Agenda

The energy transition is accelerating. In this keynote, the Global Solar Council will look into the global progress of solar + storage, spotlight the key trends shaping the industry, and explore what it will take to reach 8 TW of solar capacity by 2030. The road ahead is clear: scale faster, work together, and turn ambition into action

In 2026, capture rates have declined to 50-60% of baseload, while negative prices have reshaped the investment case for standalone PV assets. This panel evaluates how developers and financiers navigate cannibalisation and grid constraints.

• How are curtailment and cannibalisation impacting asset economics?
• What does a financeable, bankable solar project look like today?
• What innovations in PPAs and revenue hedging protect asset value?
• Has standalone utility-scale solar had its day in the region?

Romania’s co-located solar and battery market is moving faster than almost anywhere else in the region, and the first operational projects are starting to talk back.

• What co-located configurations are reaching financial close, and what does a bankable structure look like?
• What are the first operational hybrid projects revealing about battery dispatch performance against projections?
• How is Transelectrica's new grid framework affecting co-location connection rights and shared infrastructure economics?
• How close is Romania to the market pressures already visible in Poland, and does co-located storage change that outlook?

This presentation puts the region's capture rate and hybrid deployment data side by side, focused squarely on how the economics of a co-located deal actually pencil out, building the numerical backbone for the deal-making conversations that follow.

• How do capture rates and deployment volumes compare across Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the wider region?
• What does the data suggest about where hybrid economics work best right now?

How Vindo Solar unlocks new revenue by adding battery storage to an operational solar plant in Lithuania. The session will cover trading strategies, dispatch priorities, permitting hurdles, and the financial structuring behind this utility-scale project.

Hybrid projects dominate every hallway conversation in CEE right now, yet actual PPA closures remain surprisingly rare. This session pulls apart why, tracing the gap between the deals developers want to structure and the ones corporate buyers are actually prepared to sign, and tests whether the underlying numbers still hold once a hybrid project is built.

• What PPA structures are closing in CEE today, and which remain more promise than practice?
• How do corporate buyers view battery economics, and why do some treat hybrid investment as speculative?
• Which revenue streams, arbitrage, capacity markets, frequency response and curtailment mitigation, are lenders prepared to underwrite?
• How are cross-border PPA arrangements becoming essential for scope 2 requirements and 24-hour matching?

Every project eventually needs a buyer, a refinancer, or both. This session follows an asset's full arc, from the handover moments that quietly shape long-term value, to the documentation and track record that separate a smooth exit from a stalled one.

• What are the most common issues during the construction to operations handover, and how do they affect long term value?
• What operational track record do buyers and refinancers expect when evaluating existing assets?
• What technical, commercial and legal attributes separate a highly sought asset from one that struggles to find a buyer?
• What documentation and warranties are now considered essential for a smooth transaction?

Large-scale projects generate huge volumes of data, yet tracking progress, spotting deviations and verifying completed work are still largely manual. AI Clearing will show how AI models trained on more than 50 million labeled construction objects turn drone imagery and field data into georeferenced reports within 6–24 hours, comparing actual site conditions against designs and schedules. The session draws on utility-scale renewable projects across the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.

• How does specialized AI detect deviations and delays earlier than manual reporting?
• How can verifiable site evidence support claims, payment validation and dispute resolution?"

Risti Energy Hub in Estonia illustrates how renewable energy developers can connect their assets with growing data center demand. Kaarel Aus will present Sunly’s planned Risti Campus alongside its 244 MWp solar park, highlighting secured grid capacity and renewable power supply. Sunly is turning it's hybrid-asset locations with existing substations and signed grid capacity into energy hubs for large-scale energy consumers. Combining land control, permitting readiness, grid access and renewable supply through long-term PPAs, these hubs offer faster time-to-market, long-term power availability and price predictability.

Bulgaria is one of Europe's most compelling subsidy-free solar stories. With gigawatt-scale additions and massive projects advancing, the market faces declining capture rates and new eco-taxes. This session explores the country’s next phase, detailing merchant strategies, hybrid project economics, and the impact of the 2026 Eurozone adoption.

• How has Bulgaria sustained three consecutive years of 1 GW-plus solar deployment without direct subsidies?
• What do current storage project configurations look like, and what are lenders underwriting to reach financial close?
• What critical structuring lessons can developers and financiers learn from Bulgaria’s largest merchant hybrid project?
• How far along is the transition to standalone storage and hybridisation to combat declining capture rates?
• How severely will the recent sharp increases in local recycling fees impact procurement for new projects?
• What does Eurozone adoption mean for reducing currency risk and attracting Western institutional capital to project finance?

Grid connectivity has emerged as the defining challenge across CEE markets, fundamentally reshaping project economics and development timelines. Curtailment is eroding revenues, connection costs are escalating, and traditional grid access routes are proving inadequate. This session examines the technical and commercial realities facing developers today, exploring how cable pooling, alternative connection routes, and strategic grid engagement can unlock project viability in constrained markets.

• What is the current state of grid capacity and curtailment across CEE markets?
• How does cable pooling work, and what commercial benefits does it offer?
• What are the alternative routes to grid connectivity, and when do they make sense?
• How are recent grid connection rule changes affecting project development?