James Macdonald has a mixed professional and academic background in renewable energy, agriculture, and linguistics. After obtaining a 2001 magna cum laude BA in Linguistics from the University of Arizona, James taught languages in US/MX/BR until taking coursework with Solar Energy International in 2005, which led to a position as solar photovoltaic system installer. In 2011, after several years of on-the-job PV design, construction and maintenance experience in NYC, James obtained a post-graduate specialization in Renewable Energy Grid Integration at the Universidad de Zaragoza in Spain. Later, in 2016, after more international PV project development and engineering experience, James obtained a M-Sc from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya’s School of Architecture, with a focus on the economic, agricultural, and ecological impact of indoor vertical farms. From 2017 to 2021, James worked as a PhD researcher for the same university, on the topic of agrivoltaics. Since 2021, James has been the coordinator for agrivoltaics innovation and projects for the Engie group via their innovation center Laborelec in Belgium. James communicates fluently in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Catalan, and at high-intermediate levels of German and Italian.