Renewable Energy Development Strategy Training Course

Duration 10 days 18 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Renewable Energy Development Managers, Utility Strategy Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-ETR-005

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with electricity markets, energy projects, infrastructure investment or sustainability programmes.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Renewable energy developers, utilities, public agencies and corporate energy buyers must turn policy targets and market demand into bankable projects. This requires more than selecting a technology: teams must assess resource quality, grid access, permits, land rights, revenue structures, financing terms, delivery risks and stakeholder expectations. Poor early-stage assumptions can produce stranded development costs, weak bids, delayed connection dates or projects that fail investment approval.

This course equips participants to formulate renewable energy development and market strategies for solar, wind, storage and hybrid projects. Participants assess market attractiveness using PESTLE and Porter's Five Forces, screen sites, estimate energy yield, assess grid constraints, compare business models, structure revenue assumptions and build investment cases using NPV, IRR, LCOE and scenario analysis. The programme also addresses environmental and social due diligence, procurement, construction interfaces, operations planning, corporate power procurement and portfolio prioritisation.

Teaching combines concise technical briefings with cases drawn from utility-scale solar, onshore wind, commercial and industrial procurement, and public-sector energy programmes. Participants use structured templates throughout the course to develop a live project concept or a realistic case selected by the instructor. They leave with a renewable energy development strategy pack, including market assessment, site-screening criteria, risk register, financial model assumptions, delivery plan and investment-committee presentation. The course is delivered over 10 classroom or live-online days, with approximately 6.5 contact hours each day, and participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is designed for professionals who contribute to project origination, investment decisions, policy implementation, infrastructure planning, commercial contracting or energy procurement.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess renewable energy markets using PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces and policy analysis
  • Screen renewable energy project sites using resource, land, grid and permitting criteria
  • Construct energy-yield and revenue assumptions using P50, P90 and curtailment scenarios
  • Evaluate project economics using LCOE, NPV, IRR, DSCR and sensitivity analysis
  • Structure development strategies around permits, land rights, grid connection and stakeholder engagement
  • Compare renewable energy revenue models, including auctions, PPAs, merchant sales and contracts for difference
  • Prepare an environmental, social and development risk register using IFC Performance Standards
  • Present an integrated renewable energy development strategy and investment case

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build credible renewable project proposals for internal approval and external partners
  • Interpret technical adviser outputs on yield, curtailment and grid connection
  • Challenge revenue, cost and risk assumptions in renewable investment cases
  • Contribute effectively to PPA, auction and project-development discussions
  • Present a structured project recommendation to investment committees and senior sponsors

For your organisation

  • Improve early-stage screening before land, permitting and advisory costs escalate
  • Produce more consistent assumptions across renewable project pipelines
  • Identify grid, permitting and stakeholder risks before investment approval
  • Strengthen commercial decisions on PPAs, auctions and merchant revenue exposure
  • Create clearer development-stage gates for renewable portfolio governance

Course modules

18 modules over 10 days

Participants can relate energy-transition drivers to renewable development opportunities and constraints.

  • IEA scenario families compared against national energy and climate targets
  • Electricity demand forecasts separated by load growth and electrification drivers
  • Decarbonisation pathways linked to generation, networks, storage and flexibility
  • Merchant market exposure distinguished from contracted renewable project revenues
  • Value-chain mapping identifies developers, utilities, investors, suppliers and offtakers
  • Development-stage gates define evidence required before capital commitment

Participants can select suitable technology configurations for defined market and site conditions.

  • Solar photovoltaic configurations compare fixed-tilt, tracking, rooftop and floating systems
  • Onshore wind turbine selection balances resource, wake effects and transport limits
  • Battery energy storage sizing addresses duration, cycling and grid services
  • Hybrid plant configurations coordinate solar, wind, storage and connection capacity
  • Capacity factors distinguish installed capacity from expected annual electricity output
  • Technology maturity assessment uses technical readiness and supply-chain availability

Participants can assess whether a target market supports viable renewable project development.

  • PESTLE analysis identifies political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors
  • Porter's Five Forces tests competitive pressure within renewable development markets
  • Auction design compared across price-only, hybrid and non-price evaluation criteria
  • Renewable portfolio standards examined alongside quotas, certificates and tax incentives
  • Market-entry scorecards weight demand, regulation, grid access and bankability
  • Country risk assessment separates sovereign, currency, convertibility and payment risks

Participants can apply initial screening criteria to prioritise renewable project sites.

  • Solar resource data assesses global horizontal irradiance and plane-of-array irradiance
  • Wind measurement campaigns define mast placement, duration and data-quality controls
  • GIS exclusion mapping identifies protected areas, settlements, slopes and waterways
  • Land-parcel screening tests tenure, access roads, topography and competing claims
  • Constraint mapping ranks candidate sites using weighted multi-criteria analysis
  • Desktop due diligence records data sources, assumptions and evidence gaps

Participants can create a development pathway covering land, permits and stakeholder actions.

