Renewable Energy Project Management for Solar and Wind Projects Training Course

Course overview

Solar and wind projects fail to meet investment expectations when project controls are applied without accounting for resource uncertainty, grid-connection dependencies, long-lead equipment, land rights, permitting conditions, weather windows and contractor interfaces. Project managers must coordinate development, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning while protecting the business case against schedule slippage, change claims and underperforming assets. This course addresses the practical management decisions that determine whether a renewable energy project reaches commercial operation on time, within approved cost and with an auditable handover record.

Participants learn to structure a utility-scale solar or wind project from notice to proceed through commissioning and close-out. The course covers work breakdown structures, Primavera P6 scheduling logic, critical-path analysis, cost baselines, contingency management, procurement packages, EPC contract interfaces, risk registers, stakeholder plans and change control. Participants also examine solar and wind-specific issues including energy-yield assumptions, turbine and module delivery risk, balance-of-plant coordination, grid compliance testing, environmental commitments and operational readiness.

Instruction combines facilitated project-control sessions with a running solar-and-wind case study. Participants build schedule, risk, procurement and reporting components using realistic project data, then test decisions against delays in equipment delivery, weather disruption and grid-connection constraints. Each participant leaves with a renewable energy project management pack containing a tailored WBS, baseline schedule logic, risk register, stakeholder map, change-control workflow and 90-day implementation plan for use in their own organisation.

The course is designed for professionals already working with renewable projects or capital programmes who need to move beyond generic project-management techniques and manage the technical, commercial and regulatory interfaces of solar and wind delivery.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Build a renewable energy project work breakdown structure covering development, EPC, grid connection, commissioning and handover
• Create a logic-linked Primavera P6 baseline schedule and identify critical-path exposure across solar and wind work packages
• Develop a cost baseline with contingency allowances, cash-flow milestones and earned-value reporting measures
• Construct a project risk register using probability-impact scoring, risk owners, response actions and escalation thresholds
• Evaluate EPC, turbine supply and module supply contract interfaces for schedule, performance and claims risk
• Apply a formal change-control process to assess scope, cost, schedule and energy-yield consequences
• Produce a stakeholder and permitting action plan for landowners, regulators, grid operators and local communities
• Assemble a commissioning-to-operations handover checklist with acceptance tests, documents and defect-management controls

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Renewable Energy Project Managers — who coordinate development, EPC and commissioning activities across solar or wind portfolios
• Construction Managers — who need to control site interfaces, weather impacts, contractor progress and energisation readiness
• Project Controls Engineers — who build schedules, cost forecasts and risk reports for renewable capital projects
• Development Managers — who must convert permitted solar or wind opportunities into executable delivery plans
• EPC Contract Managers — who administer supplier obligations, variations, milestones and claims exposure
• Asset Owners and Investment Managers — who need reliable delivery assurance before committing capital and accepting project handover

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical exposure to projects, construction programmes, engineering delivery or renewable energy development, and should understand basic project concepts such as scope, milestones, budgets, risks and stakeholders. Familiarity with Gantt charts and spreadsheet-based reporting is helpful. Participants will work with examples from Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, PVsyst and WindPRO, but prior hands-on use of these applications is not required. No electrical engineering qualification, turbine-design expertise or advanced financial modelling capability is required; technical assumptions are explained in their project-management context.

Training methodology

The five-day programme uses instructor-led briefings, worked examples and a continuing case involving a utility-scale solar plant and an onshore wind project. Participants analyse construction sequences, build schedule logic, assess contractor risks, review procurement scenarios and prepare decision-ready reports in small groups. Exercises use Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project schedule views alongside PVsyst and WindPRO outputs to connect technical assumptions with delivery controls. The final session is an application workshop in which participants adapt the course templates to a live or planned project.

Course outline

Day 1: Renewable project lifecycle and delivery strategy

• Solar and wind project lifecycle from site origination to commercial operation date
• Stage-gate governance and investment decision criteria
• Work breakdown structures for development, EPC, grid connection and operations handover
• Responsibility assignment matrices for owner, EPC contractor, OEM and grid operator
• Energy-yield assumptions and their implications for project commitments
• Land, permitting and environmental consent dependencies
• Project execution plans and integrated delivery governance

Workshop: Participants create a level-three WBS and RACI matrix for a utility-scale solar or onshore wind project case.

Day 2: Scheduling, resources and cost control

• Logic-linked schedules and critical-path method for renewable construction programmes
• Primavera P6 activity coding, calendars and relationship types
• Microsoft Project views for milestone tracking and short-term look-ahead planning
• Long-lead procurement schedules for turbines, transformers, modules and inverters
• Weather windows, access constraints and productivity allowances
• Cost baselines, contingency allocation and cash-flow curves
• Earned value measures for EPC progress reporting

Workshop: Participants build and stress-test a baseline programme, identifying the critical path and recovery options after a transformer delivery delay.

Day 3: Procurement, contracts and interface management

• Contract packaging strategies for EPC, multi-contract and owner-managed delivery
• EPC scope boundaries and balance-of-plant interface registers
• Turbine supply agreement and module supply agreement milestone controls
• Liquidated damages, performance guarantees and warranty obligations
• Technical query, non-conformance and variation-management workflows
• Supplier due diligence for manufacturing capacity and logistics resilience
• Claims prevention through contemporaneous records and notice requirements

Workshop: Participants review a contract-interface scenario and produce an interface register with owners, dates and escalation actions.

Day 4: Risk, stakeholders and grid connection

• Risk breakdown structures for solar and wind project delivery
• Probability-impact scoring, quantitative exposure and contingency triggers
• PVsyst loss assumptions and construction risk interpretation
• WindPRO resource, layout and constraint outputs for project planning
• Grid connection agreements, energisation dependencies and compliance testing
• Stakeholder mapping for regulators, communities, landowners and lenders
• Environmental and social commitment tracking during construction

Workshop: Participants develop a ranked risk register and stakeholder action plan for a project facing curtailment, access and community objections.

Day 5: Commissioning, reporting and operational handover

• Mechanical completion, substantial completion and commercial operation definitions
• Solar plant and wind farm commissioning sequence controls
• Grid-code compliance evidence and energisation readiness reviews
• Performance testing, reliability runs and acceptance criteria
• Executive dashboards for schedule, cost, risk and decision escalation
• Document control, as-built records and operations manual requirements
• Lessons learned and post-project review methods

Workshop: Participants assemble a project management pack and present a 90-day action plan for improving controls on their own renewable project.

Tools & standards covered

Primavera P6, Microsoft Project, PVsyst, WindPRO

A typical training day

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

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions