examines policy and legislative developments, and identifies where further action and innovation are needed.
Learning Objectives:
- A summary of the last two achievements against Clean Power 2030 targets.
- Progress in technology deployment, policy alignment, and system innovation.
- Priority gaps requiring innovation, investment, or policy action.
9:25AM - 10:05AM
Clean Power 2030 - What's Next and What's Slowing Progress
The panel will also confront the central industry question directly: is the UK realistically on track to deliver 45–47GW of solar and wider Clean Power 2030 targets and what happens to the market, investment environment and energy system if it falls short? Leaders from government, industry, investors, and transmission system operators will debate solutions and provide insights that businesses and policymakers can act on to keep Clean Power 2030 on track.
- The operational and system challenges affecting delivery.
- Regional, industrial, and regulatory bottlenecks.
- Assess whether current deployment trajectories are sufficient to meet Clean Power 2030 ambitions and understand the consequences of under-delivery.
- Actionable next steps that businesses and policymakers can implement to accelerate progress.
10:05AM - 10:45AM
Grid Access in Practice
Grid capacity and connection delays remain a critical factor in delivering Clean Power 2030. This panel reviews the outcomes of recent grid reforms, comparing project connection offers with demand and highlighting areas of over- and under-capacity. Experts will discuss the operational lessons learned, what is working in practice, and the next steps developers and policymakers need to take to accelerate grid access and support clean energy growth.
- How recent grid reforms have performed against Clean Power 2030 targets.
- Areas of over- and under-capacity in grid connections.
- Practical next steps for delivery- funding, equipment sourcing and labour availability.
- How evolving market reform proposals are reshaping connection strategy, locational economics, and investment decisions.
10:45AM - 11:00AM
Powering a Green Future
11:00AM - 11:30AM
Networking Break
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
11:35AM - 12:20PM
Storage Integration & Unlocking Value in a Constrained System
Storage changes the economics of utility-scale solar but introduces operational and financial complexity. In a system constrained by grid capacity and intermittent generation, storage can enhance revenue, stabilize the grid, and optimize project outcomes. This session explores the strategic and operational choices developers must make to maximize value.
- How storage can alleviate local grid constraints and enhance project economics.
- How storage strategies are evolving in response to rising curtailment costs, negative pricing events, and locational market volatility.
- Operational strategies for storage dispatch, reliability, and revenue stacking.
- Coordination requirements between developers, network operators, and investors to ensure storage assets deliver maximum system and commercial value.
Speakers
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Tadgh Cullen, Director of Power Markets & Origination, Cero Generation
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Sarah Honan, Head of ADE: Demand, The Association for Decentralised Energy
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Daniel Connor, Director & CEO, Dias Energy
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Marta Valien, Managing Director - Head of Asset Management, Foresight Group
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Trevor Wills, CEO, Pulse Clean Energy
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
12:20PM - 12:40PM
Reducing Curtailment Through Intelligent Grid Control
How real-time intelligent control systems optimise energy delivery under grid constraints and reduce operational losses.
- Understanding the curtailment challenge and its impact on renewable asset performance
- Technology solutions for reducing operational losses and improving grid integration
- Implementation strategies and considerations for deploying intelligent control systems
- Commercial and operational benefits of curtailment reduction
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
12:40PM - 1:00PM
Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP): What It Means for Delivery
The Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) will set out where the UK’s future energy infrastructure should be built and prioritised. Developed by NESO and due in its first iteration by 2026, it will guide renewable deployment, grid expansion, and investment decisions. This session highlights why SSEP matters now and how it will change planning certainty, grid connections, and development risk.
- Understand how SSEP will influence planning and grid connection prioritisation.
- How SSEP could reshape land value, project prioritisation, and future development competition across UK regions.
- Recognise the impact of preferred development locations on future projects.
- Identify how to align development and investment strategies with SSEP direction.
