This study aims to identify barriers to the alignment of temporary business ecosystems for solar photovoltaic systems in the built environment (BEPV) in the Swedish construction sector and explain these barriers in terms of how they impact ecosystem alignment. We identify three barriers; the high degree of radicalness of BEPV innovation, the lack of BEPV related knowledge among actors and inapt conventions for BEPV. The study contributes to the business ecosystems literature through insights from a novel sector that reveals how challenges related to temporality, incumbency and actor diversity impact ecosystem alignment. The study also highlights the critical role of formal conventions for ecosystem dynamics. We further provide new insights to the study of construction management, as the business ecosystem lens offers a systematic explication of the complexity of construction projects and highlights the need to pay attention to the alignment of ecosystem elements in order to successfully implement innovations. The study highlights implications for policy and business concerned with the diffusion and implementation of BEPV.