Melina Acevedo is a project development manager at D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), which is a leading developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy projects across the US. Her role entails derisking and driving utility-scale solar and storage projects through project financing and the beginning of construction. Outside of DESRI, Acevedo is a board member of Latinxs in Sustainability, a national nonprofit that aims to increase Latinx representation within the sustainability field.
What is your greatest career accomplishment to date?
A few come to mind. At DESRI, over the course of two years, I’ve successfully led the development of 700 MW of solar capacity and 664 MWh of battery storage capacity through project financing and start of construction, enabling close to $2 billion in capital investments for my company. Prior to DESRI, as a senior sales analyst at Nextracker, I contracted thirty-three utility-scale solar projects across North America, contributing to the deployment of 7GW of solar capacity and securing over $500 million in company revenue.
Outside of my day-to-day employment, I am especially proud to have launched Latinxs in Sustainability’s first workforce development program, Sustainability Level Up, last fall 2023. I am also proud to have launched Young Professionals in Energy’s first scholarship program in 2020, which is now in its fourth year. Through these efforts, I’ve opened up pathways for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter the clean energy workforce.
What is your greatest personal accomplishment to date?
I am the first in my family to graduate from college and work in the corporate world. I emigrated from Peru to the US with my mother and twin sister when I was seven years old. My mom sought upwards socioeconomic mobility for her daughters and took on this journey for us, understanding the struggles that she would face with a limited high school education and English-speaking skills. I graduated from Princeton University in 2016 with a degree in chemistry and a minor in materials science in engineering. I am the first woman in my lineage to overcome generational poverty, work in the corporate world, and live independently outside of their home country.
What do you do today to impact your community?
As a first-generation college graduate and an immigrant from Peru, I faced difficulties obtaining an entry-level job in clean energy after graduating from Princeton University in 2016. I did not have direct industry experience nor the resources of a college-educated family and network. I landed my first job in residential solar in 2018, transitioned into my first job in utility-scale solar in 2019, and finally secured my dream job at the time of graduation, in utility-scale solar project development, in 2022.
These experiences have informed my vision for an equitable clean energy transition, one where students, professionals, and communities with similar lived experience as myself have a seat at the table. I advance this vision by giving back to my Latinx communities in the form of scholarship and workforce development programs, mentorship, and public speaking at industry leading events and conferences.
As a board member of Latinxs in Sustainability, I created LiS’ first-ever workforce development program, Sustainability Level Up, with the City College of New York (CCNY), which launched fall 2023. We ran the program as an accredited upper-level course for engineering students. In this first cohort, we had sixteen students, the majority of whom were first-generation college students, identified as BIPOC, and received significant need-based financial aid. We recruited over twenty-five lecturers spanning careers across sustainability, with 80 percent being graduates of CCNY themselves, to share their career paths and day-to-day job responsibilities with the students. By recruiting speakers who came from similar lived experiences as themselves, we instilled confidence in the students to pursue careers in sustainability. We are currently seeking additional funding resources to be able to run this program again with CCNY.
Prior to LiS, I was also a Board Member of Young Professionals in Energy (YPE) San Francisco Bay Area, a nonprofit networking group for energy professions. In this role, I created a scholarship program in 2021 to decrease financial burdens for students from marginalized backgrounds seeking clean energy careers. Over two years, I launched the climate careers of four first-generation college students through awards of $2,500 each that I fundraised and mentorship opportunities from myself and my network. My efforts laid the groundwork for a successful scholarship program, which is now run annually and is in its fourth year.
I am also a strong believer in the power of mentorship as a way of giving back to my community. I recently volunteered through LiS’ yearly mentorship program, and I also mentor students and young professionals who reach out to me through LinkedIn or from events in which I organize or speak. Often, they have similar lived experiences as myself, and I support them with résumé reviews and referrals to peers in my network.
Additionally, I am a speaker at events and conferences advocating for equitable practices in clean energy. In these forums, I share my six-year-long journey to my current role in solar and storage project development and illuminate the challenges that marginalized students and professionals face entering and advancing in this industry. I have spoken at industry-leading energy conferences, including RE+ in 2022 and Intersolar in 2023. My goal through these efforts is to connect to key decision-makers and inspire them to inspect and advance the DEI practices in their companies.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I hope to be running my own clean energy company and continuing my advocacy and community organizing work in the clean energy industry.
What is the biggest issue that you want to help solve, and why?
Working in climate, it is difficult to narrow down to just one issue as they are all interconnected. The biggest issues that I am passionate about solving for Latinx and other marginalized communities include lack of representation in the workforce, energy burden and insecurity, and inequitable development in frontline communities. I am motivated to work on these issues largely because of my own firsthand experiences with them as a child and young adult advancing in the clean energy industry.
More pressingly, though, I believe we are at a critical time in the United States (and globally) where there is unprecedented funding for climate, particularly with the passing of the 2022 Infrastructure Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA allocates over $400 billion in federal funding towards clean energy, with the goal of substantially lowering the nation’s carbon emissions by 2030. It is critical that the implementation of this funding is led by and benefits underserved communities, including people living in rural, low-income, tribal, frontline, and other marginalized areas. The IRA brings unprecedented environmental and socioeconomic opportunities for marginalized communities, which I am passionate about raising awareness of. I’m excited for the opportunity to use the NextGen Collective platform to help amplify this cause.
What is a moment when you realized the impact of your work?
Recently, I spoke on a panel for an energy fellowship program that I completed in 2021 called the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI). CELI hosts a yearly internship program for students from traditionally excluded backgrounds who are seeking careers in clean energy called Empowering Diverse Climate Talent. I spoke to this year’s interns on a panel titled “Identity & Authenticity,” where we dove into my work with Latinxs in Sustainability. I also shared my personal journey into clean energy and the professional struggles I faced leading up to my current job in solar and storage project development. As the students opened up about the struggles they are facing at this point in their careers, I felt proud that I could play a small part in creating a safe space for them and showing them that a community exists to support them.
Who inspires your leadership?
My mother is my biggest inspiration. She inspires me to lead with empathy, passion, and resilience.
What is a surprising hobby or interest that helps you stay creative and energized?
I love to cook, and I honor my heritage by cooking Peruvian dishes often. I love to make lomo saltado, arroz chaufa, and ají de gallina.
What is your Latino background?
I was born in Lima, Peru. I immigrated to the United States when I was seven years old with my mother and twin sister. My family is from Peru as well.
What song do you listen to that motivates you?
“Igual Que Un Ángel” by Kali Uchis
