2026 Agenda
If you would like to present a case study or be part of a panel session as part of our Energy Storage Summit USA Agenda, then please get in touch with the team today.
9:15 AM -
9:55 AM
Keynote Panel Discussion
- How are data centers, AI buildouts, and manufacturing reshoring reshaping US power demand curves over the next decade?
- What are utilities and ISOs forecasting for load growth regionally, and how are they planning capacity to meet it?
- Which sectors (industrial, commercial, residential) are expected to drive the steepest increases, and how might electrification of transport and buildings compound demand?
- How are investors viewing demand growth forecasts when making siting and capital-allocation decisions for storage?
- What role will large corporate offtakers and energy-intensive industries play in shaping grid planning and contracting models?
9:55 AM -
10:35 AM
Keynote Panel Discussion
With FEOC rules in force since January 2026, developers and financiers are already dealing with the realities of enforcement. This session examines the first 90 days of compliance: which suppliers are passing scrutiny, how financiers are adapting covenants and diligence, and whether domestic supply can scale to fill the gap. Speakers will share hard lessons from early projects, highlight the costs of traceability and certification, and debate how FEOC will reshape sourcing, contracting, and capital flows for storage in 2026 and beyond.
- How are developers balancing timelines against the need to source compliant kit – delay projects or proceed with risk exposure?
- What tools and processes are proving most effective for traceability and verification of components, and what costs are being added to projects?
- How are financiers, tax equity, and transferability buyers adjusting covenants, warranties, and diligence to reflect FEOC risks?
- Is domestic manufacturing capacity scaling fast enough to absorb redirected demand, and how are developers structuring contracts or JVs to secure supply?
10:35 AM -
11:15 AM
Panel Discussion
- How do federal and state rules translate demand forecasts into siting decisions: Behind The Meter (BTM) vs Front of Meter (FTM)?
- What regulatory mechanisms (capacity accreditation, interconnection reform, tariff adders) are most critical for grid-scale (FTM) storage in 2026?
- How are BTM markets — from community storage to commercial and industrial (C&I) demand response — being enabled or held back by policy fragmentation, permitting standards, and rate design?
- What does this patchwork mean for developers and investors allocating capital between distributed portfolios and large-scale builds?
- Which regulatory reforms would most directly unlock both markets in the next 12 months?
12:00 PM -
12:40 PM
Panel Discussion
- Strategies for developers to manage the massive capital risk associated with these high, volatile, equipment costs
- What battery equipment is starting to be manufactured in the US and what’s the outlook for that?
- The outlook for the EPC ecosystem given that developers are likely to prioritise projects in the near-term future that carry greater margins, applying pressure for developers to secure those projects with a limited market pool of EPCs providers to work with
- Practical steps developers and their EPC partners are taking – including advanced procurement planning and taking on more interface risk – to secure bankability and compete for the same strained supply chain resources
12:00 PM -
12:40 PM
Panel Discussion
- How do developers find the best arrangements to working with utilities across the US who are encountering huge MW requests for batteries in recent years, making processing these large amounts difficult
- Procurement targets for energy storage
- How policy frameworks and market structures influence utility storage strategies
- Technical requirements such as the duration, cycling capabilities, degradation rates, and system reliability standards that matter most
- What utilities have learned from early energy storage deployments and how expectations have evolved
12:40 PM -
1:20 PM
Panel Discussion
- How multi-GW procurements by major utilities drive technology costs, supply chain development, and market liquidity
- The dilemma of utilities choosing to own versus contract for large-scale resources and the financial drivers behind these decisions
- How utilities balance competitive procurement with strategic partnerships and long-term developer relationships
- Managing the complexity of integrating multi-GW renewable portfolios while maintaining system reliability
- The role of major utility commitments in driving manufacturing capacity, technology innovation, and cost reductions
12:40 PM -
1:20 PM
Panel Discussion
- Which types of storage projects (standalone merchant, solar plus storage hybrids, tolling agreements, long duration, aggregated BTM portfolios) are attracting capital in 2026?
- How has investor risk appetite shifted, and what return profiles are now considered acceptable across regions?
- How are financing structures adapting post FEOC and amid ancillary market saturation?
- Which contracting and risk mitigation tools such as hedges, insurance, and synthetic Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are lenders and investors relying on?
- How is rising power demand from commercial and industrial buyers, including hyperscaler data centers, influencing investor interest in the C&I storage space?
- What lessons from 2025 deals are shaping where capital flows in 2026 and 2027?
Project Financing
Offtakers and Product Requirements
2:35 PM -
3:15 PM
Panel Discussion
- How are FEOC restrictions influencing eligibility for investment tax credits (ITCs) and production tax credits (PTCs), and what does this mean for structuring tax equity deals?
