Burns & McDonnell
Adam Bernardi has more than fourteen years of experience in the power generation industry. With Burns & McDonnell, he supports utilities and developers in the upfront development of renewable energy projects, from siting and commercialization strategies all the way through startup and commissioning.
In the months preceding the outbreak of COVID-19, the utility-scale solar market was brimming with activity due to the ramping down of tax credits, which resulted in high demand for solar modules from those attempting to safe-harbor equipment. This activity strained the supply chain, driving up the cost of equipment, causing some to look at creative alternatives for equipment supply.
The disruption to the financial markets we are now seeing has had a trickle-down effect, causing delays for some solar projects. Some of these delayed projects had already allocated equipment - equipment that is now becoming available for deployment on other projects in 2020 and 2021.
This reality has created new opportunities for developers and owners who can take advantage of the downturn to deploy this previously unavailable equipment on their own projects at a potential discount to what would have been realized before the COVID-19 pandemic.
But developing new projects requires funding and that funding has the potential to be enhanced through new economic incentives. Navigating the waters to a successful solar project in a new normal is fast becoming more complex than ever.
Economic Incentive Possibilities
Stimulating and incentivizing utility-scale solar projects has the potential to take many forms: