From funding the rooftop revolution to securing the solar supply chain, discover how Great British Energy is driving the next phase of solar deployment – and what it will take to deliver at scale across the UK.

How is the strategic Solar Roadmap supporting accelerated action and innovation in UK’s solar industry?

Bringing together key players from government and industry to analyse the progress, challenges and alignment with the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.

Local authorities have a pivotal role in driving the transition to renewable energy, but the approach they take can significantly impact project feasibility, returns, and community engagement. Evaluating the technical, financial and regulatory considerations and insights from success stories.

• What are the trade-offs in control, risk, and stakeholder buy-in for owner/operator models vs facilitating community-led initiatives?
• What innovative financing mechanisms have been successful in either model, and how do they influence long-term viability?
• How can local authorities leverage planning policy, land use control, and grid access facilitation to streamline deployment

With solar sites increasingly targeted by sophisticated criminal networks, protecting these crucial infrastructure assets has never been more important. Discover field-tested strategies to secure your valuable investments during both construction and operation phases, minimising downtime and safeguarding your ROI.

A comprehensive analysis of the UK’s solar market, examining current capacity, projects in development and the long-term potential for expansion.

With limited time to accept Gate 2 offers, NovoGrid has been helping customers get set up for success.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements came into force last year, and NSIPs will also be required to adhere to these from November this year.

Solar farms have significant potential to deliver environmental benefits alongside clean energy generation, with some sites far exceeding the 10% requirement. How can developers navigate evolving regulations, site-specific ecological challenges, and competing land use priorities to turn obligation into opportunity?

• Challenges of measuring, monitoring, and verifying biodiversity improvements
• Successfully integrating BNG into project design and delivery – designing solar farms to maximise habitat creation and ecological value
• Unlocking BNG as a revenue stream, not just a compliance hurdle

As the UK’s solar capacity continues to grow, the challenges facing operations and maintenance teams have evolved. Underinvestment, theft, vandalism, and workforce pressures are emerging as serious threats to asset performance and ROI.

Discover practical strategies to optimise asset performance, improve efficiency, reduce downtime, and mitigate degradation.

• Predictive vs. reactive maintenance – leveraging AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics to prevent failures before they occur
• Understanding the financial and insurance implications of O&M failures and external threats
• Integrating O&M strategies for solar-plus-storage projects – adapting approaches for co-located projects and hybrid infrastructure
• Workforce and supply chain challenges – skills shortages, spare parts availability, and post-warranty servicing

Despite today’s challenges, renewable energy remains one of the leading strategies for meeting the rising energy demand, including that of power-hungry AI data centers. SMA’s solutions are future-ready, designed to comply with evolving grid stability requirements, while offering industry-leading cybersecurity and proven long-term reliability in the field. SMA is front runner in staying true to this vision and continue building a better and cleaner world.

Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) are critical to delivering the UK’s net-zero goals, but navigating the planning system, overcoming delays, and securing community support remain major challenges. This session brings together developers with first-hand experience to share practical lessons from the frontlines—what works, what doesn’t, and how to de-risk, streamline, and accelerate project delivery.

• Planning reforms in practice – are they really speeding up approvals?
• Engaging communities and securing social license – strategies for success
• Optimising project timelines – what’s slowing deployment and how to fix it

Effective community engagement is critical for the success of solar projects, yet approaches vary widely based on regional dynamics and project type. This session will explore a spectrum of strategies — from public consultation for utility-scale projects to participatory models like community solar — that build trust and maximize community benefit.

• Tailoring engagement strategies to local cultures, policies, and energy needs.
• Engaging municipalities, landowners, and community organizations early in the process.
• Proactive communication on land use, aesthetics, and grid impacts.
• Demonstrating local benefits such as job creation, tax revenue, and energy cost savings.
• Ensuring underserved communities have access to solar opportunities and the role of community solar models.

