Oak Brook, IL – July 1, 2021 –The Heat Is Power Association (HiP), the national trade association for the waste heat to power (WHP) industry, today announced that Petra Smeltzer took the helm of the trade association as its Executive Director on July 1st. Ms. Smeltzer succeeds Patricia Sharkey who has led the association with distinction since 2019.

Petra Smeltzer has three decades of state and federal level government affairs experience spearheading strategic and practical results for key government and energy trade organizations, including Governor Bob Taft (OH), the American Petroleum Institute, the National Electrical Manufacturing Association, the Electric Power Supply Association and the National Association of Water Companies. Her skills include building industry coalitions, negotiating and brokering agreements between government and industry and raising the profile of trade associations through collaboration.

John Prunkl, Chairman of HiP, said

“Pat has accomplished a lot in the two years she has been leading the association including the long-standing goal of WHP’s inclusion in the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for clean energy resources. She has also made great strides in distinguishing the waste heat to power (WHP) sector as a clean, zero-emission energy resource at the federal and state levels. Pat has made continued and substantial progress in getting essential policy passed for this industry, and in gaining recognition among state policy makers and regulators about the benefits of harnessing excess heat and turning it into reliable base load zero-emission electric power. We thank Pat for all her hard work and accomplishments and wish her well in retirement.”

Mr. Prunkl further states,

“HiP is excited to welcome Petra in this leadership role. We believe she is joining us at the right time to raise the public image of waste heat to power as a zero-emission energy resource; grow and expand the HiP membership; promote the value of of the new WHP ITC to end-users, and to continue our work for greater recognition of WHP in both state and federal clean energy policies. Petra will be working closely with Lynn Abramson, President of the Clean Energy Business Network, who will continue to serve as HiP’s Federal Affairs Liaison.”

HiP is the trade association for the WHP industry. WHP uses waste heat from industrial processes to generate electricity with no additional fuel, no combustion, and no incremental emissions. HiP educates policymakers about clean energy from waste heat and advocates for policies that provide parity for WHP with other sources of clean energy. HiP also works with other organizations to ensure coordinated, consistent and effective messaging on WHP.