Rooftop and C&I Solar
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
11:35AM - 12:15PM
From Commitment to Construction: Unlocking Urban Rooftop & C&I Solar
Why Projects Don't Start—And Why They Stall After Commitment
This session focuses on early-stage adoption barriers that prevent rooftop and C&I solar projects from even entering the pipeline, including split incentives, internal corporate buy-in, and city-level coordination. It also addresses the critical gap between commitment and execution: why projects that reach RFP and tender stages often fail to select a winner or proceed, despite significant investment of time and resources.
- Why viable rooftop projects fail to reach approval—and why approved projects fail to proceed
- Models that align landlords, tenants, and cities to overcome split incentives
- How corporates unlock internal commitment at scale—and convert that commitment into actual decisions
- The RFP/tender breakdown: why large corporates run extensive procurement processes for rooftop and ground-mount private wire PPA schemes but don't select winners or move forward
- The role of decentralized site management within large corporate structures and how it impacts project execution
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
12:15PM - 1:00PM
The Real Barriers to Rooftop Solar: Insurance, Fire Safety & Contracts
While rooftop and carport solar benefit from permitted development rights, making planning approval relatively straightforward, projects still face significant barriers that limit scalability. This session explores the real blockers: insurance requirements (such as FM Global standards), fire safety regulations mandating module-level shutdown technology, structural assessments, and the complexity of non-standardized PPA contracts that create lengthy negotiations and increased legal costs particularly prohibitive for smaller manufacturers and less cash-rich businesses.
- The most common failure points: insurance regulations and fire safety compliance (beyond planning approval)
- How optimizers (e.g., SolarEdge) are being implemented at initial design stages to meet module-level shutdown requirements and combat fire risk approval challenges
- How non-standardized PPA contracts increase negotiation timelines and legal costs, creating immediate barriers for smaller or less cash-rich businesses
- Pathways for reform and standardization: streamlining PPA contracts and unlocking ground-mount, private-wire solar through accelerated planning approval processes
Moderator
Energy Demand and Growth
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
11:35AM - 11:50AM
Clean Power 2030 And Beyond: Electricity Demand and the Next Phase of the UK Energy Transition
Clean Power 2030 And Beyond: Electricity Demand and the Next Phase of the UK Energy Transition
- How the Clean Power 2030 objectives fit into the UK's broader long-term energy transition
- Medium-term power drivers demand growth in the UK
- Changing role of power system flexibility as the transition progresses and technology trends within this area
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
11:50AM - 12:30PM
The New Demand Reality: Where UK Electricity Growth Is Really Coming From
Why demand forecasts keep being wrong
Electricity demand is no longer growing evenly or predictably. AI, EV charging, logistics hubs, electrified industry, and digital infrastructure are creating sharp, localised spikes. This opening session sets the demand-growth baseline the system is struggling to plan for.
- Which sectors are driving UK electricity demand growth.
- Why traditional forecasting models are failing.
- The planning risks of underestimating future demand.
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
12:30PM - 1:00PM
Market Design Under Pressure: Can Current Structures Support Renewable Growth
Geopolitical events outside of the UKs control leading to an impact on customer bills and ultimately resulting in adverse macro-economic impact for everyone highlight just why this topic is so important.
- The Market needs a design change to support renewables – they key one being breaking the link between power and gas. I will talk through that and show an infographic;
- The National and Local Grid connections require an improved design/process to support further renewable growth; and
- Regulation requires the appropriate balance to support investment into the UK
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
11:35AM - 11:55AM
From Vulnerability to Independence: How Conflict in the Middle East Accelerates the Case for Clean Power
The conflict involving Iran has exposed how energy systems reliant on Middle Eastern oil and gas remain dangerously exposed to geopolitical disruption, with nations from Europe to Asia grappling with supply threats and market volatility.
- How the Iran situation is reshaping global energy security strategies and highlights the UK's Clean Power 2030 progress alongside international efforts toward energy independence.
- As geopolitical tensions escalate, the question is no longer whether to transition to clean power, but how quickly the global community can achieve it—together.
