TOP 10 Most-Read Thought Leaders in Renewables

Discover also our 2026 Rankings of the Most Read Thought Leaders in Business Impact, Carbon, Circularity, Climate Change, Energy, Energy Transition, Environmental Sustainability, ESG, Ethical Governance, Green Tech, Nature, Social Responsibility, Sustainable AI, Sustainable Business, Sustainable Finance, and Sustainable Lifestyle. Explore how this year's leaders compare to the most influential voices of last year!

illuminem is proud to present the most-read Thought Leaders in Renewables globally, as recognised by illuminem's ever growing community of 700,000+ readers.

Renewables in 2025 proved their resilience under pressure. Global capacity rose by a near-record 692 GW to reach 5,149 GW, with solar and wind together accounting for almost 97% of all new additions. As geopolitical tension and energy-price volatility exposed the fragility of fossil-dependent systems, locally sourced, rapidly deployable clean power increasingly looked less like an environmental choice and more like an energy-security one.

Yet the headline figures masked deep regional disparities. Africa recorded its strongest expansion on record, and the year's most striking story was the rise of distributed, off-grid solar reaching communities the grid had never served. The voices on this list returned again and again to the same question: not whether renewables work, but who gets to benefit from them, how that build-out is financed, and how the Global South can take control of its own energy future.

Christopher Caldwell, topped the list this year. As CEO of United Renewables, responsible for dozens of clean energy projects empowering island communities, Caldwell drew on a background spanning corporate law, investment banking, and clean energy. His most-read piece examined the Hormuz, the narrow strait that moves the world's energy markets, and how it serves as a reminder of how exposed the old system remains, and why the case for renewables is also a case for resilience.

Joining him on the list, Yariv Cohen (CEO of Ignite Power, a company providing solar-based solutions across Africa) rethinks how the continent's off-grid solar is financed, John Calabrese (Professor at the American University in Washington) asks why Big Oil won't lead the green transition and who actually will, and Jiwan Mallik (Policy Expert at the UNDP) and Ore Obiwumi (MPA candidate at Harvard Kennedy School) examine how Africa can take control of its energy future.

Drawn from over 2,500 thought leaders publishing on illuminem Voices, the ranking below reflects the voices that shaped how the renewables conversation evolved in 2025. Please join us in congratulating the Thought Leaders of the Year in Renewables, and every voice contributing to this vital global debate on illuminem.

1️⃣ Christopher Caldwell - CEO of United Renewables
Country: Isle of Man 🇮🇲
Most-Read Thought Piece: The 21-mile strait that moves the world's energy markets
Profile: Christopher Caldwell is the CEO of United Renewables, where he employs his past experiences as a corporate lawyer, investment banker, and team leader to lead all aspects of the business. Chris holds a degree in business from Trinity College Dublin, an MBA from London Business School, and is currently reading part-time at the Yale Center for Business & the Environment.

2️⃣ Yariv Cohen - Co-Founder and CEO of Ignite Energy Access
Country: Israel 🇮🇱
Most-Read Thought Piece: Rethinking securitisation in African off-grid solar
Profile: Yariv Cohen is the co-founder and CEO of Ignite Energy Access, a company providing solar-based, life-enabling, distributed solutions across Africa. Yariv has been a part of the renewable energy sphere for the past two decades, scaling innovation globally to help build a sustainable, inclusive future.

3️⃣ Leonardo Beltran - Fmr. Deputy Secretary of Energy of Mexico
Country: Mexico 🇲🇽
Most-Read Thought Piece: Energy efficiency: the AI of Mexico's energy sector
Profile: Leonardo Beltran is a senior advisor at Iniciativa Climática de México. He was Mexico's Deputy Secretary of Energy in charge of the Energy Transition (2012-2018), and a member of the board of directors of Pemex and CFE. He holds fellowships at the Institute of the Americas and the School of Public Policy of the University of Calgary.

