Owensboro woman Sharla Wells has been appointed to the National Coal Council, a Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. The term extends until July 1, 2022.
For the past six years, Wells has served as Director Legislative Affairs and Government Relations at Big Rivers Electric Corporation — which recently announced they’d be moving their corporate headquarters from Henderson to Owensboro.
Wells also has plenty of experience in Owensboro. From May-December of 2018, she was the Interim President & CEO for the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation; she also previously served two years as the Existing Industry Manager for the EDC. Wells additionally worked for Kenergy Corp for three years.
The National Coal Council is one of three Federal Advisory Committees that provide recommendations for Fossil Energy programs and policies. Its principal activity is to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Energy on coal policy, technology and markets.
“It is an honor to be appointed by former Secretary (Dan) Brouillette, and I look forward to working with existing members to provide continued support to recently appointed Secretary David Huizenga. Now, more than ever, the work of the council will be extremely important in representing the power and promise of our nation’s coal industry,” said Wells.
The members of the NCC are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy based on their knowledge, expertise and stature in their respective fields of endeavor. NCC membership is restricted to 150 individuals who represent a broad spectrum of interests from industry, finance, engineering, legal, academia, regulatory agencies, environmental groups and research organizations.
The principal work of the Council involves producing reports on issues of interest to the Secretary. Based on the findings of these reports, the Council makes policy recommendations and provides guidance for the Secretary’s consideration. These reports have focused on the future of coal in the new carbon age, management of carbon emissions, coal conversion technologies, coal and coal technology exports, and power sector compliance with environmental regulations.
While the primary objective is to provide the Secretary of Energy and DOE staff with policy recommendations, NCC reports are widely distributed to policy makers on the national, state and local levels, and have been used as the basis for Congressional testimony by industry and academic representatives.
