Ryan Dela
Principal Systems Engineer · Renewable Energy
I am a practical operations engineering leader in the renewable energy industry with significant hands-on experience working on and leading teams in the wind, solar, and battery energy storage industries.
I have worked diligently to touch every corner of the renewable energy industry, from off-grid solar to supporting the world's largest wind and solar sites. My career started in the early 2000s building the technology the modern EV industry is built on, shifted to wind in 2005, and progressed through site operations, construction management, owners engineering, independent engineering, warranty management, asset management, and engineering leadership at a top independent power producer. I started my own technical consultancy to provide freelance operations and engineering advisory services.
Education
Experience
Mar 2025 – Present
Senior Reliability Engineer
BluEarth Renewables
Serving as a Senior Reliability Engineer at BluEarth Renewables, providing hands-on reliability engineering support across a diversified fleet of operating wind, solar, and battery storage assets, driving root cause analysis and performance improvement initiatives.
Jan 2023 – Present
Principal Systems Engineer
Sigma Renewable Energy, LLC
Freelance technical expertise for clients in wind, solar, and energy storage, specializing in Root Cause Analysis (RCA), technical leadership, operations engineering, and technical due diligence.
Feb 2021 – Nov 2022
Director – Operations Engineering
Ørsted
Established and led an operations engineering team supporting the Onshore Asset Management team across operational wind, solar, and energy storage projects, building a diverse technical staff to maintain onshore utility-scale power plants across the US.
Sept 2018 – Feb 2021
Team Leader / Principal Engineer
Wood PLC
Supported the Renewable Energy Operational Technical Services team in the Americas, providing consulting and engineering services from Canada to Chile, including Galion scanning lidar systems and oil-and-gas transition support.
Jan 2015 – Sept 2018
Technical Account Manager
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy
Provided dedicated engineering-related technical and commercial communication support to strategic Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy customers.
Jan 2015 – Sept 2018
Special Project Engineer
Siemens Wind Power / Siemens Gamesa
Provided technical leadership for wind turbine drivetrains, advanced wind resource assessment, and reliability improvement projects. Deployed and managed a fleet of wind LiDAR systems for advanced wind measurements, and served as technical advisor in establishing a third-party wind turbine service business supporting turbines from other OEMs.
Jan 2015 – Sept 2018
Senior Warranty Manager
Siemens Wind Power / Siemens Gamesa
Bridged the gap between commercial, technical, and legal sectors to negotiate and resolve wind turbine warranty claims, helping establish processes and collaborating with stakeholders across departments to drive projects forward.
Apr 2010 – Dec 2014
Senior Engineer – Turbine Assessment
Garrad Hassan / DNV GL
Performed wind turbine and solar technical due diligence, operational assessments, field audits, and independent and owner engineering, specializing in failure and Root Cause Analysis investigations for insurers, investors, banks, and OEMs.
Sept 2006 – Apr 2010
Small Business Owner
Great Northern Energy Systems
Built an automated biodiesel reactor and vehicle fuel system conversion kit as a small business owner. Pivoted to small-scale residential solar and small wind energy installations after changes to biofuel incentive programs, then returned to utility-scale renewable energy following the 2008 financial crisis.
Sept 2007 – Sept 2009
Wind Operations Manager — 101 MW Elkhorn Valley Wind Farm
Horizon Wind Energy / EDPR
Managed day-to-day operations at the 101MW Elkhorn Valley Wind Farm's sixty-one Vestas V82 turbines, transitioning the project from construction to operations and resolving early serial defect and punch-list issues.
Jun 2005 – Sept 2007
Field Engineer
Energy Maintenance Service
Served as a Field Engineer performing hands-on wind turbine commissioning, maintenance, and troubleshooting, building the foundational technical experience that shaped a career-long focus on wind operations and reliability.
Oct 2004 – May 2005
Mechanical Engineer — Roadster Prototype
AC Propulsion / Tesla Motors
One of the earliest employees of Tesla Motors, building the first Tesla Roadster prototype and integrating lithium-ion batteries, AC Propulsion power electronics, and drivetrain technology into a converted Lotus Elise.
Apr 2004 – Oct 2004
Mechanical Engineer
AC Propulsion
Part of a small skilled team that hand-built high-performance prototype electric vehicles for research programs, government agencies, and automakers, including the Volvo 3CC, Venturi Fetish, and the Tesla Roadster prototype — working on fabrication, testing, battery system design, and lithium-ion battery control systems.
Sept 2003 – Apr 2004
Project Engineer
Oregon Tech – Oregon Renewable Energy Center
Built and managed an applied research laboratory engineering space focused on renewable energy technology development and applications at the Oregon Renewable Energy Center.
Jun 2001 – Sept 2002
Field Engineer Intern
General Electric Transportation Systems
Worked during school breaks at the Union Pacific – Hinkle Locomotive Maintenance Facility, troubleshooting and supporting GE railroad locomotive maintenance and repair.