16 Aug 2024
Region:
Country: South Africa
Company: Developer
Experience: 2+
About the Company
Since its establishment in 2008, Mulilo has grown into one of the leading Independent Power Producers (IPP) in Southern Africa. Mulilo is majority owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the world’s leading private equity investor in renewable energy assets, through its New Markets Fund I. Mulilo has concluded numerous PPA’s in both the Department of Mineral Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) and with several large corporate energy users. Mulilo currently operates 450MW of wind and solar PV projects and has a further 500MW of projects under financial close and close to 1GWh of energy storage projects awarded with its partners. Having adopted a strategy that aligns with the company’s long-term vision, Mulilo has accumulated a pipeline of projects exceeding 25GW, and is now positioned as a key player in the renewable energy sector.
Mulilo places strong emphasis on its human capital and prides itself in providing a world-class working environment for all its employees, thereby placing huge value on career progression and personal growth.
Mulilo is guided by strong ethical principles and adheres to its environmental, social and governance responsibilities.
About this role
To strengthen our Engineering team, we are looking for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Engineer who has already gained significant experience in the field of energy storage and hybridisation of renewable energy plants, including with BESS project implementation. While housed within the EPC department, Mulilo’s professional Engineering team is tasked with providing engineering support to all facets of Mulilo’s business divisions and collaboration between multidisciplinary teams is a cornerstone of Mulilo’s culture.
The role is to spearhead and oversee the technical development, engineering design, construction technical support, commissioning, and closing of all activities necessary for battery energy storage and hybridisation type projects. Additionally, technical support for Mulilo’s operational BESS portfolio is envisaged becoming a key responsibility. This is a hands-on role and will include site-based activities from time to time.
Duties and responsibilities
- Support the Development department with project conceptualization and system modelling in specialised tools and software.
- Development of technical due diligence, fatal flaw analysis, and risk assessments frameworks and application of these to feasibility stage BESS projects.
- Manage and oversee Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) aspects of utility-scale BESS projects up to Financial Close.
- Work together with the Procurement function by contributing to Request for Proposals and Employers Requirements documents, interfacing with external stakeholders to source technical inputs and proposals, and providing equipment and vendor selection technical analysis support.
- Develop contract technical schedules including Employer’s Requirements, liquidated damages, performance testing, and contract security provisions.
- Lead technical negotiations with stakeholders in new BESS projects including, cell manufacturers, equipment suppliers, system integrators, EPC contractors, Balance of Plant contractors, consultants, and permitting and regulatory officials.
- Manage external engineering firms, subcontractors, and internal engineering team members from various disciplines (civil, electrical, grid, SCADA, etc.) to meet on time, on budget, and high-quality completion of project deliverables. Key work streams included in this responsibility are techno-commercial optimisations and constructability reviews of all project designs.
- Manage internal and external design review meetings and verify compliance with internal quality program, project specific technical specifications, and general standardised design preferences.
- Work together with the Construction department by ensuring that construction activities match designs and technical specifications, responding to site technical queries, regularly engaging with project stakeholders to strengthen the collaborative relationship between site and office based team members.
- Support the Operations and Maintenance and Asset Management teams with technical inputs from time to time.
- Participate in continuous improvement activities by documenting lessons learned and incorporating these into internal templates, processes, and specifications.
- Drive a culture of innovation towards applying design best-practices and delivering best in class projects.
- Ensure EHS in engineering and design.
Required skills and education background
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in electrical engineering preferred, but other fields will be considered.
- 10+ years professional work experience with design of utility scale wind or solar PV projects.
- 2+ years professional work experience with the design and implementation of standalone BESS projects or hybrid projects incorporating BESS.
- Experience in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC and split contracting) for Wind, Solar, and preferably BESS.
- Experience within the BESS business is crucial, which includes:
- Technical aspects of feasibility analysis, contracting, technical optimisation, design reviews and construction support, and commissioning activities.
- Knowledge of BESS fundamentals in business development, project development, construction, and operations & maintenance.
- In-depth knowledge of International Standards, SANS, Eskom, NRS, and NERSA requirements for Grid Code compliance.
- Eager to be part of a fast-growing company and to be a leader in a rapidly developing part of the power sector.
- Ability to manage several projects with time-sensitive project deliverables simultaneously and deliver them on time and budget.
- Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work with contractors, advisors, consultants, and staff in a team environment.
The ideal candidate would have a passion for the Renewable Energy sector and personality traits would include a high level of diligence, determination, resilience, and agility.
Mulilo is an employer of choice and is offering an extremely competitive total remuneration package for this position.
Additional Information
Able to work overtime according to operational needs.
The position is based at the offices of the company, but travel may be required occasionally.
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