Nischala McDonnell

Nischala McDonnell serves as a PartTime Lecturer at Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, while pursuing her Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts. She concurrently holds a Professional Casual position in the Department of Actuarial Studies and Business Analytics, demonstrating cross-disciplinary engagement between law and quantitative fields.

Her doctoral research examines legal frameworks for renewable energy integration, with specialized expertise in agrivoltaics (solar-agriculture co-location) and ecovoltaics (biodiversity-focused solar systems). This work involves rigorous comparative analysis of regulatory structures across New South Wales, England, and Wales, addressing critical barriers in land use policy and biodiversity stewardship.

McDonnell's publications reveal a cohesive research trajectory centered on practical implementation pathways for solar energy projects. Her 2024-2025 outputs consistently address legal-policy-market intersections, particularly examining how regulatory frameworks enable or hinder sustainable land-use transitions in agricultural contexts. This focus positions her at the nexus of energy transition and spatial planning challenges.

As a PhD candidate on the 2024 Dinawan Energy Hub project (led by Prof. Michelle Taylor), she investigates legal opportunities for biodiversity stewardship in renewable energy development. She actively contributes to the Transforming Energy Markets Research Centre and participates in Macquarie Law School's Higher Degree Research community, evidenced by her co-authorship of the 2024 Annual Conference report.