Interconnection Engineer

Interconnection Engineer

Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Summary: The position will be responsible for managing the interconnection and grid integration process in certain target markets within the United States supporting the company's overall development goals. The position will participate in new market analyses and will be the company’s subject matter expert on transmission and distribution related topics including tariffs, planning, accessibility, and overall interconnection process. The role will perform internal analyses as well as manage external subject matter experts in various target markets as needed to support the overall development process. The position will engage in external communication with agencies, utilities, and consultants in support of project development.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering (or associated discipline) from accredited university.
• Master’s Degree in Power Systems and Protection or similar area of focus is a plus but not required.
• Professional Engineering license is a plus but not required.
• Two to five years of experience in a transmission planning or system studies role with a utility, Regional Transmission Organization, or consultant.
• Ability to work at least three days per week from Pittsburgh-based office with remote options available for balance of week.

Requirements:

• Actively Manage Interconnection Aspects of Project Development
• Manage the interconnection process and monitor key milestones throughout the lifecycle of the project from initialization to commissioning of the projects.
• Perform/Evaluate interconnection studies and identify schedule and risks in support of project development and due diligence evaluation.
• Act as main liaison with project developers on matters relating to interconnection and provide technical insight and business solutions to reduce interconnection cost and remove obstacles to project development.
• Negotiate and amend contractual agreements with Transmission Owners for potential commercial counter parties.
• Engage and manage consultants as necessary to support the interconnection process including application deliverables in addition to engineering review of utility schedules and cost estimates.
• Perform and/or coordinate required internal studies, such as Power Flow, Substation Open Bay, and Site Location / Gen Tie Route assessments.
• Forecast and communicate required deposit and payment amounts for interconnection queue positions and related studies.
• Develop and communicate meeting minutes for interconnection-related meetings with outside entities.
• Support the Company as a Technical Expert
• Conduct due-diligence review of potential project and portfolio acquisitions and related commercial transactions related to the interconnection and transmission risk and provide recommendations to the acquisition team.
• Serve as an expert on transmission-related market design and regulatory issues (e.g., queue reform, transmission cost allocation, etc.), monitor key developments in these areas through engagement in industry forums and literature, and provide recommendations in these areas.
• Collaborate with the engineering team in reviewing interconnection-related design elements and optimizing the projects engineering design in support of grid integration requirements.
• Review utility transmission planning reports and present findings to the Company team.
• Evaluate and provide recommendations on the impact of new and proposed transmission/interconnection related legislation and regulations that could impact company and/or the utility scale solar industry.
• Develop, propose, and maintain a strategy for the Company to conduct studies and reviews efficiently and effectively through a combination of software tools, in-house personnel skills, and external consultants.
• Engage with the Industry
• Represent the company’s interests in industry forums such as RTO Stakeholder Workshops through attending meetings, presenting questions and points of view, and relaying relevant developments to impacted company stakeholders.
• Represent the Company and establish/maintain productive relationships with key utilities, ISOs, industry groups, regulators and other stakeholders on issues related to transmission and interconnection.
• Monitor regional transmission planning process and interconnection policy change; participate as stakeholder in transmission and market related regulatory activities.
• Support activities initiated by the Transmission Strategy Group as required
• Support internal analysis to predict interconnection capacity and other key parameters to support project siting.
• Support transmission assessments and policy reviews to forecast future system conditions and determine commercial viability to support siting, IA, PPA, financing and sale process.
• Support assessments of transmission-related market dynamics, such as LMP pricing, nodal basis risks, congestion risks, transmission path availability, etc.

Qualifications & Skills:

• Experience in transmission planning, grid operation and generator interconnection topics.
• Experience in generation interconnection process and transmission tariffs in one or more of the following markets: PJM, MISO, NYISO, TVA, WECC and SPP.
• Familiarity with power system modeling and transmission planning/generator interconnection studies.
• Familiarity with PSSE (preferred) or PSLF and TARA, with capability to use the software to perform interconnection studies independently.
• Experience with estimating interconnection-related construction costs is preferred.
• Ability to establish strong working relationships with utilities, ISOs, and industry representatives.
• Experience with the AC design of utility scale solar and energy storage facilities and the ability to review and critique related engineering drawings.
• Proficient in public speaking, presentation skills, explaining complex technical topics and writing of technical reports.
• Strong collaboration and problem-solving skills, capable of applying advanced engineering principles to identify and solve complex issues.
• High-energy, positive attitude with ability to receive constructive feedback. Interest in growing careers in the solar and renewable industry.