McCook man honored for renewable energy work

LAS VEGAS -- A McCook Senior High and McCook Junior College graduate has been awarded the Wheeler McMillan Award for his leadership in supporting the development and use of biomass for bioenergy and other renewable energy sources.

Robert Harris, the son of John T. and Eleanor Harris of Opelika, Ala., and formerly of McCook, received the award during the Power-Gen Renewable Energy Conference, the first trade show in the United States to provide a venue for all renewable energy technologies.

Harris graduated from MHS in 1963 and from MJC in 1965.

The award was presented by the New Uses Council, a national organization promoting development of renewable energy and new uses for biomass products. The award spotlights today's leaders who build on the pioneering work of Wheeler McMillan who founded the Farm Chemurgic Council in 1935 with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Nobel Prize physicist Robert Milliken to expand the market for agricultural products.

Harris has worked at the Tennessee Valley Authority for thee years and is program manager for renewable projects. He has been a New Uses Council board member for eight years and was its chairman in 1997 and 1998.

TVA Executive Vice President Kate Jackson said, "We are proud of Bob's involvement in the development of renewable energy. He is one of the leaders helping map the course for our country to become less reliant on fossil fuels."

New Uses Council Chairman Bill Holmberg said, "The McMillan award honors those who are helping speed the transition to an economy based on non-polluting renewable resources. Bob continues to be a leader among his peers dedicated to the growth of the use of biomass for the production of renewable energy."

Holmberg says the New Uses Council is committed to expanding the development and commercialization of new industrial, energy and non-food consumer uses of renewable agriculture, forestry, marine and livestock products.

TVA is the nation's largest public power provider and is completely self-financed. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve 8.3 million consumers in seven southeastern states.