Fred Ferguson, President and CEO of Waterotor Energy Technologies, Inc., announced the appointment of Dr. Michael Palmer as Executive Vice President of the company. Dr. Palmer will head the newly established Vermont office in Middlebury. “Dr. Palmer’s background in law, sustainable economic development, strategic planning, and risk management make him well-suited to help the company move through its next phases,” Mr. Ferguson said. Dr. Palmer, who worked part-time in the Federal Office of Science and Technology while in law school, made technology the focus of his Ph.D. thesis and has been active in energy policy debates for over 10 years.
Waterotor Energy Technologies makes water-powered generators that extract electricity from very slow water currents (1 to 8 mph) for the benefit of the 2.2 billion people who have little or no access to electricity. (No other hydrokinetic technology can do this.) When fully deployed, the helping to increase global prosperity.
“We selected Vermont as one of our U.S. locations because of the large network of people and entities that support alternative and renewable energy technologies such as the Waterotor™,” Mr. Ferguson noted. “We believe many people in Vermont will help make the Waterotor a reality for the production of domestic electricity as well as providing off-grid electricity to the 2.2 billion people in developing countries who currently have no electricity,” he added.
“Dr. Palmer brings a depth of expertise in sustainable business practices and economic development to Waterotor Energy Technologies that will help us connect with other organizations seeking to promote sustainable energy,” Mr. Ferguson said.
Since coming to Vermont in 1987, Dr. Palmer is a former member of the Governor’s
Export Council and has served as a director of several non-profit and government boards. He has been involved in several commercial and non-profit ventures such as New England World Trade, Inc., Ethics by Design, Win Before Trial, the Vermont Consensus Council, and Palmer Legal Services, to name a few. Palmer has been active in Vermont’s entrepreneurial eco-system and various business organizations for over 25 years and has provided legal advice and representation to numerous small businesses and startups during that time.