Takeaways from Trellis Impact 2026

This year’s Trellis Impact brought together sustainability leaders and innovators from every industry you could think of, and the ForeFront Power team got in on the action— sharing our expertise, making new connections, and taking home fresh insights. Now that the dust has settled, a few common themes rose to the surface of our post-event discussions. What’s top of mind for energy customers? What are they prioritizing? And how should renewable energy providers be responding? 

Here are a few of our main takeaways from Trellis Impact 2026: 

AI Growth and Data Center Energy Demand is Adding Up

To no surprise, AI dominated this year at Trellis Impact. But the focus was less on AI tools and capabilities and more on how AI and data center buildout is rapidly increasing energy demand and reshaping grid loads as businesses expand their infrastructure at an unprecedented pace. 

To put it bluntly, hyperscalers have broken the old playbook. They’ve absorbed so much demand so quickly that they’re tightening up renewable supply, driving up PPA prices, and are effectively crowding everyone else out of the interconnection queue. And at the same time, we’ve seen a pretty stark shift in priorities — speed to power has overtaken emissions. 

Companies that were once leaders on climate are now building data centers where diesel or gas is doing a meaningful share of the work, at least in the near term. And communities are starting to push back. You’re seeing real-world impacts, like the recent reporting out of Virginia where residents are dealing with soot from nearby data center infrastructure. 

That’s not a long-term equilibrium anyone should be comfortable with. If you’re not actively securing your place in this market, someone else — probably a hyperscaler — already is. Don’t wait for the market to normalize. It’s not going to. You need a more aggressive, more diversified procurement strategy, and you need to start earlier than you think.

New Procurement Pathways Reroute Scope 2 Emissions

If the data center conversations at Trellis Impact made one thing clear, it’s that the old procurement playbook is fraying. That pushed a lot of hallway discussion toward a harder question: what does a genuinely blended Scope 2 portfolio look like today? 

If I were managing Scope 2 for a large energy user, I’d start with an advisory lens to understand the organization’s priorities and constraints. What are you optimizing for — emissions reduction, cost savings, budget certainty, or some balance of all three? 

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. A genuinely effective Scope 2 strategy aligns these priorities with what’s actually achievable in each market: 

• On-site generation delivers meaningful savings per kWh and locks in long-term energy savings across the facility. It is also one of the few solutions that directly ties decarbonization to the load it serves.

• Community solar or other shared renewables where available can be an effective way to extend the benefits of clean energy to sites that cannot host on-site generation, often with attractive economics and low complexity. 

• Off-site procurement addresses the remaining load but is shaped by market structure. In deregulated markets, that may mean virtual PPAs; in regulated markets, green tariffs or bilateral utility agreements. 

The “right” mix is highly situational. It shifts based on company size, load profile, footprint, and most importantly, what each utility and market will allow. The best options right now aren’t the ones getting all the attention; they’re the ones that are actually doable and scalable for your business. 

That’s where an advisory-led approach is critical. Our advisory team works with customers to align strategy with objectives, translate those objectives into a practical mix of solutions, and ensure each component can actually be delivered in the real world. 

Shifting ITC Landscape: Declining Incentives Spark Uncertainty

We spoke to many at Trellis Impact seeking federal investment tax credit (ITC) guidance for their clean energy projects. What surprised us was the indifference around the ITC’s importance to on-site projects. We understand why — customers have heard a lot of false urgency over the years, so they’re skeptical when developers say, “You need to act now.” 

But in this case, the urgency is real. We’ve modeled on-site solar projects without the ITC, and right now those economics are very difficult. To save customers money without the credit, we’d need major cost reductions — unlikely given persistent construction inflation — or sustained double-digit utility rate growth. I wouldn’t base a procurement strategy on those assumptions. 

We do have strategies that let customers bring projects online through 2029 and 2030 and still benefit from the ITC. But those strategies are capacity-constrained and first-come, first-served. If customers want to preserve that option, they need to start now.  

The Time to Act is Now

Our biggest takeaway from Trellis Impact 2026 is that the window is narrower than most buyers think. Three forces are closing it at once: hyperscalers are absorbing clean supply and driving up PPA prices, the ITC economics that make on-site solar pencil out are on a clock, and the interconnection queue is only getting longer. 

The companies that lead in five years won’t be the ones that waited for perfect conditions or a market that “normalizes.” They’ll be the ones who built a diversified energy roadmap early — getting on-site projects in the ground before the ITC changes, layering in community solar and off-site procurement where each market allows, and securing interconnection position before power gets scarce. 

That work doesn’t start with picking an instrument. It starts with a clear-eyed look at your priorities, your constraints, and what’s actually buildable in your markets.  

If you’re mapping out your own energy roadmap, our advisory team is always happy to provide support — reach out, and we’ll help you gauge what’s actually viable in your markets.