Safe Harbor in Sight: Keeping Projects Bankable, Buildable, and Energized Before the Clock Runs Out

The solar industry is officially on the clock.

Under the OBBBA, developers have under 2.5 years to energize projects and qualify for incentives. New rules around ITC/PTC eligibility, placed-in-service timing, and FEOC compliance have raised the stakes and narrowed the window. In this new reality, speed, certainty, and flexibility are no longer bonus points. They’re the difference between banked return and stranded capital.

This is the moment Planted Solar was built for.

Storage-ready steel, built for the clock

Under OBBBA, securing tax credits means acting fast either by starting construction or hitting the 5% spend threshold. With shifting executive orders and FEOC rules, it’s harder to know which components will qualify. And if your pipeline carries any development risk (whose doesn’t?), storing expensive components that may never go in the ground is a risky bet.

Planted offers a smarter path forward. Our systems use just two standardized part numbers, produced by high-volume domestic steel partners—not custom fabricators or fragile supply chains. That means you can safe harbor large volumes of hardware now, with minimal space and maximum confidence. And unlike modules or inverters, our steel won’t be obsolete in 1–4 years. It’ll be ready—bankable, buildable, and compliant—when you are.

From groundbreaking to energized—in months, not years

Under OBBBA’s updated placed-in-service rules, the fastest projects win. Most utility-scale projects today take between 8 and 16 months to commission. Planted’s platform can cut that in half.

Here’s how:

• Integrated site design—everything flows from digital plan to real-world execution
• No grading required—terrain-following arrays adapt to slopes and undulations
• Fewer permitting delays—less soil disturbance and stormwater impacts
• Rapid installation—automated field machines precisely place simple, reliable array hardware

That translates into more predictable timelines, lower risk projects, faster returns, and lower financing costs.

Better sites, fewer surprises

While other systems require flat, contiguous land and significant civil engineering, Planted’s design can deploy more energy on highly undulating or irregular plots, unlocking parcels near interconnects that would otherwise be dismissed. Planted arrays conform to terrain, reducing permitting friction and unlocking more viable sites.

That means every project you safe harbor or build with Planted can be built faster, and with lower costs, higher density, and more resilience. Today, more projects face setbacks at key zoning, environmental impact, and permit milestones that limit the physical footprint of their sites—large setbacks, bigger wetlands, limited viewsheds. All of this drives the need to use limited land more productively—without compromising returns.

Pipeline gut check: What to ask before you spend

If you’re triaging your pipeline, here’s what to ask:

1. Can we warehouse what we’re buying without risk of compliance issues or obsolescence?
2. Can we trust timelines with this much permitting friction?
3. Can we pencil PTC/ITC credits if the placed-in-service date drifts?
4. Is our LCOE viable without credit stacking?

Ready to move? Let’s talk.

If you’re triaging your portfolio, you’re not alone. The market is moving fast, and only the projects that build will bank the upside. You need steel you can warehouse, timelines you can trust, and a team that moves in weeks—not months or years.

Whether you’re looking to safe harbor materials, break ground in 2026, or de-risk interconnects in challenging terrain, Planted is here to help you move quickly, safely, and confidently.

This is our collective moment. It’s time to deploy.

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