Project Development interview prep.

Project developers + development managers + senior development directors at utility-scale solar, wind, storage, hydrogen, offshore wind developers (independent power producers, utility subsidiaries, oil-major renewables arms).

What interviewers look for

  • Can the candidate manage a multi-workstream development project - land + permits + interconnection + off-take + financing simultaneously?
  • Do they understand interconnection process + risk - queue position, study phases, LGIA, network upgrades?
  • Are they fluent in permitting + environmental - federal / state / local + NEPA + endangered species + cultural?
  • Can they navigate commercial structuring - PPAs, hedges, merchant exposure, basis risk?
  • Do they understand financing - tax equity, debt sizing, sponsor equity, IRA + ITC / PTC?
  • Are they comfortable with EPC + construction + commissioning + commercial operations handover?
  • Long-game fit - associate / senior developer / VP development / regional / chief development officer trajectory?

Behavioural questions to expect

  1. Walk me through your background + project development experience.

    What it tests: Story arc - training + career, dev / energy exposure, multi-workstream work.

  2. Tell me about a project you've led or significantly contributed to.

    What it tests: Multi-workstream deal-making + risk + commercial thinking.

  3. Why renewables development vs other energy paths (utility ops, finance, oil + gas)?

    What it tests: Authentic alignment - decarbonisation impact, deal-making, multi-workstream, long-term build.

  4. Why this technology / geography - solar / wind / storage / offshore / hydrogen + US / EU / EM?

    What it tests: Specificity. Generic answers fail.

  5. Why this firm?

    What it tests: Real homework - portfolio, recent moves, culture - not name-drop.

  6. What's your read on our portfolio + market position?

    What it tests: Industry literacy - portfolio composition, geography + technology, competitive picture.

  7. Tell me what you understand about our deal-making + financing strategy.

    What it tests: Commercial / financial fluency - PPA strategy, tax equity, sponsor equity + debt.

  8. Walk me through advancing a project to a major development milestone.

    What it tests: Workstream management + milestone-driven execution.

Technical concepts to master

Development workstreams

Origination + site control
Identify + secure sites (lease option or purchase) with developable resource + interconnection + buildability.
Permitting + environmental
Federal + state + local permits including environmental review, endangered species, cultural, water + air.
Interconnection
Process to obtain grid connection - application, queue position, studies, LGIA, network upgrades.
Off-take + commercial structuring
Securing revenue via PPA (utility / corporate) + RECs + hedge or merchant strategy.

Interconnection process

IC queue + position
Queue position determined by application time; first-come-first-studied in serial process, cluster-based in cluster process.
Phase 1 / Phase 2 / Phase 3 study
Serial impact studies of decreasing scope - feasibility -> system impact -> facilities study.
Cluster study (modern reform)
Group of projects studied together at posted timepoints - replaces serial process under FERC Order 2023.
Network upgrades + cost allocation
System modifications required to accommodate new generation + cost-allocated to interconnecting customers.

Off-take structures

Utility PPA
Long-term power purchase agreement with utility, often 15-25 years, fixed-price.
Corporate PPA + virtual PPA (VPPA)
Power purchase by corporate offtaker (tech, retail, manufacturer); virtual = financial contract for differences without physical delivery.
Merchant + hedge
Sell power into wholesale market with optional hedges (financial swaps, capacity payments).
PPA pricing structures
Fixed, indexed, time-of-delivery (TOD), shape-adjusted - influences project NPV + risk.

Financing structures + IRA

Tax equity
Investment by tax-appetite investor (typically bank, corporate) to monetise tax credits.
Tax credit transferability + direct pay
IRA Section 6418 allows transferring tax credits for cash; Section 6417 allows direct pay for non-taxpaying entities.
Construction + term debt
Construction loan converts to long-term debt at COD; non-recourse to sponsor.
Sponsor equity + IRR
Developer / sponsor equity remaining after tax equity + debt; primary return driver.

Practical drills

  • You're 12 months from a planned NTP for a 200 MW solar project. The interconnection cluster study just identified a $40M network upgrade + 6-month delay. Walk through your response.
  • Phase 2 study identified an environmental constraint on your preferred substation tap. You have two alternative POIs - one closer with higher IC cost, one further with lower cost but adds 12 months. Walk through your decision.
  • You're negotiating a 15-year corporate VPPA for a 300 MW wind project. Walk through key commercial + financing considerations.

Smart-question anchors

  • Portfolio + pipeline - operating / construction / dev MW by technology + geography
  • Recent milestones - FC, COD, off-take signings, IC awards
  • Off-take strategy - corporate / utility / merchant mix, hedge use
  • Financing posture - tax equity + debt + sponsor equity partners, recent deals
  • Permitting + interconnection track record - cluster + LGIA delivery

Related roles

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