4️⃣ John Calabrese - Professor at American University
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: Why Big Oil won't lead the green transition, and who actually will
Profile: Dr John Calabrese is a professor at American University in Washington DC, where he teaches US foreign policy. He is also a senior fellow in the Middle East Institute. He is the author of China's Changing Relations with the Middle East and Revolutionary Horizons: Iran's Regional Foreign Policy, and serves as the book review editor of The Middle East Journal.

5️⃣ David Carlin - Founder of the Risk Centre at the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative
Country: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Most-Read Thought Piece: Is net zero to blame for rising energy prices?
Profile: David Carlin is the founder of D. A. Carlin and Company, advising governments, corporates, and financial institutions on climate and sustainability. He led the development of UNEP FI's risk programming, collaborating with over 100 global financial institutions on climate stress tests, risk modeling, and TCFD and TNFD disclosure.

6️⃣ ex aequo Jiwan Mallik - Policy Expert at the United Nations Development Programme
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: A shift in power: how Africa can take control of its energy future
Profile: Jiwan Mallik is a renewable energy expert with experience in energy access, solar, and hydropower. He has worked with UNDP and the World Bank across South Asia, the Pacific, and Africa, supporting governments on energy policy, rural electrification, mini-grid development, and clean energy transition. His work spans field assessments, technical assistance, and policy reform in some of the world's most energy-challenged and fragile environments.

6️⃣ ex aequo Ore Obiwumi - MPA Candidate at Harvard Kennedy School
Country: Nigeria 🇳🇬
Most-Read Thought Piece: A shift in power: how Africa can take control of its energy future
Profile: Ore Obiwumi is a young professional who graduated an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Currently pursuing an MPA at Harvard Kennedy School, her work focuses on the interplay between governments and private capital in fostering economic development across Africa.

7️⃣ Osama Rizvi - Co Founder of the Society for Low Carbon Technologies
Country: Pakistan 🇵🇰
Most-Read Thought Piece: Is doughnut economics Pakistan's missing piece?
Profile: Osama Rizvi is an international energy and economic analyst specializing in exploring the asymmetrical relationship between developed and developing countries regarding their economic development, energy transitions and overall policymaking and implementation. He is currently the Chair Person for South Asia at Society for Low Carbon Technologies. He works as an analyst at US-based Primary Vision Network and also heads the department of academics at World Times Institute.

8️⃣ Kedar Balasubramanian - Project Manager at Ornate Solar
Country: India 🇮🇳
Most-Read Thought Piece: Germany's green power race: north vs south in sustainable energy innovation
Profile: Kedar Balasubramanian is a Project Manager at Ornate Solar. He also works as the Partnerships Lead (Germany) for the NGO: Young Leaders in Energy and Sustainability (YES) Europe.

9️⃣ Philippe Benoit - Fmr. Division Head, Energy Environment of the International Energy Agency
Country: United States 🇺🇸
Most-Read Thought Piece: World Bank and other MDBs need to tackle rich country GHG emissions to support development
Profile: Philippe Benoit is the managing director of Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050. He also served as division head of the International Energy Agency's Energy Environment and Energy Efficiency Divisions, and as energy sector manager at the World Bank, as well as adjunct senior research scholar for the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and visiting professor at University of SciencesPo-Paris.

🔟 Marine Fosse - Master's Candidate in International Energy Transitions at Sciences Po
Country: Canada 🇨🇦
Most-Read Thought Piece: Off-grid solar-powered mini-grids for rural electrification and women empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa
Profile: Marine Fosse is a young professional with a background in energy markets, public finance, and environmental policy from the University of Calgary. She is currently pursuing a Master's in International Energy Transitions at Sciences Po, where she is getting experience with international expertise in energy and sustainability.

Congratulations to our most-read thought leaders of the last year. In a time when the sustainability conversation was pulled in every direction at once, the voices on this list helped move it forward with clarity and intellect. We are proud to amplify their voices, and look forward to what comes next.

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