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
11:55AM - 12:30PM
Government Role and Political Landscape: Energy Security, Affordability, and Climate Goals
The political spotlight has increasingly moved from climate leadership to energy security and affordability, creating new pressures and opportunities for renewable projects. This session examines how policy priorities are evolving, the implications for investment, permitting, and project pipelines, and what developers and system operators must do to stay ahead. Attendees will leave equipped to align their strategies with current and emerging government priorities, mitigating risk and capturing opportunities in a fast-changing political landscape.
- How changing political priorities influence policy, funding, and regulatory support for renewables.
- The impact on project development, financing, and operational planning.
- Strategies to adapt projects and influence policy to remain aligned with government focus in 2026 and beyond.
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
12:30PM - 1:00PM
Securing the UK's Energy Supply Chains
The UK remains heavily dependent on imports for critical clean energy equipment, including solar panels, batteries, and grid components. This session explores how to manage supply chain risks, strengthen local capability where feasible, and ensure energy resilience. Experts will discuss policy levers, strategic investment, and international collaboration to support the UK’s clean energy ambitions despite limited domestic production.
- Understand the current limitations of the UK domestic supply chain for key energy equipment.
- Examine strategies to mitigate import dependence and enhance supply chain resilience.
- Explore policy, investment, and collaborative approaches to secure critical equipment and materials for clean energy deployment.
Moderator
1:00PM - 2:30PM
Networking Lunch
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
2:30PM - 3:15PM
Investor Confidence in Utility-Scale Renewables: Opportunities & Risks
Capital remains available for clean power, but investors are selective. Grid uncertainty, market reform and policy risk are reshaping how capital is allocated.
- Current investor risk perceptions in utility-scale renewables.
- The policy and regulatory clarity investors now expect.
- How RNP, balancing reform, curtailment risk and transmission charging uncertainty are influencing investment appetite and project valuation.
- How hybrid and storage assets alter risk profiles.
- How developers are balancing CfD participation with merchant and corporate PPA strategies in an increasingly cannibalised power market.
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
3:15PM - 4:00PM
M&A, Competition and Project Delivery
M&A activity across the UK renewables sector is at an all-time high, reshaping competition, project delivery and supply chain dynamics. Bringing together leading developers and EPCs, this session will explore what is driving consolidation, how it could impact delivery of Phase 1 projects and NESO targets, the growing pressure on service providers and EPC panels, and why some projects are becoming increasingly unattractive to progress.
- The key drivers behind rising M&A activity in UK renewables.
- The impact of consolidation on project delivery, EPC access and competition.
- How project attrition and declining project attractiveness could affect delivery against NESO targets
Rooftop and C&I Solar
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
2:30PM - 3:15PM
Unlocking Rooftop Solar at Retail Parks
Retail parks offer large, often underused roof spaces that could make a significant contribution to the UK’s clean energy goals. This session explores how to overcome legal, structural, and financial barriers to rooftop solar deployment. It highlights strategies such as using power purchase agreements (PPAs), taking advantage of relaxed planning regulations, and fostering collaboration between landlords, developers, and tenants to maximize renewable energy potential.
- The key legal, structural, and financial challenges for rooftop solar at retail parks.
- How PPAs and planning regulations can enable successful project delivery.
- Approaches for multi-stakeholder collaboration to optimize rooftop solar deployment.
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
3:15PM - 4:00PM
Financing Rooftop & C&I Solar Assets: Why Capital Does Not Flow
Why Capital Doesn't Flow
A lender- and investor-focused session examining how rooftop and C&I solar is financed, what structures work, and what blocks capital deployment. The session explores how scale and standardization unlock capital, including blended PPAs or weighted average savings across multi-site offtakers. It addresses a critical question: if solar works on one rooftop or ground-mount site for a customer, why isn't it replicated across their portfolio to improve project IRR or reduce levelized cost of energy?
