On February 19, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order in Branch Street Solar Partners, LLC, addressing a rehearing and clarification request filed by several solar qualifying facilities (QFs) whose owners had failed to timely recertify their facilities after changes in ownership. In relevant part, the QF owners argued that their delays in filing recertifications did not change the fact that their projects remained QFs during the delay periods and that the projects in that time continued to be exempt from certain parts of the Federal Power Act (FPA)—namely, FPA section 205, which requires FERC authorization to engage in wholesale sales of energy, unless a project is exempt as a QF. 

FERC, however, determined that because the recertifications (via Form 556) for these projects did not occur until months or years after the ownership changes, the facilities’ prior QF certifications “may no longer be relied upon” and therefore FERC no longer considered the companies to be QFs during the interim period.  In other words, FERC seems to have determined that the projects ceased being QFs immediately upon the change in material facts—for these cases, changes in upstream ownership—and that the companies did not regain that status, and the associated regulatory exemptions, until the owners filed the recertifications.

FERC asserted that the failures to timely recertify did not revoke the facilities’ QF status (because that would require a formal process), but held that, because the companies’ certifications were out of date, the fact that companies may “no longer rely upon” their QF status meant they were no longer QFs at all—a change in regulatory status that seemingly occurred simultaneously with the change in facts and by operation of law.  As a result, FERC treated the facilities as if they were no longer QFs during the interim delay period and accordingly found that the companies had made wholesale sales without FPA section 205 authorization, triggering refunds for violating federal law.

So, what is the takeaway from FERC’s Branch Street order? Is every fact reported in Form 556 material, and must companies now report any change immediately, no matter how small? Not necessarily. However, FERC has voiced its belief that the “may no longer be relied upon” language that appears in its regulations may, in some circumstances, cause a company’s QF status to toggle on/off as quickly as the facts reported in Form 556 change due to external circumstances. Consequently, going forward, QFs should be mindful to update their QF self-certifications as soon as possible following upstream changes in control and potentially other changes.