December 27, 2010
Massachusetts

Governor Patrick names new energy officials

by Kyle Alspach, Boston Business Journal, www.bizjournals.com 27 December 2010

Four energy officials in Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration will take on new roles in Patrick’s second term, including Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Philip Giudice, who has been named undersecretary for energy.

The changes come as Richard Sullivan, the incoming secretary for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, prepares to take over for outgoing secretary Ian Bowles.

Sullivan announced the changes on Monday, which include the creation of two new positions assistant secretary for renewable energy and assistant secretary for energy efficiency.

The assistant secretary for renewable energy will be Steven Clarke, the DOER’s director of wind energy development since 2009. Clarke has led initiatives to develop renewable energy on state-owned lands and facilities, according to the announcement.

The assistant secretary for energy efficiency will be Frank Gorke, director of the Division of Energy Efficiency at DOER since 2008. Gorke has overseen the creation of aggressive utility-operated energy efficiency programs and has led his division in doing “groundbreaking” work on building energy codes, according to Sullivan.

Giudice moves up to energy undersecretary to fill a vacancy left by Ann Berwick, who left the position last spring when she was appointed to chair the Department of Public Utilities.

Giudice has served as DOER Commissioner since June 2007, where he has overseen the transition of DOER into “a full-fledged department comprising divisions specializing in energy efficiency, energy markets, renewable energy” and other programs, according to the announcement.

Giudice has led a team that “successfully invested over $54 million in federal stimulus dollars in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that have propelled Massachusetts to national energy leadership status,” the announcement said.

Giudice is succeeded as DOER Commissioner by Mark Sylvia. Sylvia has been director of DOER’s Green Communities Division since December 2008, a position created after the passage of the Green Communities Act. The law has included numerous measures promoting renewable energy development and energy efficiency.

“Phil, Steven, Frank, and Mark each distinguished themselves during Governor Patrick’s first term,” Sullivan said in the announcement. “In these new roles, they will continue to guide our work in realizing the Governor’s vision of a clean energy future for Massachusetts.”

Bowles has said he’s leaving the Patrick Administration for the private sector. Last week, he told the Business Journal he’d like to start a company focused on increasing the adoption of home energy efficiency measures.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/12/27/governor-patrick-names-new-energy-officials/