Field notes from the front of solar and storage.

Welcome to this month’s brief. Three things are on our mind heading into the back half of the year: timelines, duration and delivery capacity. None of them are new, but together they are reshaping how the strongest projects are getting to financial close. Here is what we are watching, and what we would do about it.

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1. Timelines are the new risk

Grid connection and planning approvals continue to take longer than most development plans assume. The projects that hold their value are the ones treating the connection process as a core workstream from day one, not a box to tick later. If your program still shows a tidy, linear path to an offer, it is worth a hard look. Build the float in, map the dependencies, and keep the connection conversation live.

2. Batteries keep getting longer

The shift to longer duration storage is clear. Two hour systems are giving way to four hour and beyond as the value of shifting energy across the day grows. That changes the sizing question, the revenue case and the land and cooling requirements. If you are scoping a battery now, scope it for where the market is going, not where it has been, and stress test the revenue stack against more than one scenario.

3. Delivery capacity is tight

Good EPC and balance of plant contractors are busy, and the best ones are selective about the work they take. That puts a premium on a clean, well structured procurement process and a project that is genuinely ready to build. Contractors price uncertainty. The more you have done to remove it, in design maturity, site information and clear scope, the better the tender you will get back.

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The thread running through all three: the work you do early, on risk, structure and decisions, is what protects cost and time later. That is the whole idea behind PACE. If any of this is live on a project of yours, we are always happy to compare notes.

Nick Farrington, Founder