- Are tax equity providers refusing projects with non-compliant equipment, or are carve-outs and certifications emerging to keep deals viable?
- How are diligence processes changing to prove supply chain traceability and compliance?
- What contractual protections (indemnities, warranties, recapture insurance) are being written into tax equity agreements post-January 2026?
- If tax equity volume contracts due to FEOC, what alternative structures (synthetic PPAs, merchant hedges etc.) are investors turning to?
2:35 PM -
3:15 PM
Panel Discussion
- Are data center operators, both hyperscale and mid-market, choosing to build their own generation and storage assets or forging partnerships with energy developers and utilities?
- How do smaller and regional data centers approach energy procurement differently from hyperscalers, and what does that mean for contract structures and bankability?
- How does the unique ramping load profile of data centers affect PPA structures, pricing, and supplier relationships?
- How are siting and interconnection decisions shaping the geography of new data center build-out, and what lessons can energy developers draw?
- Will the rise of private energy networks and microgrids remain a hyperscale play, or are mid-sized data centers also exploring this model?
3:15 PM -
3:35 PM
Fireside Chat
- With consolidation expected in 2026 and 2027, how will developers, IPPs, and funds approach pipeline acquisitions and portfolio M&A?
- How are investors valuing projects still in development, and what discounts or premiums apply depending on stage, interconnection status, or equipment compliance under FEOC?
- What structures are being used for acquisitions such as full takeovers, JV partnerships, or partial offtake of development rights?
- How do lenders and equity backers assess the risks of acquiring projects mid development compared to backing greenfield builds?
- What exit options are available for mid-tier developers under pressure, and how does that shape the competitive landscape?
3:15 PM -
3:35 PM
Fireside Chat
- What DR participation is worth today in revenue terms and how it changes project bankability
- How utilities structure DR programs and what terms are negotiable for storage owners
- The role of C&I sites and data centers: what contract structures or partnerships work in practice
Project Financing
Offtakers and Product Requirements
4:20 PM -
5:00 PM
Panel Discussion
- How Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) developers are building sustainable, bankable revenue models that can attract institutional capital and support large-scale deployment across evolving electricity markets
- What revenue characteristics (duration, counterparty quality, payment certainty) make BESS projects financeable at attractive debt costs?
- How capacity payments combined with energy and ancillary revenues create the revenue floor needed for project underwriting and construction financing
- How discrepancies between modeled IRRs and realized merchant or capacity revenues are influencing financing terms, performance guarantees, and lender confidence in storage projects
4:20 PM -
5:00 PM
Panel Discussion
- How storage can support data center operations: peak shaving, resiliency, backup, and load management for cooling and heating system
- What should you look for in storage EPCs and integrators, and other partners
- Cost drivers for integrating storage into data centers: equipment selection, redundancy, safety standards, and co-location with renewables or backup generation
- Funding models for storage at data centers: capex ownership vs. offtake/PPA style contracts vs. service-based models
- Long-term operations: warranties, maintenance, degradation risk, and how storage assets are managed within a mission-critical environment
5:00 PM -
5:40 PM
Panel Discussion
- Balancing contracted revenue floors with merchant upside opportunities in portfolio optimization
- Competitive bidding for contracted capacity during a utility’s tender process and how developers position for lowest-cost awards
- Integrating contract strategy into site selection, permitting, and capacity planning during the early-stage, pre-commercialization feasibility process
5:00 PM -
5:40 PM
Panel Discussion
- Key fire safety risks in current grid-scale BESS and how developers are mitigating them in design and EPC contracts
- What insurers, lenders, and offtakers now expect to see on safety, warranties, and testing before backing a project
- How different chemistries such as sodium-ion and lithium iron phosphate compare on safety performance and investor acceptance
- Practical steps for operators to limit liability and ensure compliance with evolving codes and insurance requirements
9:00 AM -
10:00 AM
Panel Discussion , Presentation
- This panel session opens with a short presentation on ERCOT’s perspective on the role of storage in integrating Texas’ growing renewable generation
- The operational requirements and performance expectations for storage assets on the ERCOT grid
- Why ERCOT’s merchant storage market depends on a handful of extreme price days each year
- How asset owners and traders prepare to capture value during these scarcity events
- The risk of missing those days and what that means for revenue models and lender confidence
- How saturation of ancillary services is reshaping merchant storage strategies in Texas
9:00 AM -
9:45 AM
Panel Discussion
- Technology validation gap: what LDES technologies need to achieve commercial deployment at scale beyond demonstration projects
- Pathways to scale for emerging technologies such as sodium-ion, including cost, safety, and manufacturing hurdles
- How hyperscale data centers are creating new market opportunities for long-duration storage
9:45 AM -
10:00 AM
Case Study
- Despite improving lithium-ion duration capability, LDES solutions have long remained an exciting proposition for the longer duration grid operator markets
- This case study session examines real-world LDES projects to understand deployment challenges, performance outcomes, and the pathway from demonstration to commercial viability
- Insights on project development, utility partnerships, and regulatory navigation for LDES projects
10:15 AM -
11:00 AM
Panel Discussion
- Developers’ best approaches to capitalising on this emergingly popular energy arbitrage revenue stream
- The level of market demand and agreement outcomes: utility offtake contracts vs. full tolling agreements
- While ERCOT leads tolling adoption, other markets like CAISO, PJM, and MISO present different regulatory frameworks, market structures, and utility relationships that could either accelerate or hinder tolling agreement proliferation. Which regional markets show the strongest indicators for tolling model adoption? What regulatory or market structure changes would need to occur for tolling to become viable in traditionally PPA-dominated regions?