- Compare ownership, PPA, and third-party financing models
- Lender requirements and risk thresholds
- How scale and standardization unlock capital, including blended PPAs across multi-site offtakers
- Barriers to replicating successful projects across one customer's multiple buildings
Energy Demand and Growth
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
2:30PM - 3:15PM
Data Centres, AI & Digital Infrastructure: When Demand Arrives Faster Than the Grid
What happens when loads arrive at city-scale
AI and cloud computing are driving unprecedented electricity demand. Hyperscale data centres increasingly require the power equivalent of small cities often in locations not designed for them.
- The electricity intensity of AI and hyperscale data centres.
- How grid constraints are reshaping site selection.
- Mitigation strategies including on-site generation and flexibility.
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
3:15PM - 4:00PM
Industrial Electrification: Getting the Power to the Companies That Need It
Why decarbonisation stalls even when companies want to act
This session focuses on industrial demand, competitiveness, and the real-world impact of delayed infrastructure.
- The electricity requirements of industrial electrification.
- The main infrastructure bottlenecks factories face.
- The impact on productivity, jobs, and investment decisions.
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
2:30PM - 3:15PM
Firm Power & Flexibility in a Renewable-Dominated Grid
Ensuring reliable supply during intermittent renewable generation
Examines the need for firm capacity and system flexibility to manage renewable intermittency, including long-duration storage, interconnectors, and demand-side solutions.
- The role of firm power and flexibility in a high-renewable grid.
- Storage, interconnectors, and demand-side management solutions.
- Strategies to prevent supply gaps.
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
3:15PM - 4:00PM
Grid Modernisation & Microgrids: Building Resilience
Enhancing grid resilience against shocks and variability
Examines grid upgrades, digitalisation, and microgrid solutions that improve resilience against extreme weather, system failures, or sudden demand spikes.
- How modern grid technologies enhance resilience.
- Microgrid design and operation for localized stability.
- Regulatory and commercial barriers to grid innovation.
4:00PM - 4:30PM
Networking Break
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
4:30PM - 5:15PM
Grid Connection Planning - Gate 1 Offers and Developer Strategies
This panel examines the outcomes of Gate 1 connection offers and their implications for developers. It focuses on how projects can respond to offer decisions, navigate reapplications, and access alternative connection options. Regulators and system operators will provide insight into how grid access is prioritised and the factors influencing project delivery, helping developers plan effectively for upcoming windows and maintain project momentum.
- The implications of Gate 1 connection offers for project planning.
- Strategies for reapplying and securing alternative connection options.
- Insight from regulators and system operators on factors influencing grid access and delivery to inform ongoing project planning.
Rooftop and C&I Solar
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
4:30PM - 5:15PM
Commercial Solar Installation: What I Know Now That I Wish I Had Known Then
A light-hearted session exploring the logistical pitfalls of solar PV installation, from a company with over a decade’s experience in designing, developing and installing investment-grade commercial PV and battery projects.
- On-Site Challenges & Lessons Learned
- Operational Pitfalls
- Turning Complex Barriers into Milestones
- Navigating O&M Obstacles
- How to Overcome Hurdles for Long-term Success
Energy Demand and Growth
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
4:30PM - 5:15PM
Wind Power Update: Powering the Nation's Energy Needs
The UK wind sector is evolving rapidly, with new projects, technological advancements, and policy developments shaping its growth. This session provides an update on the current state of the onshore and offshore wind markets, including deployment trends, investment signals, and upcoming projects. Attendees will learn how these market developments are helping to meet growing electricity demand, strengthen energy security, and support a low-carbon transition.
- The latest developments in the UK wind market, including key projects and investment trends.
- How wind capacity growth is contributing to meeting electricity demand and supporting energy security.
- Scotland’s role in Offshore wind deployment and transmission expansion.
- The strategic importance of the Celtic Sea and Welsh infrastructure investment.
- Opportunities and challenges for stakeholders to leverage market trends to accelerate renewable deployment.
