Renewable Performance Engineer (Solar)

~ Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, is a leading U.S. wholesale energy provider meeting the electricity needs of municipalities, electric cooperatives, investor-owned utilities and other energy customers. ~

Southern Power and its subsidiaries own 47 facilities operating or under construction in 11 states with more than 12,800 MW of generating capacity in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is America's premier energy company, with 46,000 megawatts of generating capacity and 1,500 billion cubic feet of combined natural gas consumption and throughput volume serving 9 million customers through its subsidiaries. The company provides clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy through electric operating companies in four states, natural gas distribution companies in seven states, a competitive generation company serving wholesale customers across America and a nationally recognized provider of customized energy solutions, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications.

Southern Company brands are known for excellent customer service, high reliability and affordable prices that are below the national average. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation, Southern Company and its subsidiaries are inventing America's energy future by developing the full portfolio of energy resources, including carbon-free nuclear, 21st century coal, natural gas, renewables and energy efficiency, and creating new products and services for the benefit of customers.

Position Overview

The Renewable Performance Engineer (Solar) will function as part of the Southern Power Monitoring & Diagnostics (M&D) Center which provides remote monitoring and diagnostic support to the SPC fleet of gas, biomass, wind, and solar generating assets across the country. The Performance Engineer will utilize engineering concepts and accumulated knowledge to efficiently diagnose and manage issues to continuously improve the SPC solar fleet performance.

This position is responsible for the following:

• Querying, analyzing, and modeling large disparate energy operational data as they pertain to performance and reliability
• Reporting on and assisting in improving performance and reliability
• Manage power performance testing and energy guarantee testing
• Track and report on lost energy during outage events
• Directly manage the data quality for all solar assets in OSI PI

This position will closely support and interface with M&D Analysts, ROC Operators, Renewable Analysts, and Plant personnel in these activities.

This position will be located at the Southern Power M&D Center in Birmingham, AL and will be filled at a level and job classification commensurate with the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

Responsibilities

• Query data from various databases SCADA, Maximo, OSISoft PI systems.
• Perform performance and reliability analyses inclusive of metric calculations and dashboard development.
• Provide analytical support to maintenance management and technical personnel on an ad-hoc and scheduled basis.
• Measure fleet performance against established metrics and compare actual to forecasted performance and reliability
• Identify performance shortfalls and determine potential causes.
• Summarize findings, including developed conclusions and recommendations, in both informal and formal meetings and documents.
• Track and report on all lost energy events caused by outages, derates, curtailments or other conditions
• Conduct and report on data quality issues, tag scaling issues or other related data protocol.
• Provide continuous first response performance support to operations and maintenance personnel.
• Forecast performance improvements expected from corrective actions such as design changes and operations controls changes.
• Originate and/or evaluate modification and upgrade opportunities for the SPC renewable fleet for key systems.
• Assist in new technology selection for power generation systems and assist in quantifying value of increased output and/or efficiency.
• Manage and coordinate performance tests including power performance testing and energy guarantee tests for solar projects.
• Total travel time will be no more than 25%.

Qualifications

Experience:

• Minimum 3 years or more experience in as reliability or performance engineer in PV solar technology.
• Hands-on experience with plant data historian (OSISoft PI) – building trends and analyzing data.
• Experience with data management techniques to access, integrate, and present data from multiple sources is desired (Excel, Access, etc).
• Experience supporting long-term EPC tests for solar projects including but not limited to energy guarantee tests for solar projects.
• Experience in organizing and managing multiple projects at the same time. Proven ability to plan and ability to discern problems that need immediate attention versus those that allow more time to resolve.

Knowledge, Skills and Requirements:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Systems, Math, Computer Science, or similar Engineering degree is required as a minimum.
• Ability to use multiple data sources such as SCADA, plant controls, and data historians to troubleshoot plant performance issues.
• Working knowledge of wind turbine and solar data and performance metrics is required.
• Ability to present analysis and conclusions in a clear format that can be understood by both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Able to work independently or as a member of a team to develop innovative solutions to challenging technical problems.
• Manage and coordinate power performance testing including managing third party contractors and contracts.
• Ability to work effectively with Microsoft software programs, including but not limited to Excel, Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint.

Behavioral Attributes:

• Must be able to make timely decisions, apply seasoned judgment, and display personal responsibility.
• Display unquestionable trust, superior performance, and total commitment.
• Be a team player - able to quickly build good working relationships.
• Staying current on relevant industry trends.
• Results oriented self-starter that can work independently.
• Promote Safety First Behaviors.

Additional Information

Southern Company has been named by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer, recognized among the Top 50 Companies for Diversity by DiversityInc, listed by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity and designated a Top Employer for Hispanics by Hispanic Network. The company has earned a National Award of Nuclear Science and History from the National Atomic Museum Foundation for its leadership and commitment to nuclear development and is continually ranked among the top energy companies in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website for further information.

~ Southern Company is an equal opportunity employer where an applicant's qualifications are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis prohibited by law. ~