Forest Road Company is launching CenterNode, a $750mn solar and battery fund focused on the distributed solar sector, including community-based and off-grid projects of 5-10MW. This move comes after Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated tax credits for new solar and wind projects starting after July 4, 2026, starving smaller projects of capital. CenterNode aims to fill a gap left by traditional financiers pulling back, targeting investments where larger asset managers typically don't play.

The fund will provide short-term financing like construction loans and mezzanine debt, offering outsized returns potentially double or triple conventional deals, though it stops short of common equity risk. Distributed solar projects, capable of powering up to 8,000 homes, face permitting bottlenecks and grid connection queues, making their economics challenging without incentives. CenterNode's approach could provide a lifeline for developers needing rapid funding before the July 4 deadline to secure tax benefits. The fund's success hinges on finding enough high-quality, under-developed projects amidst a glut of assets pushed to market by the tax credit phase-out.