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
4:30PM - 5:15PM
Public Perception and Community Opposition: Navigating the New Resistance to Renewable Energy
Previously pro-renewables communities are becoming increasingly hostile to large-scale solar and wind projects, particularly in regions like Lincolnshire where DCO approvals on prime farmland are fundamentally shifting public sentiment. This session examines how developers and policymakers can address rising opposition, rebuild trust, and design projects that secure community acceptance while maintaining delivery timelines.
- How large-scale DCO projects on prime farmland are transforming previously supportive communities into hostile opponents, creating political and social challenges for renewable deployment
- Practical engagement strategies that address legitimate community concerns about scale, land use, and landscape impact while protecting project viability and timelines
- Media influence and misinformation impact on acceptance
5:15PM - 6:45PM
Clean Power 2030 Drinks Reception
Hosted networking drinks for all delegates, speakers and sponsors.
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
9:10AM - 9:50AM
CfD Performance Review: Lessons from AR7 and AR7a to Prepare for AR8
The session will assess the outlook for AR8, including strike price expectations, cannibalisation risk, budget allocation, and whether current auction structures reflect real-world project economics.
- The outcomes of AR7 and AR7a and evaluate the effectiveness of CfD reforms.
- How developers are balancing CfD participation with merchant and corporate PPA strategies in an increasingly cannibalised power market.
- How reforms influenced participation, pricing, and project planning.
- Lessons to inform project positioning and strategy under future CfD rounds or alternative revenue support mechanisms.
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
9:50AM - 10:30AM
Designing Through Supply Chain Constraints in Utility-Scale Solar
Utility-scale solar projects are no longer constrained only by engineering they are constrained by what can actually be procured, when, and at what cost. Panels, inverters, transformers, and BESS components now carry long and uncertain lead times, forcing design and preconstruction teams to make decisions earlier, with incomplete information.
This session focuses on how supply chain realities reshape the design phase itself, from layout strategy to equipment selection, and how teams can make better trade-offs before procurement locks the project.
- How equipment availability and lead times influence layout, block sizing, and electrical architecture decisions early in design.
- Designing for flexibility: adapting layouts to multiple inverter, transformer, and BESS configurations without restarting from scratch.
- The impact of supply constraints on cost maps and key trade-offs (LCOE vs capex vs schedule).
- Why early-stage designs must be stress-tested against real procurement scenarios, not ideal assumptions.
- Strategies for parallel design exploration (multiple equipment scenarios) instead of committing too early.
- The role of preconstruction tools in aligning engineering, procurement, and commercial teams around one decision-making framework.
Moderator
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
10:30AM - 11:00AM
Can Cap & Floor Accelerate the Next Phase of UK Energy Storage?
As the UK scales renewable generation and grid flexibility, attention is turning to whether cap and floor-style mechanisms could help unlock investment in long-duration and strategically important storage assets.
- The role of revenue certainty in scaling storage
- Could cap and floor improve investment confidence?
- Supporting long-duration and strategic storage projects
- Lessons from interconnector market frameworks
- The role of policy in delivering Clean Power 2030
- Implications for developers, investors, and consumers
Rooftop and C&I Solar
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
9:10AM - 9:30AM
Beyond the PPA: Delivering Multi-Site Rooftop Solar for Large Energy Users
- What makes rooftop solar and PPA structures attractive to large commercial energy users?
- What delivery and stakeholder challenges arise when deploying solar across multi-site logistics portfolios?
- How can installers, developers and asset owners position rooftop solar as a long-term commercial energy solution?
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
9:30AM - 9:50AM
Solar on Every Roof: How the Public Sector is Leading the Charge
Strategic planning for large-scale rooftop solar, funding mechanisms, real-world performance, and lessons learned.
- Strategic planning for large-scale rooftop solar deployment across distributed estates
- Funding mechanisms and financial models supporting C&I solar projects
- Real-world performance: generation capacity, cost savings, and carbon reduction outcomes
- Technical and operational considerations for multi-site solar installations
- Lessons learned and best practices for scaling rooftop solar programs
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
9:50AM - 10:30AM
C&I Load Flexibility & Energy Optimisation
Why operating costs stay high
A pure operations session on how C&I customers actively manage load using flexibility, tariffs, and optimisation, independent of grid approval processes.
