Adeniyi Babalola, Ph.D.

SENIOR DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT ENGINEERING

Adeniyi (Niyi) Babalola, PhD is the Senior Director of Development Engineering at PowerTransitions, where he oversees all aspects of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) across development, redevelopment, pre-construction, and construction phases—through to commercial operation (COD).

Niyi earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University, focusing his dissertation on the use of artificial intelligence algorithms to mitigate cascading failures in power systems. Beyond his doctoral research, he has been extensively published in power system analysis, stability, and instrumentation and control systems.

With over 12 years of experience in the energy sector, Niyi began his U.S. career at Electrotek Concepts working in power quality while completing his PhD. He later joined General Electric, where he led the development of power system models and worked on gas turbine control systems for domestic and international projects. At GE, he also contributed to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiatives on power system cybersecurity and secured five patents for his work.

Niyi went on to serve as the in-house subject matter expert for electrical and controls engineering at Pattern Energy, supporting a 4 GW portfolio of utility-scale wind assets across the U.S., Canada, and Japan. His technical expertise and strategic initiatives resulted in more than $4 million in revenue enhancements and cost savings.

Prior to PowerTransitions, Niyi held key roles at Borrego Energy and Anza Renewables, serving as the in-house technical lead for backend algorithm development on the Anza platform. He designed and coded the foundational version of an AI-based tool for degradation curve analysis and prediction. His team also played a pivotal role in deploying approximately 1 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) across ERCOT, ISO New England, and CAISO—helping customers navigate project sizing, equipment diligence, procurement, contracting, design, construction, and commissioning.

A respected industry thought leader, Niyi has presented at multiple IEEE conferences, spoken at RE+ 2023, and contributed to technical discussions hosted by ESIG and SEIA.

Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing soccer, gardening, and tinkering with electronics.