Senior HV Engineer at Elgin Energy in Dublin, Dublin 1, IE

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Job Description

Could you be the technical expert who shapes how our solar and battery storage projects connect to the grid, guiding critical engineering decisions from early feasibility through to energisation?

We're looking for a Senior HV Engineer to join our Elgin's Engineering team as the in-house technical authority for grid connection and HV engineering across our utility-scale solar PV and co-located BESS projects in the UK and Ireland, with the potential to support Elgin's projects in Italy. The role follows the project lifecycle: grid feasibility and connection optioneering, development-stage engineering to support consents, land and grid applications, technical specification for procurement, and technical assurance of the contractors' design, construction and energisation. Elgin does not carry out detailed design in-house; detailed design and construction are delivered by ICP, iDNO and EPC contractors against Elgin's Employer's Requirements.

The focus of the role is engineering and de-risking from the earliest stage of a project: bringing the grid engineering into development so that the connection method, cable route and substation requirements are settled through the feasibility work, planning applications, land agreements and grid applications rather than discovered later; making sure each connection is technically deliverable and that the contestable / non-contestable scope split is right before it is fixed in budgets and contracts; and assuring that the designs produced by ICPs, iDNOs and consultants meet Elgin's Employer's Requirements and the network operator's standards. Commercial and programme management of the DNO / TSO relationship sits outside of this role; this role provides the engineering judgement behind it.

Elgin does not design or build its projects itself: it sets the technical requirements and its contractors deliver against them. The value of this role is in setting those requirements well and in challenging what consultants and contractors deliver. You will be the technical escalation and decision on HV and grid matters and the primary technical contact for Elgin's development-stage consultants and ICPs.

What you will do:

Development stage

• Lead the technical side of connection method and grid route optioneering for Development: scope and direct the feasibility studies, judge overhead line, underground cable and hybrid options on constructability, consentability, land take and cost, and recommend the option to take forward.
• Get the grid engineering into the development case early, so that it is reflected in consents and land rather than discovered at procurement: define the substation footprint, cable route corridor and crossing strategy for planning applications and consents, provide the technical input to land, wayleave and easement discussions, and prepare the technical inputs to grid connection and modification applications (DNO / NESO in GB, ESB Networks / EirGrid in Ireland).
• Produce concept-level single line diagrams, substation layouts and route corridors with the CAD team, to the level needed for feasibility, planning and tender purposes only; detailed design sits with the ICP, iDNO and EPC contractors. Discharge Elgin's CDM 2015 designer duties for the concept designs it produces.
• Act as primary technical contact for Elgin's development-stage consultants on cable routes, HV design and power system studies: define technical scopes, review deliverables and challenge conclusions before they enter project decisions. This is development-stage consultancy; detailed design is delivered by the EPC and ICP contractors.
• Specify and review the cable modelling, ampacity and losses studies (MV through 132 kV, and 220 kV in Ireland) carried out by consultants and contractors, and make sure the results feed the design basis, CAPEX and energy yield assumptions.
• Set and challenge the technical grid CAPEX assumptions and the engineering basis of the connection programme as they enter the investment case, and produce the technical reports, planning inputs and position papers that stand up to Investment Committee and lender scrutiny.

Grid connection

• Technically interpret connection offers, Connection Agreements and technical schedules, on Elgin's own projects and in acquisition due diligence: what they commit Elgin to, where the contestable / non-contestable boundary sits, and the omissions, abnormal costs and onerous conditions behind them.
• Review and challenge network study outputs (fault level, harmonics, reactive capability, protection) and turn them into Employer's Requirements and contestable / non-contestable scope decisions for the ICP and EPC turnkey contracts.
• Own the contestable / non-contestable / Contractor interface on each project: define and record the scope split and close gaps and duplication between DNO, iDNO, ICP and EPC scopes before they become variations.
• Ensure the G99 / Grid Code compliance obligations in the Connection Agreement are allocated between the ICP and EPC scopes in the ERs and DoR, and own Elgin's technical compliance position with the network operator as the connection customer; lead any derogation application on Elgin's behalf, and witness compliance testing where required.

Procurement and contracts support

• Author and maintain the HV and grid sections of Elgin's Employer's Requirements and Division of Responsibilities matrix, and support Procurement through ICP, iDNO and EPC tendering, evaluation and technical negotiation.

Construction, commissioning and energisation (assurance and escalation)

• Assure the contractors' HV and grid design rather than produce it: make sure ICP, iDNO and EPC design submissions are reviewed against Elgin's Employer's Requirements and the network operator's standards (through the Owner's Engineer where one is appointed), decide Elgin's position on deviations with a reasoned justification, and close out Owner's Engineer comments.
• Act as Elgin's technical escalation point for the Project Engineers, the Owner's Engineer and the PMA through construction, commissioning and energisation: decide Elgin's response where site works deviate from design intent or the Connection Agreement, review the contractors' Grid Code compliance and energisation submissions before they go to the network operator, and attend key witness tests. Day-to-day technical queries and routine witnessing sit with the Owner's Engineer and the contractors.

Ongoing

• Maintain Elgin's HV and grid engineering standards, templates and lessons learned, keep abreast of DNO / TSO standards and policy change.

Your profile

• BEng / MEng in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems or a related discipline.
• Extensive HV and grid connection engineering experience (MV through 132 kV), including delivered UK utility-scale solar, BESS or ICP / DNO connection projects through to energisation.
• Detailed working knowledge of the GB connection process: G99, Connection Agreements and technical schedules, contestable and non-contestable works, the ICP and iDNO model, DNO design approval and adoption, and derogations.
• Experience of development-stage grid work: connection and modification applications, connection offer assessment, connection method and route optioneering, and technical inputs to planning applications and land agreements.
• Ability to read and challenge network study outputs and translate them into design and scope decisions.
• Strong HV design review capability: switchgear and protection, earthing, HV cables and routes, HDD and crossings, substations and transformers, metering, auxiliary supplies, SCADA / telecoms.
• Experience authoring or reviewing Employer's Requirements and Division of Responsibilities under EPC and ICP contracts, and scoping and challenging external consultants.
• Ability to translate technical decisions into CAPEX, programme and risk implications and communicate them clearly, in writing and in person, to non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to specify, review and challenge cable modelling, ampacity and losses studies and power system studies, with working familiarity with AutoCAD and power system analysis tools.
• Full driving licence and willingness to travel to project sites in the UK and Ireland as required.

Desirable

• Chartered Engineer (CEng) or working towards chartership.
• Irish connection experience (ESB Networks / EirGrid, CRU policy, ECP and RESS delivery) and transmission-level (110 kV to 220 kV) experience.
• BESS and co-located hybrid connections, including Grid Code compliance for storage.
• Power system modelling (DIgSILENT PowerFactory, ETAP or PSCAD); technical due diligence for acquisitions or lenders; CDM 2015 designer duties.
• Experience across multiple network operators (NGED, UKPN, SPEN, NPg, SSEN) and National Grid / NESO.
• Exposure to the Italian connection process (Terna and the distribution operators) for solar or BESS projects.