Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., has selected his appointments to the NextGen Energy Board. This new board, proposed by Pawlenty as part of his Next Generation Energy Initiative, will provide energy independence recommendations to the legislature and the governor. Among the group's goals is to develop grant programs to assist renewable energy facilities throughout the state, the governor's office notes.
The NextGen Energy Board consists of 19 members, including seven members appointed by the governor.
Pawlenty's appointees are Robert Elde, dean of the University of Minnesota’s (U of M) College of Biological Sciences; John Frey, dean of Minnesota State University's Mankato's College of Science, Engineering and Technology; Tim Gerlach, regional vice president for clean fuel and vehicle technologies at the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest; Shalini Gupta, senior energy associate at the Izaak Walton League of America's Upper Midwest Office; Rob King, professor and department head at U of M’s department of applied economics; Thom Petersen, staff lobbyist at the Minnesota Farms Union; and Paul Stark, a past president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau.
