| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Energy and Solar |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Head of Operations |
| Direct reports | Solar O and M Engineer, SCADA Engineer, Solar O and M Technician |
| Experience | 8 to 12 years in power plant operations with solar O and M |
Solar Plant Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Solar Plant Manager
Department: Energy and Solar
Reports to: Head of Operations
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Solar Plant Manager runs the operations and maintenance of a solar power plant to keep it generating safely and to target. They lead the site O and M team, manage performance, maintenance, spares and safety, and answer for generation, availability and cost. The role reports to the Head of Operations or Head of O and M. A good solar plant manager keeps availability and performance ratio high, prevents downtime through good maintenance, runs a safe site, and controls operating cost across the plant's life.
Key responsibilities
- Run the plant to meet its generation, availability and performance ratio targets.
- Lead the site operations and maintenance team and plan their daily work.
- Plan and supervise preventive and breakdown maintenance across the plant.
- Monitor generation and losses through SCADA and act on underperformance.
- Manage spares, tools and consumables and control the operating budget.
- Own site safety, permits to work and safe electrical practice.
- Coordinate with the grid, DISCOM and off taker on scheduling and outages.
- Manage inverter, module and evacuation maintenance and warranty claims.
- Keep operations, maintenance and generation records and report performance.
- Handle audits, inspections and statutory compliance for the plant each year.
Requirements
- Engineering degree in electrical or mechanical
- Experience in solar plant O and M
- Electrical safety certification is an advantage
- 8 to 12 years in power plant operations with solar O and M
KRAs and KPIs for a Solar Plant Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Generation | Plant generation meeting the annual target against the design estimate |
| Availability | Plant and grid availability kept above the target each month |
| Performance ratio | Performance ratio maintained at or above the target for the plant |
| Maintenance | Preventive maintenance completed on schedule with breakdowns within target |
| Safety | Zero lost time incidents on site within the safety target |
| Cost | Operating cost kept within the approved plant budget |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: SCADA system, CMMS maintenance software, Thermal camera and IV tracer, Multimeter and insulation tester, Generation dashboards.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Head of O and M, Head of Operations, Cluster Head
Interview questions for a Solar Plant Manager
- How do you keep a solar plant's performance ratio high through the year?
- How do you plan preventive maintenance to minimise generation loss?
- How do you investigate a sudden drop in plant generation?
- How do you manage safety for electrical work on a live plant?
- How do you handle a grid outage that stops evacuation?
- Tell me about a performance problem you solved at a plant.
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What does a solar plant manager do?
A solar plant manager runs the operations and maintenance of a solar power plant. They lead the site O and M team, manage performance, maintenance, spares and safety, and answer for generation, availability and cost. They keep the performance ratio high, prevent downtime, run a safe site, and control operating cost across the plant's life.
What qualifications do you need to be a solar plant manager?
Most solar plant managers hold an engineering degree in electrical or mechanical with experience in solar plant operations and maintenance. An electrical safety certification helps. Employers look for skill in O and M planning, performance analysis, electrical safety, spares and budget control, and the ability to lead a site team, often at a remote location.
What affects a solar plant's generation?
A solar plant's generation depends on sunlight, but also on module cleanliness, inverter and equipment health, grid availability, temperature and downtime. Soiling, faults, cabling losses and outages all reduce output. A solar plant manager keeps generation high through good maintenance, quick fault response, cleaning and by acting on performance data from the SCADA system.