The anatomy of project failure
The share of projects that require significant rework decreased from 52% to 45%, yet project attrition increased from 32% to 46%. The Valley of Death is deepening, as project financing and permitting and grid connection are seen as riskier project stages.


Revisiting the pre-construction “Valley of Death”
The survey shows the majority of project risk sits before a shovel enters the ground. The industry has industrialized the act of building solar farms. It has not industrialized the act of deciding which solar farms to build.
The takeaway
The risk profile is moving away from the supply-chain problems that characterized the previous cycle and toward regulatory, stakeholder, grid, and information risks.
The Story Continues
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