As the landscape for developing clean energy projects grows more complex and burdensome, developers are looking beyond traditional pathways to move projects forward. At the same time, NGOs and philanthropic organizations are stepping in to help remove barriers, support permitting reform, and accelerate deployment at the state and local level. This session will explore how collaboration is reshaping the development process- from streamlining siting and permitting to build community support for projects.

Communities, and the energy industry are moving beyond simply generating electricity, instead, using the need for new generation to invest in meaningful, lasting benefits that reduce carbon emissions, increase resilience, and bolster reliability for local communities. During this session, panelists will share successful examples of how to win initial community support and sustain engagement to implement innovative community benefit models. Attendees will learn more than just why community engagement is important – they will hear specific examples of how to produce community benefits that actually resonate.

Across the Midwest, battery energy storage systems (BESS) are becoming an essential part of the energy mix as states continue to pursue decarbonization targets while maintaining system reliability. In this session, developers, utilities, and regulators will discuss planning assumptions, operational challenges, regulatory and market considerations they must consider as storage projects continue to grow across the region.

Growing the solar & storage industry will require the cooperation and coordination of many different stakeholders. The industry can, and should, be a good community partner. What are the research-driven lessons that stakeholders should apply to their community engagement strategies? During this session, attendees will hear lessons and best practices from the research and academic community specifically related to understanding rural and agricultural perspectives. Attendees will leave this session with practical, research-driven takeaways that they can apply to their community engagement strategies.

How is the Midwest positioning itself as a critical hub for energy manufacturing to meet growing energy demand in the United States? This session will explore the opportunities and challenges of expanding domestic manufacturing capacity for solar, storage, and related clean energy technologies across the region. Panelists will discuss the impact of federal incentives, including OBBBA, evolving supply chain dynamics, workforce development needs, and infrastructure requirements to support large-scale industrial growth. Join us to understand how manufacturers, developers, and policymakers are working together to strengthen regional competitiveness and build a more resilient clean energy supply chain.

The Midwest is emerging as a critical battleground for clean energy siting and permitting, with policies ranging from statewide support to restrictive statewide moratoriums. In this session, panelists will examine where meaningful progress is taking shape in states not typically viewed as clean energy leaders, highlighting the policies, partnerships, and advocacy efforts driving momentum. Attendees will leave with practical examples of Midwest states considering policies to accelerate clean energy permitting and case studies of how the tension between the need for faster deployment and local control is playing out in the policy sphere.

Illinois and Minnesota have built multi-gigawatt markets that deliver customer savings and attract sustained investment. Yet across the rest of the Midwest, community solar legislation continues is not as successful, The result: a growing divide between states that are scaling distributed energy resources and those that stalled in the legislative process.

This panel will take a candid look at what’s really behind that divide. Is it utility opposition, flawed bill design, cost allocation debates, or political positioning? And more importantly, what actually changes the outcome?

Panelists from leading markets and states will move beyond talking points to unpack the structural, political, and economic barriers preventing progress.