  • Land tenure review distinguishes ownership, leasehold, easements and customary rights
  • Permit registers sequence environmental, planning, construction and operating approvals
  • Critical-path analysis identifies dependencies between studies, consents and grid offers
  • Stakeholder mapping classifies influence, interest, impact and engagement requirements
  • Grievance mechanisms establish intake, investigation, response and closure procedures
  • Community benefit options distinguish statutory obligations from voluntary commitments

Participants can define a project concept and sequence its development-stage decisions.

  • Project charters define capacity, location, offtake concept, sponsors and decision gates
  • Work breakdown structures organise studies, permits, contracts and financing tasks
  • Stage-gate governance assigns approval authorities, evidence thresholds and escalation routes
  • RACI matrices clarify developer, adviser, lender, contractor and owner responsibilities
  • Development budgets separate land, studies, permitting, legal and owner costs
  • Milestone schedules link critical permits, interconnection, procurement and financial close

Participants can interpret energy-yield estimates and identify major performance assumptions.

  • P50 and P90 estimates express central and downside energy cases
  • Loss diagrams quantify soiling, shading, availability, degradation and electrical losses
  • Wake-loss modelling distinguishes gross wind resource from net annual energy production
  • Curtailment assumptions separate grid constraints, dispatch rules and negative pricing
  • Performance ratio tracks photovoltaic system output against irradiance and design expectations
  • Independent engineer reports tested for data quality, methodology and exclusions

Participants can assess connection feasibility and incorporate grid risks into development plans.

  • Interconnection studies assess thermal limits, voltage control and fault-level impacts
  • Grid-code requirements cover frequency response, reactive power and fault ride-through
  • Connection applications define technical data, milestones, securities and study fees
  • Network hosting capacity identifies areas suitable for additional renewable generation
  • Curtailment risk assessed through congestion data, dispatch rules and expansion plans
  • Storage applications compare energy shifting, ancillary services and connection optimisation

Participants can compare power-sales structures and their implications for project bankability.

  • Corporate PPA structures compare physical, virtual, sleeved and onsite arrangements
  • Auction contracts assess strike prices, indexation, penalties and completion deadlines
  • Contracts for difference distinguish two-way settlement from fixed-price PPAs
  • Merchant revenue forecasts combine capture prices, volume risk and imbalance costs
  • Renewable energy certificates analysed for eligibility, ownership and retirement rules
  • Offtaker credit assessment reviews payment history, financial strength and security

Participants can prepare and challenge financial assumptions for renewable project appraisal.

  • LCOE calculations separate capital expenditure, operating costs, output and discount rates
  • NPV and IRR compare project returns against investment hurdle rates
  • Debt service coverage ratio links cash flow to repayment capacity
  • Sources-and-uses schedules reconcile equity, debt, fees, reserves and contingencies
  • Sensitivity tables test yield, price, capex, interest-rate and delay assumptions
  • Term-sheet review identifies tenor, covenants, security and reserve-account requirements

Participants can build a risk register and allocate major project risks to suitable parties.

  • Risk registers record probability, impact, owner, mitigation and residual exposure
  • Monte Carlo simulation models combined uncertainty in yield, price and costs
  • Risk allocation matrices compare developer, contractor, lender, insurer and offtaker responsibilities
  • Political risk insurance assessed for expropriation, transfer restriction and breach coverage
  • Bankability reviews test contract interfaces, precedent conditions and lender requirements
  • Contingency planning addresses permitting delays, supply disruption and connection slippage

Participants can identify environmental and social requirements affecting project design and approval.

  • IFC Performance Standards frame environmental and social risk assessment
  • Environmental and social impact assessment defines baseline, impacts and mitigation measures
  • Biodiversity surveys identify critical habitat, species sensitivity and seasonal constraints
  • Resettlement risk screening distinguishes physical displacement from economic displacement
  • Labour management procedures address worker conditions, contractors and grievance channels
  • Environmental management plans assign monitoring indicators, responsibilities and reporting frequencies

Participants can select procurement routes and evaluate principal renewable project contracts.

  • EPC contracts allocate design, procurement, construction, performance and delay risks
  • Multi-contract strategies coordinate equipment supply, civil works and balance-of-plant scopes
  • Request-for-proposal documents specify technical requirements, warranties and evaluation criteria
  • Bid evaluation matrices score price, schedule, capability, quality and commercial exceptions
  • Liquidated damages distinguish delay damages from performance shortfall damages
  • O&M agreements define availability guarantees, maintenance scope and spare-parts responsibilities

Participants can assess whether a renewable project is ready for construction mobilisation.

  • Notice-to-proceed conditions verify land, permits, financing, design and contractor readiness
  • Construction schedules apply critical-path method to renewable delivery milestones
  • Interface registers manage boundaries between civil, electrical, grid and equipment scopes
  • Quality plans define inspection points, test records and non-conformance controls
  • HSE plans address contractor induction, permit-to-work and incident reporting
  • Commissioning protocols sequence mechanical completion, energisation, testing and acceptance

Participants can identify operational drivers of renewable asset value and long-term performance.

