DWF’s Energy team was pleased to host a networking lunch alongside the All-Energy Conference 2026 in Glasgow, the UK’s largest gathering of clean energy stakeholders – bringing together clients, investors, developers and advisers from across the renewable energy sector.
The lunch formed part of a wider programme of engagement across the event – widely regarded as one of the UK’s leading low-carbon energy forums, bringing together the full spectrum of technologies and stakeholders driving the energy transition.
A forum for cross-sector dialogue
The session provided an opportunity to explore common challenges and emerging opportunities across the renewable energy value chain, with attendees spanning solar, offshore wind, EV infrastructure, marine, advisory and finance.
Discussions during the lunch and across the conference reflected a number of consistent industry themes:
- Grid constraints and connection challenges – a continued bottleneck impacting deployment across renewables and adjacent sectors
- The rise of co-located and flexible assets – including the growing role of storage and integration with high-energy demand uses such as data centres
- Capital structuring and investment appetite – with strong interest from institutional investors but an increasing focus on risk allocation and long-term asset strategies
- Technology evolution and diversification – including hydrogen, EV charging and storage as complementary elements alongside established renewables
- Energy security and economic drivers – particularly in the context of wider UK energy policy and regional transition
These themes align closely with broader event insights, which highlighted data centres, energy security, grid infrastructure and advancing technologies as central to current market activity.
Spotlight: discussion with Guy Lavarack (Luminous Energy)
A key part of the session was the opportunity to engage with Guy Lavarack, Chief Investment Officer at Luminous Energy.
Luminous Energy is a UK-based renewable energy developer focused on the planning and delivery of large-scale solar and energy storage projects, with a global development footprint and a core mission of decarbonising electricity systems.
In his role, Guy Lavarack leads on financing and commercial structuring to enable the development, construction and long-term operation of solar and battery storage assets.
Key themes from the discussion
Our conversation with Guy Lavarack reflected several important market dynamics:
1. Scaling solar and storage pipelines
There remains a strong pipeline of solar and storage opportunities, but delivery is increasingly dependent on navigating planning, grid access and funding structures. Luminous’s focus on building, owning and operating projects long-term reflects a broader trend towards integrated development models.
2. Financing and risk allocation
Raising capital for renewable projects remains achievable, but investors are placing greater emphasis on risk-adjusted returns, particularly in relation to power price volatility, grid connection certainty and offtake structures.
3. Co-location and optimisation of assets
The combination of solar and storage – and increasingly the potential alignment with high-consumption uses such as data centres – continues to gain traction as a way of addressing intermittency and enhancing project economics.
4. Long-term ownership strategies
There is a clear move among developers towards retaining operational control of assets, rather than purely developing for disposal. This reflects both investor appetite and the value embedded in long-term revenue optimisation.
DWF perspective
The breadth of discussions at the lunch and across All-Energy reinforce a number of conclusions relevant to clients across the sector:
- The legal and commercial structuring of projects is becoming more complex, particularly where assets are co-located or linked to emerging technologies
- Real estate, grid access and consenting remain critical risk areas, requiring specialist, cross-border expertise
- There is increasing convergence between energy, infrastructure, data and finance, requiring integrated advisory support
DWF is well positioned to support this evolving market – advising developers, funders and public sector stakeholders across the full lifecycle of energy and infrastructure assets.
Looking ahead
The All-Energy lunch session highlighted the value of bringing together stakeholders across disciplines to share insight and identify opportunities for collaboration.
We look forward to continuing those conversations – including with Luminous Energy and other partners – as the energy transition accelerates and the market continues to evolve.
This article is part of a follow-up series exploring key takeaways from All-Energy 2026.
Look out for our insights in collaboration with Re-Power, Amplify EV, and Ion Ventures where we’ll take a deeper dive into sector-specific developments.
If you would like further information or advice, please contact the author below.