10:15 AM -
11:00 AM
Panel Discussion
- Balancing immediate revenue opportunities against long-term battery health, including cycle counting and depth-of-discharge optimization
- Warranty claim processes, timelines, and outcomes with major battery suppliers
- Technical augmentation approaches for when adding new battery modules, replacing degraded sections, or installing parallel systems
- Approaches in maximizing revenue from aging assets
- Developing strategies for battery recycling, site remediation, and asset retirement obligations
- Second life: what makes an EV pack fit for reuse in BESS?
Market Dynamics
Project lifecycle and O&M
11:30 AM -
12:15 PM
Workshop
- Separate market forums discussing key characteristics of the likes of PJM, SPP, MISO and NYISO that create opportunities for developers
- Near and long-term investment outlook across these markets
- Deployment best practice and revenue opportunities
11:30 AM -
12:15 PM
Panel Discussion
- Grid regulators MISO, SPP, and PJM will publish incremental accreditation and interconnection process tweaks. That will shift which durations and configurations clear.
- How can developers, data center offtakers, grid operators, and regulatory actors, in particular, work together to create a more efficient environment for interconnecting?
- Optimising processing of interconnection studies that have long brought delays and uncertainty in the grid interconnection application process
- Does the policy landscape require a rethink if one of the byproducts in removing tax credit opportunities for wind and solar developers consequently mean projects are withdrawing their applications to connect to the grid?
12:15 PM -
1:00 PM
Fireside Chat
- Three separate market specific fireside chats. These include an insight into NYISO and how it is supporting utility scale storage in the state
- Southeast Utility Storage Scale-Up: Major utilities like Duke Energy and Southern Company are deploying multi-gigawatt storage programs. How does storage support coal retirement strategies, and what regulatory frameworks in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida are enabling deployment?
- Southwest Solar-Plus-Storage Leadership: Nevada’s renewable mandates and Arizona’s peak demand challenges are driving large-scale deployments. What policies are accelerating storage adoption, and how are NV Energy and Arizona Public Service integrating storage into resource planning?
- MISO and data centers are driving Behind-The-Meter storage demand for demand charge management and backup power. How are industrial facilities using storage to support electrification, and what state incentives in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio are shaping strategies?
12:15 PM -
1:00 PM
Panel Discussion
- Industry Consolidation Impact: How will fewer, better-capitalized developers change permitting dynamics and approval success rates as smaller players lose market access?
- Design-to-Construction Compliance: What are the most common gaps between approved designs and field execution that delay final sign-offs from utilities and local authorities?
- Phased Interconnection Strategies: How can developers leverage battery storage’s faster interconnection timelines and deploy backup systems while awaiting main facility approvals?
2:30 PM -
3:15 PM
Panel Discussion
- Revenue Insurance Evolution: How are revenue insurance products structured for energy arbitrage, capacity payments, and ancillary services? What performance metrics are insurers using to price policies across different technologies?
- Battery Fire Risk Management: What fire prevention technologies are becoming insurance requirements? How are insurers evaluating fire risk profiles of different chemistries and UL 9540A testing impacts?
- Cyber and Supply Chain Coverage: How are insurers addressing cybersecurity risks for grid-connected systems? What supply chain liability coverage exists for project delays and geopolitical disruptions?
3:15 PM -
4:00 PM
Panel Discussion
- Regional Development Strategies: Which developers are most active in specific markets and technology segments? How are established renewable developers adapting for storage, and what new entrants are gaining pipeline traction?
- M&A Valuation Trends: What asset types are commanding premium valuations in recent transactions? Which risks are buyers avoiding, and how are sellers positioning portfolios across different maturity stages?
- Evolving Financing Structures: How are financing models adapting to different storage technologies and revenue streams? What new risk allocation mechanisms are emerging between developers, investors, and lenders?
- Tariff uncertainty: Safeguarding against pricing projections, strategic resource planning for developers, and ensuring supply dependability
