In April 2025, I learned that a Massachusetts project I helped secure site control for finally received its PTO (Permission to Operate) from the utility, seven years after the lease was signed in February 2018. While a seven-year development timeline for a community solar project is far from typical, it’s a striking reminder of how long these projects, whether PV or BESS, can take to reach the finish line.
In the Northeast, three years from project inception to NTP has become the norm, not the exception. Having spent the past eight years immersed in renewable energy, I’ve been involved in hundreds of projects across multiple states and worked alongside various developers and IPPs. When Oncore originates a project, it’s common practice for the developer to run a preliminary financial model to assess viability. When I was actively developing projects, our NY Community Solar proforma had roughly 55 inputs—a relatively streamlined version compared to some of the sprawling, hyper-detailed models I’ve seen since. Some include hundreds of variables, from EPC granularity to incentive hedging.
What continues to frustrate me is watching developers walk away from opportunities over relatively minor disagreements, an extra 1% escalator, a slightly longer utility run, or an access road layout. While it’s important to have thresholds, the reality is that, at the start of a project, we are all operating with significant unknowns. Incentives swing wildly, ITC legislation evolves, panel prices fluctuate, EPC costs shift quarter to quarter, and programs like NY’s VDER shift like the tides. And let’s not forget interconnection—the great black box. You may wait a year or more only to receive a cost estimate that either sinks the project or finally greenlights it.
Early trade-offs can yield big wins.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I—or one of my clients—passed on a property early, only to see someone else step in and develop a grand slam. The consistent pattern in successful development is clear: secure land early and get in the queue. Timing is everything. That said, I’m not suggesting a reckless, shotgun approach. Developers who tie up everything in sight without a disciplined plan tend to burn through capital and stall. But there’s a smart middle ground.
Sometimes, taking a calculated risk—agreeing to terms that might stretch your model in the early stages—can position a project for tremendous upside down the line. What feels like a painful concession today may become a rounding error in a future success story. This forward-thinking approach can lead to significant rewards.
The bottom line? Too many projects are killed at the starting line over assumptions that won’t hold in six months, let alone thirty six months. The development process is long, unpredictable, and filled with moving targets. The winners in this business are not always the ones with the best model or the lowest land cost—they’re the ones with vision, patience, and the discipline to commit early, even when not everything pencils out just yet.
Joe Tassone Jr. is founder and a principal of onCORE Origination and has 30 years of project development experience from telecom to renewables.
Visit www.oncoreorig.com for more information.