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 […]
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.
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
