Utility-Scale Solar Power Plant Fundamentals

Ian Bailey is a Project Engineer with emphasis in Energy Storage Systems at Burns & McDonnell.  In that role he helps design, build, and operate storage projects across the US.  In his career, Mr. Bailey has worked on more than 20GWh of utility scale energy storage solutions.  His responsibilities include various tasks such as project management, electrical system design, system sizing, contract management, and the preparation of one-line diagrams, equipment layouts, other detailed design, and commissioning support for energy storage projects.  Among the projects he has worked on are the Terra-Gen Edwards Sanborn Solar plus Storage Project I served as field engineer as field engineer and Phase Ill of Vistra’s Moss Landing (350MW/1400MWh) as the Battery Enclosure Product Manager.  Mr. Bailey earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Missouri.

Matthew Brinkman is Vice President & Regional Practice Manager for Energy at Burns & McDonnell.  In that capacity, starting in 2008, he led the company’s entrance into the solar market.  His team of nearly 100 multi-disciplinary engineers, has more than 15GW of experience in Solar as Owners’ Engineer, Detailed Design, and Integrated EPC execution. 

Kyle Burns is a Senior Electrical Engineer in the Solar Energy Group at Burns & McDonnell. He previously worked an active NASA mission prior to pivoting focus to renewables where he has 10 years of experience in the solar industry. Mr. Burns leads the PV electrical design of various solar EPC projects contracted by Burns & McDonnell. In addition, Mr. Burns has been the technical lead for equipment selection and procurement of inverters, DC and MV cable, and DC collection systems for various utility-scale PV projects. Mr. Burns other areas of expertise include detailed electrical PV system design, PV System owners engineering, battery energy storage design, PV plant performance analysis and project managemen

Tanner Dowell is a Senior Civil Engineer & Solar Civil Design Lead with Burns & McDonnell and has worked in the solar industry for more than 15 years. His current role is the Solar Civil Design Lead responsible for the planning, oversight, quality, and construction coordination required for integrating the civil design on solar projects and pursuits for the entire company. Mr. Dowell has led the civil design for over 1 GW of executed solar EPC projects and has supported more than 10GW of solar development as Owners Engineer. He also has extensive experience in early site development, evaluating grading and civil cost impacts of different technologies, and working with municipalities on land use permitting across the country.

Martin Gonzalez is a senior electrical engineer in the Solar Group at Burns & McDonnell. He has nearly two decades of experience in a variety of roles related to the design and construction of PV systems.  Mr. Gonzalez has been responsible for the design of residential, commercial, and utility scale PV systems, in addition to various other renewable energy projects. He provides on-site support for the installation, testing, and commissioning of PV systems and PV system monitoring equipment.  He has worked on some of the largest and most lauded solar projects in the nation, including serving as the the owner’s engineer on the largest solar PV project in the United States – the 580-MW Solar Star.  Mr. Gonzalez has developed a strong understanding of PV system design and operation, equipment selection, electrical installation best practices. He assists with PV system troubleshooting, testing, and maintenance, in addition to performing design reviews in an owner’s engineering role.

Torrey Graf is Vice President of Engineering at FastGrid LLC, which he joined in 2022.  He has 12 years of electrical engineering experience across both traditional power and utility scale solar generation, as well as deep experience in large scale energy storage. In addition to building and leading multidisciplinary teams at Burns & McDonnell, Mr. Graf has served as engineering and project manager on more than 4GW of solar and 2GW of energy storage projects across the United States. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Arizona State University.

Drew Powers serves as EPC Section Construction Manager with the Power global practice at Burns & McDonnell.  Since 2011, he has overseen for the firm EPC execution of more than 1GW of solar across the county, as well as thermal generation facilities, substation and gen-tie facilities across the US and Canada. He earned a BS degree in Construction Management at the University of Central Missouri.

Drew Reasor is a Design & Construction Project Manager for Solar PV Power Generation at Burns & McDonnell.  He began his career in structural engineering in the telecommunications industry before transitioning to the power generation industry. He has more than 8 years of experience in structural design as well as project and engineering management for both natural gas and renewable power generation projects.  Mr. Reasor’s experience in the energy industry also includes serving as field engineer during the construction of a portion of the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility.  He has served as the engineering manager for multiple concurrent EPC solar photovoltaic projects, leading multidisciplinary design teams which are comprised of local and non-local Burns & McDonnell staff.  Mr. Reasor coordinates engineering with construction and procurement throughout the construction, commissioning, and performance testing process. He is a graduate of Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in structural engineering.

Lynsey Tibbs is Vice President of Asset Management at Silicon Ranch. She has more than a decade and a half experience as an engineer in the energy sector with  skills in power generation and a focus on solar energy, specifically managing nearly a gigawatt of installed solar.  Ms. Tibbs is versed in project and contractor management having overseen one-half billion dollars of solar installations.  Besides her role in solar project implementation, she also has served the company as a solar project engineer and forecast analyst.  Before joining the organization, Ms. Tibbs was Solar Operations Project Manager at Southern Power Company.