Lead Engineer - Battery Energy Storage and Microgrid Project Development

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Build an exciting, rewarding career with us – help us make a difference for millions of people every day. Consider joining the Duke Energy team, where you'll find a friendly work environment, opportunities for growth and development, recognition for your work, and competitive pay and benefits.

The preferred work location for this position is St Petersburg, FL but additional locations within the Duke Energy service area and within a reasonable commute to a Duke Energy facility can be considered.

Job Summary

This position will function under general direction with minimal supervision, providing engineering and technical expertise to support the technical evaluation of the major equipment being procured for the future Duke Energy Battery fleet. Duke Energy has a robust development and execution pipeline of multiple GWs of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and this position will directly support the technologies procured for these projects.

Applicants are expected to have the ability to work independently with limited guidance. Applicants are also expected to understand battery energy storage systems (BESS), but also have familiarity and/or advanced knowledge of traditional synchronous generation, solar, or wind.

This position will:

• Provide engineering support on technical matters throughout the development process with a heavy focus on BESS equipment technical approval. This position will support the technical evaluation to add equipment to our Approved Vendor List (AVL) for BESS project.
• Support factory visits and Factory Acceptance Testing of BESS equipment
• Coordinate with Regulated & Renewable Energy (RRE), Supply Chain, Energy Storage Development (ESD) on the BESS AVL
• Utilize knowledge of BESS and microgrid project engineering, electric generating facilities, utility interconnection requirements, inverter/plant control, metering schemes, and power system steady state analysis to evaluate, identify, and mitigate commercial risks associated with proposed project designs.
• Support the Development and Execution Energy Storage Engineering teams.
• Provide engineering support through detailed design, construction, and commissioning of front-of-the-meter distribution connected and transmission connected energy storage projects.

This position must work collaboratively with external suppliers and key internal business unit stakeholders, including RRE, Project Management and Construction (PMC), Supply Chain, Transmission, Distribution, IT, Generation Interconnection, and Health & Safety, among others. The position may also require working with third-party consultants, system integrators, and Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) firms.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities and duties include, but are not limited to:

• Work with Supply Chain on issuing Requests for Proposals (RFP) for EPC and key equipment components.
• Ownership of the BESS AVL.
• Developing supplier relationships.
• Support efforts to optimize BESS systems design and output.
• Support evaluation of appropriate spare parts and lifecycle analysis of BESS equipment.
• Support greenfield and brownfield development through site screening and selection, system feasibility studies, preliminary design, cost estimates, and overall technical due diligence.
• Perform the battery facility design including, but not limited to, electrical system design, such as power and energy sizing, creating one-line diagrams, and equipment selection. Also, design the physical site layout and site access, while adhering to jurisdictional guidelines and industry best practices.
• Provide technical support and analysis of conductor sizing, capacity testing, reactive power studies, and system protection studies.
• Analyze and develop augmentation or overbuild strategies for energy storage projects based on the end-of-life need, as well as overall project considerations.
• Prepare thorough and accurate technical reports, correspondence, documentation, calculations, and design plans related to projects and analysis of increasing scope and complexity.
• Develop optimization tools specific to Duke Energy energy storage, microgrid, and…