Senior Advisor, Offtake & Grid Integration

Reports to: Mike O’Connor, Director of the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium Organization Description: The Mountain West Geothermal Consortium (MWGC) is a state-led initiative working to accelerate geothermal energy development across Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. The Consortium brings together state energy offices, developers, investors, utilities, insurers, and research institutions around a shared goal: removing the policy, financing, and market barriers that prevent geothermal from scaling in one of the most resource-rich regions in the world. The Mountain West is uniquely positioned to lead a national geothermal buildout. States in the region host the nation’s early demonstrations, benefit from deep subsurface expertise and established supply chains, and contain some of the most promising geologic conditions for next-generation geothermal development—including enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). At the same time, high upfront exploration costs, limited early-stage capital, and the absence of standardized frameworks for project derisking and offtake continue to slow deployment. The Consortium’s work is organized around three core intervention areas: a drilling derisking mechanism to backstop appraisal well costs and reduce early-stage investment risk; a public data modernization effort to improve access to subsurface resource data for developers; and a utility engagement workstream to create durable pathways for geothermal offtake through IRP inclusion, interconnection access, and improved contracting structures. The Consortium is staffed and managed by the Center for Public Enterprise (CPE) and Constructive, and is funded by philanthropic support. Position SummaryThe Senior Advisor, Offtake & Grid Integration will lead the design and refinement of the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium’s utility engagement and offtake workstream—a priority area focused on creating durable pathways for geothermal power purchase, IRP inclusion, and interconnection access across Mountain West states. The role will work across utilities, state energy offices, regulators, and developers to identify where the system is failing geothermal projects and design interventions that can be adopted at the state level. A core structural challenge this role will address is the mismatch between geothermal development timelines (7–10 years to commercial operation) and utility procurement cycles (3–5 year IRP horizons). The Senior Advisor will move this workstream from diagnosis to intervention, developing advanced procurement models, IRP inclusion frameworks, and contracting structures. They will educate and inform utilities, public utility commissions, and state energy offices toward adoption. The Senior Advisor will support the mutual goals of the Mountain West Geothermal Consortium and its member state energy offices related to utility procurement and grid integration of geothermal resources. Key Responsibilities Design and refine interventions to close the utility-developer timing gap, including advance procurement mechanisms, clean transition tariffs, centralized state purchasing structures, and IRP inclusion frameworks Conduct and synthesize targeted engagement with utilities, developers, and regulators to identify where intervention is most feasible and impactful Develop policy briefs, intervention design documents, and supporting materials for use with state energy offices, public utility commissions, and legislative staff Lead working sessions with Consortium advisors to pressure-test design choices against utility and developer realities Serve as the Consortium’s primary expert voice in grid and offtake-related convenings and state-level engagements Expected Outcomes A suite of offtake and grid integration interventions that are viable for adoption by Mountain West states and their utility regulators Strengthened relationships between the Consortium, utilities, and state regulators that create ongoing channels for geothermal procurement dialogue Policy materials and stakeholder engagement processes that move member states from interest to action on IRP inclusion and early contracting pathways Qualifications 8-12 years of experience in electricity markets, utility regulation, clean energy procurement, or grid planning Working command of IRP processes, PPA structures, interconnection queues, and the regulatory frameworks governing LSEs and ISOs in the Western Interconnection Demonstrated understanding of utility decision-making in practice—including rate cases, PUC oversight, ratepayer protection obligations, and institutional risk tolerance—and the ability to design interventions that account for those constraints Strong ability to translate market intelligence and stakeholder input into policy recommendations that states can act on Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage utilities, developers, and regulators as peers Preferred Experience Experience structuring or negotiating offtake agreements, and/or advising developers, utilities, or states on contracting approaches Prior experience working with or inside state public utility commissions, state energy offices, or legislative energy committees Familiarity with Western-specific grid dynamics (WECC) and major Mountain West utilities and LSEs Experience in geothermal or other long-lead clean firm power technologies (nuclear, long-duration storage) Salary range: negotiable up to $130,000 Unlimited paid time off Health, dental, and vision insurance 401(k) with up to 6% organizational match 12 weeks paid family leave for new parents, with additional 4 weeks of part-time transition The Mountain West Geothermal Consortium is a project of CPE. About CPE: Center for Public Enterprise is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on growing public sector capacity to deliver broad and inclusive economic development. CPE works with public agencies and similar organizations to develop, design, and implement programs, tools, and strategies for public investment and development, with a particular focus on the housing and energy sectors. Center for Public Enterprise promotes equal opportunity in the recruitment, selection, training, compensation, promotion, and benefits of all employees, and strongly encourages applications from people of underrepresented racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, people of all gender identities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, persons with disabilities, and members of other marginalized communities. #J-18808-Ljbffr Mountain West Geothermal Consortium