AWEA CEO stepping down

Source: Nick Juliano, E&E reporter • Posted: Monday, December 17, 2012

The head of the American Wind Energy Association announced her resignation on Friday.

Denise Bode will be leaving her post as president and CEO of AWEA on Dec. 31 to return to private practice as a tax attorney ahead of next year’s expected debate on Capitol Hill over comprehensive tax reform.

“There is now a strong, bipartisan team of Congressional champions for the wind industry, and the all-important extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC),” Bode said in a statement. “When that is secured, all of my goals from the AWEA Board will have been accomplished. I am extremely proud to have led the AWEA staff as we worked together to get that job done, and, of course, grateful to the AWEA Board for the opportunity to serve this very promising industry.”

Bode’s departure comes just after AWEA announced for the first time a proposal to extend the PTC beyond its scheduled expiration at the end of this year and then phase it out over six years (E&E Daily, Dec. 13). The proposal is expected to spark continued debate over the long-term future of federal subsidies for wind and other energy sources as Congress deliberates how to overhaul the tax code (E&E Daily, Dec. 14).

Senior Vice President for Public Policy Rob Gramlich will serve as interim CEO while a search committee identifies a permanent replacement for Bode, who has been with the trade association for four years, during which time wind installations doubled in the United States to more than 50,000 megawatts of capacity currently installed.

Before joining AWEA, Bode led the American Clean Skies Foundation, and before that the Independent Petroleum Association of America. Earlier in her career, Bode served for 10 years as an elected corporation commissioner of Oklahoma and worked for six years on the staff of then-U.S. Sen. David Boren with a focus on energy and tax issues (Greenwire, May 24, 2010).

“I am excited to be returning to private practice,” Bode said in the statement. “With tax policy the dominant interest of my career and prospects for a real tax reform bill in the air, I can’t imagine a better time to make this move.”