Panel Discussion: Executing Projects Under Current State & Federal Policy
A wave of new legislation and ongoing ERCOT market redesign created significant uncertainty for clean energy development in 2025, with the 89th legislative session and OB3 dampening investment before conditions began to stabilize. As the 90th Texas Legislature approaches, further regulatory scrutiny of renewables and continued implementation of market reforms are expected, leaving stakeholders to navigate evolving rules, timelines, and cost allocation frameworks. Simultaneously, rising power prices and accelerating load growth are placing pressure on regulators and utilities to ensure resource adequacy and maintain affordability. With firm generation options facing practical constraints, clean energy, storage, and grid flexibility are increasingly critical to meeting near-term demand and stabilizing costs. This panel will explore how policy risk, market signals, and financing strategies intersect to support reliable, cost-effective clean energy deployment.
- How do federal and state policy risk impact finance and development? On the state level, what do stakeholders anticipate for the 90th session in January?
- Assumptions vs reality: How do today’s grid and pricing conditions affect the outlook for new assets? How accurate are the forecasts? How does Texas keep prices from ballooning for everyday customers? What about utility arrears? What has low volatility done?
- Is solar penetration changing risk or price volatility, and are the new firming rules enough to mitigate this? What about Dispatchable Reliability Reserve Service (DRRS)?
- Firming requirements, ancillary and other services pay scales: What’s clear, what’s opaque, and what can regulators do to make market participation better? How should cost containment really work? What about real time co-optimization?
- Reserve Margin Mandate update: How tight can it get? What about the $10 billion “energy insurance program” – is that working as expected?
- How do stakeholders address the mismatch between the cost and timelines of ‘preferred’ firm generation and those of renewables? Is the quick buildout timeline for solar and storage valued beyond the usual cost basis? How do LSEs view their role in maintaining RA?
