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HYANNIS -- Renewable energy advocate Barbara Hill is Clean Power Now's new executive director, CPN board members are pleased to announce.

Hill, who served as project coordinator for Offshore Wind with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative for three and a half years, assumes the reins of the Cape-based citizens advocacy group from Matt Palmer, CPN's executive director for the last two years.

"I am honored to accept this exciting and challenging position," said Hill, who began work in her new position on July 3. "I'm also very aware that Matt's going to be a tough act to follow."

Board members say Palmer's leadership helped bring about a dramatic shift in public opinion on Cape Wind. A poll published in the Cape Cod Times in March 2004 showed 55 percent of local residents opposed to the project, compared to 45 percent in favor. Another poll commissioned by the paper in June 2005 showed opposition and support for the wind farm almost evenly split, at 39 to 37 percent respectively, with the remainder undecided.

By the spring of 2006, two polls showed overwhelming support for Cape Wind across the state, and one of them found that 61 percent of Cape and islands' residents are in favor of the project.Board members also credit Palmer for having Clean Power Now play a pivotal role within a diverse, nationwide coalition of renewable energy supporters who helped Cape Wind stave off poison-pill legislation in Congress that would have derailed the project.

"We've been blessed to have such a skilled navigator at the helm," said CPN board member Bill Eddy.

Palmer is leaving to finish work on a master's degree in public administration, which he must complete by the end of the year.

Palmer said his decision to finish working for Clean Power Now "was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do." "This job was a gift," he said. "For two years I was able to earn a living doing something I truly feel passionate about at the core of my soul."

Hill brings impressive background to new post

While working as project coordinator for offshore wind at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Hill focused on two initiatives: the Cape and Islands Offshore Wind Stakeholder Process and the Offshore Wind Collaborative.

"Upon completion of that process, our work evolved into a larger discussion about the possibilities of offshore wind development in those parts of the ocean beyond the reach of current wind technology," Hill said.

Hill also served as a member of the Offshore Wind Energy Collaborative Organizing Group consisting of MTC, General Electric and the US Department of Energy. The group worked with approximately 60 people representing environmental, regulatory, industry and marine interests for more than a year to develop "A Framework for Offshore Wind Energy Development in the United States." The influential document, published in August 2005, outlines comprehensive strategies for tapping the abundance of offshore wind energy on the Outer Continental Shelf.

"As we move forward we will continue to be the locally based, grassroots focused voice," Hill said, "mobilizing and empowering individuals to speak the truth about the benefits of the Cape Wind project, and other viable renewable energy projects while at the same time supporting the integrity and transparency of the federal, state and local regulatory review processes."

A former member of the Barnstable Planning Board, Hill lives in Centerville with her 18-year-old son, Kahlil Peckham.Note: This press release was issued today by Clean Power Now

This press release was issued today by Clean Power Now