Tom Kiernan to join as CEO of American Wind Energy Association on May 28

Tom Kiernan

Greentech Lead America: The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced that Tom Kiernan has been named as the organization’s new chief executive officer.

AWEA is the national trade association representing American wind power interests and over 1,200 companies across the U.S. and around the world.

Kiernan will officially take the helm as AWEA CEO on May 28.

Kiernan has served as President of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) since 1998.

Announcing the appointment, chair of AWEA’s Board of Directors, Tom Carnahan, said, “Bringing Tom Kiernan aboard as CEO represents a huge win for AWEA and another step forward in our efforts to elevate wind energy’s role as a critical national resource.”

Kiernan commented, “With wind energy building over 40 percent of new electrical generation in the U.S. last year, the massive public support for more renewable energy, and the recent extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) by Congress and the President, we have a unique opportunity to work together to make wind energy a more integral part of our national energy portfolio.”

Equipped with the PTC, the U.S. industry has been able to lower the cost of American wind power by more than 90 percent since 1980. Wind energy now generates enough electricity for over 15 million American homes. It fosters economic development with wind farms or factories in all 50 states, and was responsible for$25 billion of private investment in the U.S. economy last year.

“I look forward to working within the wind industry and with our many partners and supporters to craft a long-term strategy that creates healthy and consistent wind energy production in the United States,” Kiernan stated. “Implementing such a strategy will create jobs in our communities, strengthen our national economy, help address climate change, and diversify our energy portfolio with a low-cost source of power that will never run out.”

Before heading NPCA, Kiernan served as president of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire and was a senior-level official in the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation under President George H.W. Bush , where he won the Gold Medal for his role in achieving consensus with businesses and environmentalists on a $450-million pollution-control project at Grand Canyon National Park. He has also held positions with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and with Arthur Andersen & Company.

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