Stephen Walls

Mr. Stephen Walls, JD, works to improve energy security and sustainability by enabling the advanced grid technologies needed to integrate high levels of domestic renewable energy resources. His recent work combines law, policy, economics, and technology development to help island and remote energy systems transition away from imported fuels, including Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, among others. These locations have needed technical assistance on topics such as microgrids, energy efficiency, and planning for high amounts of intermittent renewable energy. He has presented on these topics domestically and internationally, from New Zealand and Japan to the European Union.

Stephen helped create the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Transition Initiative, and was the lead content developer for its Islands Playbook. He is currently supporting the implementation of the Islands Playbook in Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and coordinates closely with partners who are implementing the Playbook in other communities. Before his tenure at DOE, Stephen worked in global government relations and capital markets for a Fortune 50 company, where he worked on government supported export credits, including international climate financial support mechanisms.

He earned his J.D. with honors from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., where he focused on the nexus between international commercial law and human rights. This built on his undergraduate work on the political economy of international agreements, and led to publications in international law and finance.