- Flexibility from a customer operations lens.
- How load optimisation reduces energy costs.
- Operational barriers to implementation.
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
10:30AM - 11:00AM
Designing a Scalable Corporate Rooftop & C&I Solar Roll-Out
Why pilots don’t scale
This session is about internal execution: governance, sequencing, and coordination across estates, not markets, policy, or finance.
- How corporates sequence multi-site deployment.
- Internal blockers to scale.
- Build a repeatable rollout framework.
Energy Demand and Growth
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
9:10AM - 9:50AM
Impact of Electric Vehicles (EVs) on Renewable Energy Demand
As EV adoption accelerates across the UK, electricity demand patterns are rapidly evolving, placing growing pressure on renewable generation, grid infrastructure and flexibility markets. This session will explore how transport electrification is reshaping renewable energy demand, the implications for Clean Power 2030 and NESO targets, and the opportunities this presents for developers, utilities, investors and energy buyers.
- Understand how accelerating EV adoption is reshaping UK electricity demand.
- Assess the impact of electrification on renewable generation, grid capacity and flexibility requirements.
- Explore the opportunities and challenges for energy providers, developers and corporate energy users in an increasingly electrified economy.
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
9:50AM - 10:30AM
Repowering Renewables: Navigating the Asset Lifecycle as ROC Projects Reach End-of-Life
As ROC-supported wind and solar projects approach the end of their subsidy periods in 2027, asset owners face a critical decision: decommission or repower. Repowering offers the opportunity to extend site life and increase capacity, but it comes with challenges that can rival new development. This session explores the complexities of repowering, lessons from international markets, and strategies for managing aging renewable assets in the UK.
- The scale of projects losing ROC support and the economic case for repowering versus decommissioning
- Why repowering can be as difficult as new development—planning constraints, grid connection issues, and site complications
- Commercial uncertainty facing ageing ROC assets, including exposure to wholesale market volatility, and electricity generator levy implications.
- Decisions around repowering, life extension, or merchant operation.
Moderator
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
10:30AM - 11:00AM
Where Are We Now: Tracking Government Progress in Delivering Against Our Climate Goals
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
9:10AM - 9:50AM
Long-Duration Energy Storage: Preparing for a Predicted 1,000+ Hours of Negative Pricing by 2030
The UK's negative pricing events have surged from 29 hours in 2022 to 149 hours in 2024, with forecasts predicting over 1,000 hours annually by 2030 as renewable capacity outpaces grid flexibility. This session explores why Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) must move from the periphery to center stage to unlock the battery boom opportunity and ensure grid stability in an era of accelerating renewable deployment.
- The Negative Pricing Opportunity: How the five-fold increase in negative pricing hours creates unprecedented arbitrage opportunities for battery storage by 2030
- The Investment Imbalance and Market Potential: Why LDES solutions unlock greater value than short-duration storage in managing grid stability and maximizing revenue
- Planning for the Long Term: Aligning project development timelines with market conditions to capture the battery boom opportunity through DC-coupled LDES integration
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
9:50AM - 10:20AM
Hydrogen & Alternative Fuels: Balancing Intermittency and Seasonal Demand
Integrating alternative fuels to complement renewable generation
Examines the role of green and blue hydrogen and other alternative fuels in providing seasonal storage and complementing renewable generation.
- Hydrogen’s role in energy security strategies.
- Technological, economic, and regulatory challenges.
- Integration with electricity and heating networks.
Speaker
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
10:20AM - 11:00AM
Diversification Strategies: Balancing Domestic Generation, Imports, and Storage
Creating a resilient, balanced energy portfolio
Examines how the UK can balance domestic generation, imports, long-duration storage, and interconnectors to maintain system stability and reduce reliance on single sources.
- Trade-offs between domestic and imported energy.
- Storage and interconnectors to balance the grid.
