power & renewables summit 2018

Texas is the U.S. state that produces the most renewable energy in terms of sheer quantity. And one that also experiences some of the most extreme weather out of all the U.S. regions. This conversation will provide a unique perspective as to how ERCOT balances a regional energy system that counts on some of the highest renewable penetration rates with reliability and resilience in a very congested transmission network throughout its most challenging season, reflecting on Summer 2018 data.

There is a clear disconnect between long-term resource planning for utilities and grid operators and the actual market data available. But where does this distortion stem from? How can utilities and grid operators adapt their resource planning to market trends more effectively? And what does a winning bid look like compared to a losing one?

This session will present the views of a leading financial advisory on how to mitigate nod-to-hub basis differentials in a world of record-low electricity prices. The discussion will explore revenue hedges, proxy revenue swaps, corporate and virtual PPAs and other financing products that can protect renewable players from price volatility.

The impact of the PTC and ITC step-downs is starting to be felt across the renewable project development landscape. Developers, investment banks and corporate investors looking to finance renewable projects in a post-PTC/ITC world will move away from tax equity and deploy debt instruments over the next five years. In doing so, they will ascertain how reductions in capital, construction, operational and maintenance costs can offset the revenue lost with the removal of tax incentives. Project offtakers will share their perspectives on how to evaluate these key project finance indicators in addition to electricity pricing forecasts, equipment capacity factors and production downtime expectations.

As solar technology costs continue to plummet, developers, investors and utilities are all asking where the bottom lays. Join this panel of experts as they review the key drivers behind solar technology democratization and how this downward cost trajectory can help renewable players mitigate the impact of expiring tax incentives.

The proliferation of renewables has sparked a downward trend in wholesale electricity prices that seems to know no limits. In this scenario, energy storage can be the key to stabilizing prices and a fundamental driver for the viability of new hybrid solar and wind projects. But what U.S. regional markets are more prone to adopt wind against solar and vice versa? And what operational and market fundamentals will determine these patterns?

Sustainability and economic drivers have catalyzed a renewables revolution among some of the largest technology and industrial companies globally. Corporate renewable generation projects now account for very significant portions of developers’ procurement, meaning utilities across the U.S. are losing some of their largest customers. What are the actual reasons behind this trend? How can utilities become essential to these big corporates? And how and when will this renewable procurement fever downstream across different tiers of the corporate supply chain?

Energy storage will impact the entire electricity value chain, replacing peaking plants, altering future transmission and distribution investments and reducing intermittency of renewables. But there are still considerable barriers to adoption, starting with the lack of a market structure that can untap all the value streams for utility-scale batteries. However, investments in storage keep growing year after year, posing the question of how are financiers assessing asset performance and risk?

Massachusetts and Rhode Island have contracted 1,200 megawatts to build what could become the largest offshore wind complex in the U.S. and states like New York, New Jersey and North Carolina have all announced further development plans. As advancements in technology and strong capacity values improve margins, other variables such as eases in permitting, reduction in transmission expenses and proximity to load centers all indicate the economics for offshore wind in the East Coast are much more favorable than previously thought of. But can these projects actually live up to the hype?