Unpacking the latest developments on the CfD scheme and the consultation outcomes for the 2025-26 allocation round. Assessing impacts on the UK’s solar landscape, and the role of emerging technologies such as long-duration storage. Lessons learned from AR6 and outlining what’s needed to ensure AR7 maximises deployment across technologies while maintaining affordability for consumers.

With 350 million square metres of warehouse roof space alone – space for up to 15GW of solar – turning these rooftops into distributed solar power plants presents an enormous opportunity.

In this session, the CEO of the UK Warehouse Association explores what’s holding back rooftop retrofit projects—and how industry, government, and landlords can work together to unlock them. Explore practical insights on policy reform, financing models, and collaborative pathways to scale retrofit adoption across the logistics sector.

Commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftops represent a significant opportunity for the UK to reach its 2030 renewable energy goals.

• Policy reforms and incentives shaping the future of distributed solar.
• Overcoming barriers to growth: grid constraints, planning challenges, and financing options.
• The rise of smart solar: energy storage, digitalization, and local energy markets.
• Engaging communities and businesses to drive adoption at scale.

As the UK scales up renewable energy deployment, the integration of battery storage with large-scale solar projects is becoming critical for grid stability, energy security, and maximising asset value. However, developers face significant challenges, including planning constraints, operational complexity, and economic viability.

Explore the opportunities and real-world challenges of creating integrated energy hubs that combine solar and storage. Best practices in project design, navigating grid and regulatory barriers, financing strategies, and the role of energy storage in optimising returns within the CfD and merchant markets.

• Navigating planning and regulatory hurdles for co-located projects
• Solutions to enhance flexibility and reduce curtailment
• Revenue stacking opportunities and business models for maximising financial returns
• Technological advancements in battery storage and hybrid energy systems

A look at current trends in module technology, traceability, low-carbon manufacturing, and market conditions for suppliers.

Discover how Atrato structured the UK’s first solar C&I sector Asset-Backed Security warehouse facility with Barclays

• Learn how this innovative £250M financing mechanism is accelerating commercial solar deployment across the UK
• Explore practical insights into scaling solar investments and structuring large-scale renewable energy financing
• Understand the implications for future solar project funding and market growth potential

With the UK’s solar fleet maturing, many projects are approaching the midpoint or end of their operational lifespan. Repowering and revamping ageing solar assets present a crucial opportunity to enhance efficiency, extend asset life, and maximise returns—yet developers and asset owners must navigate technical, regulatory, and financial challenges to unlock this potential.

• Identifying opportunities – When does repowering make economic and technical sense?
• Upgrading ageing components with next-generation technology solutions
• Financial viability – making the business case for revamping assets
• End-of-life considerations – recycling and responsible disposal of decommissioned components to support sustainability goals

The global solar energy market is poised to add 700 GW of new capacity in 2025 alone, presenting a multi-trillion-pound opportunity across the energy value chain. This session will explore how UK PLC – from financial services to legal, technical, and advisory sectors – can play a leading role in enabling and accelerating this global transition.

From site-sourcing to trial trenching, there are a number of complex obstacles throughout the development lifecycle of a project. How can developers mitigate impacts on project timelines, costs and risk while navigating a rapidly evolving regulatory environment?

• Managing grid connection uncertainties
• Tackling the challenges of fragmented access to data at scale during the sourcing process
• Anticipating the future of Strategic Spatial Energy Planning and Regional Energy Strategic Planning
• Lessons from successful projects and strategies to streamline the permitting process

In the rush to deploy Gigawatts of assets and meet ambitious climate goals, it’s easy to focus on speed and scale. But solar infrastructure isn’t just assembled – it’s built on relationships, reputation, and responsibility.

This session will explore how culture, trust, and integrity form the true foundations of long-term success in solar. Drawing on Solarport’s journey from a small UK start-up to a key player in utility-scale solar, explore insights into what makes projects successful not just on paper, but on the ground – and why it’s the people, not just the product, that make the difference.