- Optimal diversification strategies for resilience.
11:00AM - 11:30AM
Networking Break
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Roundtable Discussions
Grid Connection Strategy Clinic
Small groups work through real connection scenarios, sharing strategies for queue positioning, timing, and managing uncertainty.
Community Engagement Playbook
Interactive session developing approaches to local opposition, using BNG as engagement tool, and building community support.
Technology Integration Deep Dive
Technical discussion on SCADA integration, predictive maintenance, and data management for hybrid projects.
Rooftop and C&I Solar
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Workshop: Applying Rooftop Solar & Load Optimisation in Practice
A hands-on session applying rooftop solar and load optimisation to real C&I demand profiles, exploring practical implementation challenges from design through construction.
- Navigate PPA structures when grid export is limited and explore optimizers and AC vs. DC oversizing strategies
- Assess multi-rooftop sites: consolidate grid applications across MPANs, address cable routing, and quantify costs across varying rooftop types
- Combat asbestos and decaying roofs using asset finance models that integrate roof upgrades into PPA rates; manage construction timing to minimize business disruption
Energy Demand and Growth
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Real Demand Profiles, Real Constraints
A thought-provoking workshop using real demand profiles from data centres, factories, EV hubs, and commercial estates to explore how constraints, pricing, and flexibility affect outcomes.
- Demand-growth concepts to real-world cases.
- The impact of delays, pricing, and flexibility.
- Where interventions matter most.
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
11:30AM - 1:00PM
Community Energy: Empowering Local Ownership and Collaboration in Renewable Projects
Community-led renewable projects are enabling local areas to generate their own clean power, benefit directly from renewables, and play a key role in strengthening energy security. With successful examples emerging across the UK and new government support mechanisms, this session explores how developers can collaborate with communities to deliver projects that cut bills, displace expensive gas generation, and create lasting local value.
- Lessons from community wind and solar projects and how developers are partnering with local areas to deliver locally-owned renewable generation
- How new initiatives are enabling more communities to take advantage of renewable opportunities and access funding for local projects
- How community energy projects reduce electricity bills by displacing gas generation, strengthen energy security, and ensure communities benefit directly from clean power
1:00PM - 2:30PM
Networking Lunch
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
2:30PM - 3:15PM
The Future of NSIP and DCO Projects: Commercial Viability and Investment Strategy
As utility-scale solar ambitions grow, the NSIP and DCO route presents both opportunity and complexity. This session tackles the hard questions facing developers and investors: Are we approaching saturation point for commercially viable large-scale projects? Can single 400-megawatt developments secure funding in today's market, or is a portfolio approach the only sustainable path forward? Join industry leaders as they debate the future of nationally significant infrastructure investment and what it takes to turn pipeline projects into operational assets.
- Has the industry reached a tipping point where pursuing additional NSIP and DCO projects is no longer commercially viable, and are existing pipeline projects at risk of stalling or failing to deliver?
- Comparing the challenges of financing standalone mega-projects against diversified portfolio strategies that distribute risk and attract institutional capital
- Navigating regulatory complexity, grid connection constraints, and market volatility to ensure NSIP projects progress from consent to construction and commercial operation
Track:
Utility Scale Solar and Storage Integration
3:15PM - 4:00PM
Planning & Permitting – Navigating the New UK Planning Landscape
Planning and permitting remain a key bottleneck for utility-scale solar and storage. The new Planning Reform Bill introduces changes that could streamline approvals, but projects still face complex regulatory, environmental, and community requirements. This session examines the practical implications of these reforms and identifies where further clarity is needed.
- The changes introduced by the Planning Reform Bill and their impact on utility-scale solar and storage.
- Planning and regulatory bottlenecks and strategies to navigate them efficiently.
- Approaches for aligning developers, local authorities, and regulators to accelerate approvals without compromising social or environmental obligations.
- Differences in planning frameworks and development challenges across devolved UK nations.
