How did you come to be in the energy industry?

Willingness to make have an impact on climate change. Started at Rocky Mountain Institute in 2005

What is your proudest work-related achievement to date?

Having allowed Neoen to go from o to 850 MW of renewable energy projects secured in Latin America in 4 years

Where do you see the greatest opportunity in the Mexican/regional energy market?

Strong offtaker (both public and private) appetite for renewable energy

Where do you see the greatest challenges?

Cutthroat competition and extremely low prices

What advice would you pass onto a recent graduate wishing to work in your line of business?

Scaling up renewable energy is one of the most important challenges of our generation, go for it with all your skills, passions and drive!

If you could wave a magic wand over the global/regional industry, what would you change and why?

Have standard permits, PPAs and tender rules across the world

What’s your favourite holiday destination?

Any mountain range

All-time favourite book?

The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History by Joseph M. Marshall III

All-time favourite film?

Au revoir les enfants, by Louis Malle

What three items would you take with you to a desert island?

One trunk filled with a 1,000 books, one filled with a 1,000 notebooks and pens, one filled with 1,000 seeds

About Lionel Bony

Lionel Bony is in charge of the Mexico, Central America and Caribbean region for Neoen, a leading solar, wind and storage IPP. He started up Neoen's operations in Latin America four years ago, playing a key role in securing 850 MW of projects in the area. Before working at Neoen, Lionel spent five years at Rocky Mountain Institute, a think-and-do-tank focusing on the global energy transition. He holds a Master's degree from Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and an MBA from Harvard Business School.