Senior Director of Utility and Regulatory Engagement

Denver, CO, United States

The Senior Director, Utility and Regulatory Engagement role is a key stakeholder in ensuring effective and efficient engagement with utilities by building and maintaining corresponding relationships. This is a highly collaborative role with a significant focus on working with and influencing utility representatives to expedite our projects through the application, study and interconnection processes until the projects are exporting electricity to the grid. In addition, he/she works with regulatory bodies to understand and clarify regulatory requirements and ensure PureSky’s compliance accordingly. He/she oversees the research and analysis of programs in various energy markets in the US to assess both regulatory and utility requirements. The

Director, Utility and Regulatory Engagement oversees the processes to communicate, document and ultimately overcome challenges in achieving effective engagement from utility companies.

Responsibilities: Develops effective and collaborative relationships with utility and regulatory representatives across various utilities and regulatory entities/commissions and oversees the progression of their work on behalf of our projects.

Manages the relationships with our utility representatives and the application process through the entire interconnection study process and on to commercial operations. This involves meeting regularly with utility representatives, policymakers, other developers, and internal leaders to advocate for timely work completion. This also involves managing a repository of lessons learned from utility engagement.

Coordinates the research of the rules and regulations of various electricity markets (including wholesale) in different jurisdictions in North America to determine revenue streams of clean-energy assets and use the findings to build optimal dispatch models.

Advocates for informed policy decisions through active engagement in interconnection working groups, including but not limited to, the Massachusetts Technical Standards Review Group (MA TSRG), New York Interconnection Technical Working Group (NY ITWG), and related Solar Energy Industries (SEIA) working groups.

Drives accountability and the progression of interconnection studies and construction activities.

Manages and directs the activities of assigned staff who submit interconnection applications and monitor the status of applications throughout the study process; coordinates, prioritizes and assigns tasks and projects; tracks and reviews work progress and activities and ensures appropriate scheduling of staff to ensure proper operational coverage.

Recommends selection of staff; trains staff and provides for their professional development; conducts performance evaluations; and manages performance.

Develops and implements goals, objectives, policies, procedures and work standards for the department.

Analyzes interconnection tariffs and policies to develop and refine our interconnection application strategy, in accordance with our overall development. This involves reading tariffs and other literature and making recommendations on proposed approaches to best position ourselves for future flexibility and expense timing. This also includes overseeing the management of a repository of information related to tariff analyses.

Oversees interconnection study result reviews and works with internal development and engineering team members and external third parties to verify the accuracy of solutions and costs. This involves engaging subject matter experts and presenting proposed next steps when interconnection study results are not favorable. This role requires both collaboration and creative thinking to challenge technical obstacles.

Oversees the coordination with other members of the design and engineering team to ensure the designs proposed to utilities are up to utility standards and in accordance with our overall development strategies. The role involves regular communication with different team members, ensuring engagement at critical milestones throughout the interconnection study process.

Coordinates and liaises with leaders across the business to foster collaboration and a fully integrated, multidisciplinary approach to interconnection. This includes engaging with Development, M&A, Policy, Finance and Execution & Delivery early and often throughout the interconnection process. The role includes supporting senior management and other teams with critical decision-making and innovative thinking around business development and strategy as it relates to interconnection.

Qualifications: 10+ years of professional experience involved in clean energy systems, specifically renewables and energy storage systems, including at least 3 years of direct experience working for or with utilities and/or regulatory entities.

A bachelor’s degree in Engineering and/or Energy is preferred. A bachelor's degree in business, finance, law, or another related discipline may be considered.

Knowledge and understanding of interconnection processes and policies.

Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills

The ability to balance and prioritize seemingly competing priorities

Process-oriented thinking with proven experience in developing processes

Strong leadership and collaboration skills with the ability to inspire others

Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook)

Experience working with utility portals such as PowerClerk and National Grid’s portal is preferred.

Experience with PJM, NYISO, ERCOT, and utilities in the Northeastern US would be an asset.

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