Renewable Energy Consultant (Solar and Storage) – Italy

Samuel Knight is hiring a Senior Renewable Energy Consultant focused on the Italian solar and storage sector. The role offers flexibility in location, with remote work options and potential future office work in Italy. Responsibilities include providing technical and commercial consultancy for solar PV and energy storage projects, managing project risks, and business development. Ideal candidates should have experience in solar consulting and a commitment to quality and entrepreneurship.
Renewable Energy Consultant (Solar and Storage) – Italy

We’re excited to be hiring an experienced Senior Renewable Energy Consultant with a focus on the Italian solar and storage sector. The position is based in Italy, with flexibility on location. You will be joining a growing and dynamic international team, already well established in the Solar sector in Spain and Portugal, with the ambition to grow and expand in Italy. You will be supported by our wider international team, already experienced in wind, solar, green hydrogen and energy storage in Europe, bringing expertise to local teams in renewable energy projects.



Salary: A competitive basic salary related to your experience, plus pension scheme, annual profit share and route into company ownership



Location: Italy, remote working with potential to work in our Italian office in the future



Hours: Normal office hours with a healthy level of flexibility. Preference for 5 days per week but will consider candidates who would prefer part-time with a minimum of 3 days per week





Your role

Your work will mainly be technical and commercial consultancy services to Solar Photovoltaic (PV) projects, Battery Energy Storage System projects and in hybrid projects. You will be advising developers, operators, lenders and investors in the Italian and Spanish markets as well as supporting other geographies like Portugal, France and the UK. Specific activities will include:




Leading technical and commercial due diligence for PV, BESS and hybrid projects/portfolios – both as a project manager and in supporting roles. Specifically:

Assessment of risks which could result in a deviation from the project or portfolio financial model, particularly lower energy yield, delays to the project timeline, higher Capex and Opex, and then to propose relevant mitigation measures. Assessed areas would typically cover: land securement, administrative authorisations, environmental constraints, project design, tariff scheme, grid connection, construction and operation contracts, project timelines etc.
Assessment of solar resource and energy production using state-of-the-art simulation software. This will include solar data checking and processing, statistical and long-term analysis, PVsyst modelling, assessment of energy losses and uncertainty analysis.


Construction and operational monitoring
Bespoke owner’s engineer services
Strategic work
Business development to build client relationships and win work
Managing multiple projects with internal and external resources
Ownership of budget and profitability of projects


We would like to hear from you if you meet the following requirements

You are already, or motivated to become, recognised as a senior solar consultant (ideally with some storage expertise) with a reputation for delivering high quality work, adding value to clients and possessing a solid understanding of complex technical and commercial interactions on projects, comfortable being either a project manager or a team member.





Ethos




You share our core beliefs of entrepreneurship, partnership and quality;
You are excited to work in an open, non-hierarchical environment;
You are self-motivated and will take advantage of the autonomy to shape your own career;
You want to use your skills to change our energy system for the better.


Essential skills and qualifications




MEng Engineering degree, Physics, Mathematics or similar
Native/fluent in Italian and English
Minimum 7 years’ experience in consultancy, including:

Knowledge of technical due diligence process and specific technical review areas for solar PV
Capable of reviewing of typical renewable energy sector construction and operation contracts
Capable of determining commercial implications of technical risks for different transactions (equity/debt etc.)


Good understanding of the Italian local requirements and country specific topics (i.e. grid, land, environmental, permits, hybridization with other technologies, etc) in solar
Demonstrating good consultancy skills, for example:

Comfortable adapting work and priorities to meet deadlines/clients’ needs
Enjoys working as part of a team and supporting colleagues
Able to write clear, concise and accurate reports in English
Able to manage concurrent & different tasks and prioritise workload
Track record of developing and building lasting client relationships


Willingness to travel as part of project work


Nice-to-haves, any of the following


Experience in other renewable technologies (in particular: Storage, Hybridisation and/or Hydrogen)
Owner’s engineering, construction monitoring and/or asset management experience
Expertise in Spanish and/or Portuguese markets or in other European and worldwide markets
Additional language skills (Spanish and/or Portuguese)