Dakota Pekerti (he/him) is a first-year Master’s student in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley. Dakota is passionate about working in sustainable development in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, designing policies and technologies to simultaneously accelerate an equitable transition to clean and renewable energy while minimizing the impacts of rapid economic development on low-income and frontline communities. Dakota has a hybrid background with 6+ years of professional work experience in the energy and logistics industry; he has developed and analyzed large-scale commercial solar + storage projects totaling over 1000+ MWH of capacity, managed the design of automated energy storage control optimizers and analysis tools for various behind-the-meter energy markets in the US and abroad, and more recently completed a Fulbright Fellowship research project analyzing the potential for sustainability and cost improvements in the domestic Indonesian logistics sector. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and environmental science from Swarthmore College.
In his spare time, he enjoys teaching cooking classes, scuba diving in the deep blue, practicing various martial arts, volunteering for Asian American non-profits, and foraging for ingredients in the California forests.