Maria Hilda Rivera

2020 International Award Winner

María Hilda Rivera is an energy executive with more than twenty years of experience in clean energy market development, utility modernization, and access to finance. Her career spans roles across utilities, international development institutions, and government.

She served as Director of Grid Modernization at LUMA Energy, the transmission and distribution system operator for Puerto Rico’s electricity grid. In this role, she focused on regulatory strategy and major initiatives supporting the island’s energy transition, including the development of Puerto Rico’s Integrated Resource Plan and programs for distributed energy resources, including virtual power plants, electric vehicles, and demand response.

She served as Energy Advisor with Power Africa, where she worked with energy ministries, financial institutions, and private developers to double electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa. Rivera joined the initiative for the launch of Beyond the Grid, Power Africa’s signature off-grid program, and mobilized more than $1 billion in private sector funding commitments to expand clean energy and access.

Earlier in her career, Rivera worked at the World Bank, where she served as a core team member of the Lighting Africa Program and oversaw initiatives to increase the private sector’s role in delivering energy access.

She has also been an Energy Engineer at Energy and Security Group, a woman-owned firm, and served at the American Council for Renewable Energy (ACORE), an umbrella trade association. Her career in the renewable and distributed energy sectors has focused heavily on providing energy access to populations living beyond the reach of a traditional electricity grid.

Key to her advancement has been her ability to understand both government and private-sector perspectives. She has designed and implemented numerous programs to boost clean energy markets and increase economic growth in developing countries.

Rivera’s focus on clean energy started in graduate courses at the University of California, Davis, where she studied Biological and Agricultural Engineering and International Development. She earned a BS in Bioresource Engineering from Rutgers University.