July 23, 2025
Engineering Consultant explains how the OBBB has already influenced the development of solar project – and what steps developers can take to adapt
By Mike Schutz | Renewable developers are confronted with a hard truth after the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB): the federal policy now makes a difficult stop at the momentum built under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The window is now narrow for projects to receive tax credits, and it already reforms how teams approach the development strategy and resources.
In the technical advisory world we see developers reconsider their portfolios as a result – revealing what is moving forward, where they have to pump the brakes and some Pivots complete. Many shift to an early stage development or on its own battery storage, which remains relatively unaffected by the bill. The common thread is a step away from all-in version and to measured decision-making.
Here is a further consideration of how the OBBB reforms the development priorities and what steps developers can take to adapt.
Rebuild backlons, do not break ground
For projects that cannot realistically comply with the 2027 deadline, developers focus on progress at an early stage. That means protecting land, conducting environmental studies, completing survey work and perhaps initiating provisional engineering. It is not speculative; It is strategic preparation. These projects have not been suspended; They are simply in the queue and are positioned for future activation.
Why? Because if the guidelines shift again, those projects are the few who are ready to go. This time treating as a chance of building a backlog is more practical than burning capital that pursues tight time lines.
Quality versus schedule
Part of the more subtle risks of the OBBB is the temptation to reduce the scope or the compromise design to meet the sharpened schedule. With deadlines that stimulate decision -making, it is tempting to hurry projects in construction with minimal due diligence.
The care is not hypothetical. The industry of renewable energy is still mature and that variability in experience can influence how thoroughly long -term risks are evaluated.
Design and building snaps made to save time today, can influence the project economy for decades. And that assessment must be carefully weighed.
Why 2027 is closer than it seems
The typical limitations of renewable development have not gone anywhere. If there is something, they are more disturbing under pressure from new deadlines. And the most difficult part? Much of the policy and guidance are still undefined. That is why there are some areas that will hinder progress.
Allow | Federal permit, in particular for Wetlands, wildlife and coastal areas, remains an important question mark. Agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers have offered limited clarity about how they deal with renewable projects after-OBBB. State and local processes remain active, but delays are growing. Early involvement remains the most effective way to manage the risk. Developers waiting to involve jurisdiction experts often notice that they respond to problems they could have planned.
Purchasing | The bill contains provisions that discourage the use of components of certain foreign entities. This has increased the costs and complexity for solar developers that depend on equipment that is made outside the United States. Safe Hosten has become more attractive, but the rules are still clarified. It is another reason why developers have to plan their purchasing time lines parallel to the permit, not afterwards.
Interconnection While developers work through ISOs and RTO’s, the final decisions are based on federal supervisors and after OBBB, it is not clear how that supervision will change. This ambiguity makes a grid-connected solar energy particularly vulnerable to delays. For now, most teams monitor the situation, but they must remain ready to turn as soon as the implementation guidelines become more concrete.
Beat Bess
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are not influenced by the changes of the OBBB to federal tax stimuli. As a result, we see an increased activity on storage projects, especially from smaller developers who may not have the capital or appetite to push large-scale solar or hybrid projects under compressed timelines.
Storage also offers some logistical benefits: fewer standards, smaller footprints and, in many regions, clearer interconnection paths. Interconnection and the allowance of complexity still exist for some storage projects, in particular hybrids. But for now, Bess represents a more navigable option in a climate full of uncertainty. Developers who want to retain the momentum without communicating too much to longer seeing longer timelines as a logical pivot point.
A structured approach is the way forward
Given all this, developers evaluate their portfolios again based on actual feasibility – not hope. Based on experience with navigating through policy shifts, a practical way is to bring structure to that process to group projects in three categories:
- Group A: Fully entitled projects with clear purchasing paths for 2027 – mix it ahead.
- Group B: Projects with potential permits, purchasing or planning risks – evaluating case per case.
- Group C: Projects unlikely, the deadlines will get from 2027 – maintaining ownership but retain capital.
The OBBB does not eliminate the development of renewable energy. But it caused uncertainty. Developers who respond with clearer priorities, early technical planning and a realistic view of enlarging and purchasing restrictions are those who retain the most likely momentum.
This is not about hurrying or leaving projects to collect dust. The point is to ensure that every step has a goal.
Mike Schutz is BowmanDirector of renewable energy sources and power output, with a proven track record in stimulating growth in the energy sector. He focuses on identifying and securing new opportunities in the developing landscape of clean energy, in particular in the storage of batteries, power output and integration of renewable energy sources.
