Julia McDonald

Senior Engineer & Pacific Sector Lead

Canberra, Australia

Julia has 14 years’ experience in the energy industry with a background in power systems and renewable energy engineering, specialising in renewable energy integration projects in the Pacific region. Julia’s experience spans projects of all scales in the Pacific and in Australia, ranging from 5 MW solar farms to off-grid solar systems for remote communities in the Pacific. Recent major projects include development of an energy sector Master Plan for the Federated States of Micronesia, design of island hybrid systems for Ovalau, Fiji, mini-grids in Tuvalu, and a floating solar system for the Marshall Islands.

Julia holds a Masters in Power Systems Engineering from the University of Wollongong and a Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University. She currently is an Australian representative on the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s PV-electric vehicle working group. She has been involved in the electric vehicle industry since 2008 and drives an electric classic Volkswagen Beetle. She has previously been a board member of the Electric Vehicle Council and ran the Canberra International Electric Vehicle Festival from 2009 to 2015.