Associate, Development

Pricesmart; Montgomery (AL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Avantus is seeking a Development Associate to support utility-scale solar development from concept through construction. You will coordinate between 2–4 projects across states using cloud-based tools, GIS, and reporting systems over a typical 36–48 month development cycle.

The role requires a bachelor’s degree and 2+ years in renewable energy development, with strong Excel and project-management skills. Travel to project sites is occasional.

Qualifications

• Four-year bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline.
• Experience in utility, permitting, real estate, engineering, or project finance is a plus.
• 2+ years of experience in renewable energy development.
• Strong market experience in ERCOT, CAISO, and/or the Southwestern U.S.
• Knowledge of utility-scale solar development and energy storage markets.
• Knowledge of interconnection, permitting, real estate, regulation, procurement goals, and related issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with senior executives.

Responsibilities

• Support development strategy creation and execute milestones on time and on budget.
• Coordinate budgets, objectives, schedules and deliverables for projects.
• Coordinate activities including site acquisition, interconnection, permitting, engineering, and land use.
• Assist with financial models, reports and presentations for stakeholders.
• Gather market intelligence and report risks with mitigation plans.
• Support land use, environmental permitting and preliminary engineering.
• Coordinate title curative and real estate processes with internal/external teams.
• Support interconnection process from application to agreement.
• Coordinate preliminary project valuation modeling with project finance.
• Identify risks and manage schedules and budgets.
• Organize and participate in project meetings and track cash flow.
• Review contracts (leases, interconnection, PPAs) for compliance.

Skills

Independent self-starter

Attention to detail

Excellent organizational skills

Strong communication skills

Project coordination

Risk identification & mitigation

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline

Tools

Microsoft Excel (advanced)

Project

Word

PowerPoint

Google Earth

Job description

About Avantus

Avantus is shaping the future by making reliable, low‑cost clean energy a global reality. Our legacy of leadership in next generation solar energy includes developing one of the nation’s largest solar clusters and one of the first projects to beat fossil fuel prices back in 2016. Today, we are expanding the boundaries of existing technologies to build one of the largest portfolios of smart power plants with integrated storage, capable of providing millions of people with affordable, zero‑emission energy – day and night. Through our relentless pursuit of better, we are decarbonizing our planet at the gigaton level, and bringing the advantages of clean energy to all of us.

About the Position

We are seeking a highly motivated and organized candidate for a Development Associate position for utility‑scale solar development. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound industry knowledge, superior communications, and detail‑oriented organizational skills. This position supports the Development department and collaborates with an interdisciplinary team involved in all stages of project development, from conception through start of construction. The role coordinates between 2–4 projects using cloud‑based project management, GIS, document management databases and reporting tools across multiple states. Projects generally have a 36–48 month development cycle.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• Support creation of development strategy and execute on it to achieve project milestones on time and on budget in order for projects to successfully move into financing and construction.
• Coordinate project budgets, objectives, schedules, and deliverables for assigned development projects.
• Coordinate development activities including site acquisition, title curative, interconnection, regulatory approvals, engineering, land use and environmental permitting, and financial valuation by working with internal teams, external consultants, and local stakeholders.
• Assist with financial models, internal tracking systems, reports, and PowerPoint presentations for internal and external audiences.
• Gather market intelligence.
• Support land use and environmental permitting applications as well as preliminary engineering.
• Coordinate the real estate title curative process including diligence, supporting negotiation, and closeout with support of internal real estate team and external consultants.
• Support the interconnection process including diligence, technical review, negotiation from application through signed agreement, with support of internal interconnection team.
• Coordinate preliminary project valuation modeling with the project finance team.
• Identify and report risks to project success and work with internal and external parties to establish mitigation plans to maintain project schedules and budgets.
• Arrange, organize, and attend regularly scheduled project meetings, communicate project statuses, and review and update the project schedule and cash forecast.
• Review and manage project contracts such as leases, interconnection agreements, and power purchase agreements to ensure compliance with their terms.
• Support the creation and improvement of development and project management tools, processes, and best practices.
• Occasional travel to project sites.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Four‑year bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline.
• Utility, permitting, real estate, engineering, or project finance experience is a plus.
• 2+ years of experience in renewable energy development.
• Strong market experience in ERCOT, CAISO, and/or the Southwestern U.S.
• Knowledge of utility‑scale solar development and energy storage markets.
• Knowledge of interconnection, permitting, real estate, state/federal regulation, utility procurement goals, politics, law and other issues that impact renewable energy projects in energy markets.
• Solid understanding of economic drivers within our business.
• Ability to concisely frame issues for senior executives and other team members by providing context, analysis, recommendations, and risk/benefit trade‑offs, both in written and verbal format.
• Strong understanding of the relationships and dependencies between tasks in a project schedule to prioritize teams’ resource allocation.
• Highly resourceful and able to advance project development while navigating through complex challenges and mitigating key risks.
• Highly proficient in MS Excel (advanced), Project, Word, PowerPoint, and Google Earth.
• Independent self‑starter who can meet deadlines and deliver quality products with minimal oversight.
• Substantial ability to recognize opportunities, identify and evaluate risks in a development context, and effectively communicate the foregoing.
• Ability to manage a large workload, often providing support to processes managed by colleagues, while prioritizing tasks and effectively juggling competing deadlines.
• Detail‑oriented with a strong sense of personal responsibility and ownership of work product.
• Excellent organizational and communications skills.