Webster to engage and expand industry support for AWWI initiatives
Washington, DC – The American Wind and Wildlife Institute (AWWI), a national organization committed to facilitating timely and responsible development of wind energy that protects wildlife and wildlife habitat, has announced the selection of Stu S. Webster as Vice President of Corporate Relations and Program Development.
Stu joins AWWI from Clipper Windpower Development Company, Inc. where he served as Permitting Manager and quickly distinguished himself as an industry leader, being elected to the American Wind Energy Association’s Siting Committee in June, 2008. As a member of the Siting Committee, Stu was involved in early discussions about the formation of AWWI.
“AWWI is incredibly fortunate to have found Stu Webster, a wind energy leader who truly understands the complexities of 21st-century industry in America,” said AWWI President Kraig Butrum. “He will be instrumental in expanding support for AWWI’s initiatives in the wind industry.”
“There is a scientific uncertainty of the impacts of wind energy that agencies and scientific groups would like to have answers to in order to understand impacts on specific species,” said Stu. “But the environment knows no boundaries, so we need to build our science on a broader, landscape level as more wind farms are sited.”
“The Board at AWWI could not be happier to welcome Stu Webster as our industry liaison,” said AWWI Board of Directors Chair Genevieve Thompson. “His expertise and sensitivity to the scientific issues facing wind development is precisely what AWWI needs.”
AWWI’s role is to provide the scientific foundation for wildlife-friendly wind energy siting practices and to inform all stakeholders in order to facilitate a greater understanding and efficient implementation of them, said Stu. “AWWI is uniquely positioned to effectively accomplish the research that industry can’t grapple with well because of the natural disparity between project development timelines and accumulation of scientific understanding. Volatility arises from the uncertainty surrounding these issues,” he said.
About AWWI
The American Wind Wildlife Institute was founded in November 2008 by 20 of the nation’s top science-based conservation and environmental groups and wind energy companies. AWWI’s mission is to facilitate timely and responsible development of wind energy while protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat. We do this through research, mapping, mitigation and public education on best practices in wind farm siting and habitat protection.
AWWI’s members include AES Wind Generation, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Babcock and Brown, BP Alternative Energy, Clipper Windpower, E.ON, Environmental Defense Fund, enXco, GE Energy, Horizon Wind Energy, Iberdrola Renewables, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Nordic Windpower, NRG Systems, Renewable Energy Systems Americas, The Nature Conservancy, The Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Vestas America.
To learn more, please visit www.awwi.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marsha Johnston, AWWI, 202-216-9700