Peter Walke, commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation, plans to leave that post next month to take the helm of Efficiency Vermont, a nonprofit energy efficiency utility.
Walke, who grew up in Montpelier, became the commissioner in 2020 after serving as deputy secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources. His last day at the state agency is set for April 15, and a temporary commissioner will likely take Walke’s place while the governor and agency leaders work to find a permanent replacement, said Julie Moore, secretary of the agency.
Walke will take over for Rebecca Foster, who has been the organization’s acting director since 2018. Foster also serves as the CEO of the nonprofit that operates Efficiency Vermont, called Vermont Energy Investment Corp. Carol Weston, who now works with another clean energy organization out of state, previously held the role.
As Efficiency Vermont’s leader, Walke will oversee programs designed to increase energy efficiency statewide and reduce Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions. The organization coordinates with hundreds of the largest businesses in the state and provides services directly to homeowners, Foster said. Walke will also oversee the organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“It’s a very large role, very wide scope, and encompasses a lot of the areas that Peter Walke has worked on for the past decade or so in Vermont,” Foster said.
Before becoming commissioner, Walke was an intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy, then was chief of staff for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Gov. Phil Scott appointed Walke as deputy secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources in 2017 before he assumed his current post shortly before the pandemic began.
The Department of Environmental Conservation is a regulatory body responsible for overseeing state programs that deal with issues as wide-ranging as air and water quality, solid waste and climate change.
Notably, Walke managed the state’s response to the PFAS contamination in Bennington. Though the crisis began before Walke joined the department, Moore credited Walke for his work helping to connect municipal drinking water to homes of residents whose wells were contaminated. Walke also identified the state’s response to the contamination crisis as a key accomplishment during his time with the department.
“We were in a brand-new world in 2016 when it was discovered in Bennington County,” he said.
The state worked to maintain a presence in the community, he said, then expanded its efforts to address the harmful impacts of the chemicals statewide.
After working on environmental policy for almost a decade, Walke was interested in the Efficiency Vermont role, he said, because it offered “an opportunity to get into the implementation side, so I can help to be part of the solution for climate and other issues.”
Foster said Walke is the right person for the job because of his relevant experience in climate and environmental work, and because of his reputation as an “honest broker.”
“To me, it’s really important that the managing director of Efficiency Vermont be able to bridge different worlds and bring together people of all walks of life to help us really ensure that Efficiency Vermont programs are meeting their needs,” she said.
