At Karpel Associates, we deliver renewable energy project development executive search nationwide, recruiting VPs of Development and their senior teams for utility-scale developers, IPPs and infrastructure funds. These are the people who secure land, navigate permits, hold interconnection positions and get projects financed. Our candidates have moved real megawatts to construction, not just collected early-stage sites.
What does a VP of Development do in renewable energy?
The VP of Development turns a map of possible sites into projects that can be built and financed. That covers origination, landowner negotiations, environmental studies, local and state permits, interconnection applications, offtake contracts and the handoff to construction and finance teams. In larger companies the role also includes setting the development budget, ranking the pipeline and deciding which projects to drop.
The job is a series of risk decisions made with incomplete information. Each dollar spent on a study or deposit is a bet that the project will survive interconnection costs, community opposition and shifting power prices. A strong development leader knows when to push harder and when to walk away. That judgment is hard to read from a resume, so we test it with detailed questions about real projects the candidate chose to advance or abandon.
What does a development leader own at each project stage?
Development work changes as a project matures. We use this breakdown with clients to clarify which stages the new hire must master.
| Project stage | Main risk to manage | What the VP of Development owns |
|---|---|---|
| Origination | Choosing the wrong market or site | Market screening, land prospecting, early landowner outreach |
| Site control | Losing land or paying too much for it | Lease and option terms, title review, community relations |
| Interconnection | Queue delays and network upgrade costs | Application strategy, study reviews, deposit decisions |
| Permitting | Local opposition and environmental findings | Consultant management, hearings, mitigation plans |
| Offtake and finance | Unbankable contracts or pricing | PPA negotiation, tax equity diligence support, lender questions |
| Notice to proceed | Gaps that stall construction | Handoff package, schedule alignment with EPC and procurement |
What to look for when hiring a VP of Development
Completed projects, not pipeline size
A large early pipeline is easy to assemble and hard to convert. Ask how many projects the candidate personally took to financial close or commercial operation, and what happened to the rest.
Interconnection judgment
Queue reform, cluster studies and rising upgrade costs have made interconnection the gating issue for many projects. The best candidates can explain how they decided which positions to keep and which to withdraw.
Permitting and community skill
Local opposition kills more projects than technology does. Strong candidates have handled public hearings, worked with county officials and changed project designs to win support.
Commercial instincts
Development leaders who understand offtake markets and buyer needs build projects that sell. One client hired its Director of New Markets through us, and that leader brought in $5M of new annual recurring revenue from regions the company had not served before. That is the commercial thinking we test for.
Technology fit
Wind development brings long wildlife studies and turbine logistics, while storage projects hinge on grid services revenue and fire safety rules. Clients building wind portfolios often recruit through our wind power leadership search practice.
How do we find development executives?
Experienced developers rarely look for jobs because their projects keep them busy and their equity keeps them loyal. We reach them one by one, drawing on 40,000+ profiles in our private renewables database, a LinkedIn network exceeding 30,000 people, and contacts Stacey Karpel has built during 15+ years in this field alone. Roughly four in five executives we have placed had never appeared on job boards.
VP-level development hires usually run as retained search for senior development roles, with confidential outreach and a closing slate of three, four or five names, each scoring 90% or better against your required competencies. Compensation benchmarking for the role is part of every engagement. Clients get searches averaging under four weeks from start to finish, an offer acceptance rate of 98%, and retention of 94% among the executives we place. You can see the other leadership positions we recruit on our renewable energy roles overview.
Discuss your VP of Development hire with us
Tell us about your pipeline, your target markets and where projects are getting stuck. We will tell you which candidate profile fits and how quickly the market can deliver it. Arrange a development leadership search conversation.