Rooftop and C&I Solar
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
2:30PM - 3:15PM
Data Centres as Large-Scale Private Wire Solar Customers
Private wire solar is emerging as one of the most compelling power solutions for data centres globally. As grid queues stretch to 5–15 years and UK C&I electricity rates remain the highest in Europe, access to power and the speed of that access has become the defining constraint on data centre development. This session gets into why data centres are unlocking an opportunity for PPA private-wire solar to be offered and adopted at scale.
- Why speed-to-power and cost-of-power make private wire the most commercially compelling renewable structure for data centres right now
- Why hyperscalers and DC tenants increasingly require traceable, physically-delivered renewable electrons — and why private wire is the only structure that genuinely delivers this
- The structural barriers still blocking deal execution: tenor contract misalignment, absent PPA contract standardisation, slow offtaker decision cycles, and the lack of grid export as a developer backstop
- The policy gap: why private wire projects sit in the same planning queue as grid-connected assets and what call to action can be implemented to mitigated these and increase uptake in C&I solar in the UK
Track:
Rooftop and C&I Solar
3:15PM - 4:00PM
Behind-the-Meter Storage: Opportunities for Commercial & Industrial Sites and Data Centres
Behind-the-meter battery storage is increasingly being considered by commercial and industrial energy users to support on-site generation, manage peak demand, and improve resilience. This session explores where storage can add value under current market and grid conditions.
- The main use cases for behind-the-meter battery storage.
- How storage can support data centres
- Factors that influence the commercial viability of behind-the-meter storage.
Energy Demand and Growth
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
2:30PM - 3:15PM
Ports, Logistics & Warehousing: The Silent Surge in Electricity Demand
Ports, logistics hubs, cold storage facilities, and automated warehouses are rapidly electrifying as shipping operations, freight handling, refrigeration, robotics, and heavy goods vehicles transition away from fossil fuels. Many of these sites are located in coastal or industrial areas with limited grid capacity, creating acute bottlenecks that threaten trade, growth, and competitiveness.
- How ports, logistics hubs, and warehousing are driving new electricity demand.
- Grid and infrastructure challenges unique to coastal and industrial locations.
- The economic and operational risks of delayed electrification in trade infrastructure.
Track:
Energy Demand and Growth
3:15PM - 4:00PM
Heat, Housing & the Electrification Gap
Heat electrification is key to the UK’s net-zero goals, but uptake of heat pumps and electric heating is slower than expected. This session explores why demand is lagging, examines early learnings from Warm Homes Plan implementation, and discusses strategic approaches for developers, networks, and policymakers to accelerate adoption while navigating pricing, network, and regulatory challenges.
- The drivers behind the slow uptake of heat electrification and its impact on electricity demand.
- Early outcomes and lessons from the Warm Homes Plan for residential and commercial projects.
- Strategies for the sector to overcome barriers, optimise project delivery, and align with electrification targets.
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
2:30PM - 3:15PM
Delivering a Gigawatt-Scale Battery Storage Project: From Planning to Commercial Operation
A deep-dive case study following the development journey of one of the UK’s largest battery energy storage projects exploring how developers are navigating planning, land, grid connections, financing, supply chain pressures, optimisation strategy, and construction delivery in an increasingly competitive market.
- Securing and progressing large-scale grid connections
- Financing utility-scale BESS in a changing revenue environment
- EPC and technology partner selection
- Construction and commissioning challenges
- Route-to-market and optimisation strategy
- Lessons learned from delivering storage at scale
- The role of large BESS assets in Clean Power 2030
Track:
Energy Security and Domestic Supply
3:15PM - 4:00PM
Critical Minerals & Geopolitics: Securing Essential Inputs
Protecting the supply of minerals and technology needed for the clean energy transition
Focuses on supply chain vulnerabilities and geopolitical dependencies for critical minerals and components required for renewables, storage, and grid technologies.
- Key critical minerals and sources.
- Geopolitical risks affecting energy infrastructure.
- Strategies for diversification and secure sourcing.
4:00PM - 4:00PM