  • Asset management plans connect performance targets, maintenance and lifecycle budgets
  • SCADA data reviews identify availability losses, alarms and recurring equipment faults
  • Predictive maintenance uses condition monitoring, failure patterns and intervention thresholds
  • Availability calculations distinguish technical downtime from grid and force-majeure exclusions
  • Repowering assessments compare replacement economics, permit changes and grid constraints
  • Decommissioning plans estimate restoration obligations, salvage value and financial security

Participants can develop renewable procurement approaches for corporate and public-sector buyers.

  • Load-profile analysis matches demand intervals with renewable generation characteristics
  • Procurement strategies compare onsite generation, utility supply, PPAs and certificates
  • Additionality criteria distinguish new capacity claims from existing generation purchases
  • Tender specifications define volume, term, location, risk allocation and reporting
  • Evaluation committees assess bids using price, carbon, credit and delivery criteria
  • Renewable claims reviewed against GHG Protocol Scope 2 guidance

Participants can prioritise renewable opportunities and establish portfolio decision criteria.

  • Portfolio heat maps compare opportunity maturity, risk, value and strategic fit
  • Real-options thinking values staged commitments under development uncertainty
  • Capital allocation frameworks rank projects by risk-adjusted return and readiness
  • Investment-committee papers present recommendation, assumptions, risks and approval requests
  • Portfolio diversification considers technology, geography, offtaker and revenue concentration
  • Post-investment reviews capture variance lessons for future development decisions

Participants can build, review and present a complete renewable energy development strategy and investment case.

  • Market selection justified through policy, competition, demand and bankability evidence
  • Site-screening rationale combines resource, land, environmental and grid findings
  • Project configuration specifies technology, capacity, storage and connection assumptions
  • Revenue strategy compares auction, PPA, merchant and certificate income options
  • Financial case presents LCOE, NPV, IRR, sensitivities and funding assumptions
  • Development roadmap sequences permits, stakeholders, procurement, financing and construction milestones
  • Investment presentation responds to technical, commercial, environmental and delivery challenge

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Renewable market attractiveness scorecard
  2. Site-screening and constraint-mapping template
  3. Project development stage-gate plan
  4. Renewable project financial assumptions model
  5. Environmental and commercial risk register
  6. Investment-committee presentation template

Who should attend

  • Renewable Energy Development Managers — need disciplined methods for progressing projects to investment approval
  • Utility Strategy Managers — need to evaluate generation portfolios and market-entry options
  • Project Finance Analysts — need credible technical, commercial and risk assumptions for investment cases
  • Energy Ministry and Regulator Officials — need to design programmes that attract deliverable projects
  • Corporate Energy Procurement Managers — need to assess PPAs, onsite generation and renewable supply options
  • Infrastructure Investment Professionals — need to compare renewable opportunities before due diligence

Skills and tools covered

Market opportunity assessmentProject development planningRenewable project financeEnergy yield analysisGrid connection strategyPower purchase contracting

Tools and standards

System Advisor Model (SAM), PVSyst, IFC Performance Standards, GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance

How the course runs

Training methodology

The instructor uses short briefings to establish technical and commercial concepts, followed by sector cases, facilitated group analysis, calculation clinics and decision simulations. Participants apply each method to a solar, wind, storage or hybrid project concept from the first week onward. Cases examine utility procurement, corporate PPAs, public auctions and investment-committee decisions. Structured peer review tests assumptions on market entry, yield, revenue, finance, permitting and risk. The final sessions focus on refining an integrated development strategy and presenting it for challenge.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with electricity markets, energy projects, infrastructure investment or sustainability programmes. Experience reading project budgets, business cases, contracts or technical reports is useful. The course assumes comfort with percentages, discounted cash flow concepts and spreadsheet-based analysis, although advanced financial modelling is not required. Participants do not need an engineering degree, prior renewable project development experience, specialist software expertise or detailed knowledge of a particular country’s power regulations. Those without direct project experience should be able to relate course material to an employer’s energy, infrastructure or climate programme.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand basic electricity, project or investment terminology and be comfortable working with percentages and spreadsheet assumptions. Engineering qualifications and prior renewable development experience are not required.

Bring a laptop for spreadsheet-based case work and, where permitted, a non-confidential project concept, market question or procurement challenge. Course templates and case materials are provided.

It suits professionals involved in renewable project origination, utility planning, infrastructure investment, energy policy, corporate procurement and sustainability delivery. It is intended for practitioners who need to make or support development decisions.

The course addresses technical assumptions, but its focus is development strategy, market entry, commercial structures, finance, risk and investment approval. It does not train participants to design electrical systems or perform detailed engineering calculations.

Participants can use the scorecards, stage-gate plan, risk register and investment-case structure to assess live opportunities. The methods also support reviews of advisers, developer proposals, PPAs and auction bids.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes market, site, yield, grid and revenue fundamentals; the second week develops finance, risk, delivery, procurement, portfolio strategy and the final capstone presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.