Youssef MacHkhas

About Youssef MacHkhas

I am currently a project development analyst for EDP Renewables. I focus on both solar and wind projects in the Western part of the country of all stages up until their Commercial Operations Date (COD). This includes prospecting for and starting new projects and continuing existing ones that have different benchmarks to reach in order to attain completion. My tasks are extremely varied, ranging from creating cost estimates on different designs to negotiating with landowners on leases to ensuring that these projects pass all permitting requirements. As a result, I work with many different departments both within and outside the company, and I love that I get to experience every facet of a renewable project up until its COD. Before my current position, I graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master\'s of Engineering in Energy Systems Engineering and a Master\'s of Science in Sustainable Systems. I was also working as a data analyst with Veolia. My role mainly focused on creating and updating dashboards that the company could use to determine the success rates of stabilization attempts to treat incoming hazardous waste on Excel. These sheets provided a ton of useful information, such as the percentage of incoming waste streams that are already clean pretreatment and a comparison of different treatment recipes to determine the most cost-effective choice.In my free time, I enjoy traveling and learning from different countries and cultures. A trip to Iceland in the summer of 2017 is actually what first got me passionate about the field, as I wrote a report discussing whether it was beneficial for the country to start harnessing its abundant wind resources and sending that energy to the United Kingdom through a proposed underwater inter-connector named Icelink. I traveled around the western half of the country, study a little of the language, and interact with many Icelanders throughout the seven week stay. As a result, I learned much about the country\'s history and culture.I have completed my first goal of entering the renewable energy industry and am working on gaining as much experience as possible from the many different departments I work with.

Experience

1. Project Development Associate

   EDP Renewables North America

   Nov 2024 — Present

Education

• Rice University

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Chemical Engineering

• University of Michigan- School for Environment and Sustainability

  Master of Science - MS, Sustainability Studies

  2019 — 2021

• Rice University

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering

  2014 — 2019

• Rice University

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Chemical Engineering

  2014 — 2019

• University of Michigan College of Engineering

  Master's degree, Energy Systems Engineering

  2019 — 2021