Voith Hydro President and CEO Kevin Frank Honored by the White House as a "Champion of Change" for Innovation in Renewable Energy

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kevin Frank, CEO and President of York, PA-based Voith Hydro, will be honored by the White House on Thursday as a "Champion of Change" for Innovation in Renewable Energy.  The Champions of Change series honors individuals engaged in efforts to advance innovation, education, sustainable energy, and community activism, among other areas.  Kevin Frank was nominated for his efforts within the hydropower industry to promote a clean energy future.  He was one of nine selected out of over 200 nominations.  Voith Hydro is a worldwide leading, active full-line supplier of electro-mechanical equipment for hydropower stations.

"It is an honor to be recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change for Innovation in Renewable Energy," Frank said.  "It's a testament to the value of hydropower in our nation's energy portfolio, as well as its enormous potential to both create clean energy and boost job growth across the entire country.  Voith Hydro is proud to lead in this effort, and pleased to join in the conversation about how to promote renewable energy with the White House and others across the United States."

The program will take place in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House.  During the event, Frank will meet with top White House officials, including White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and Office of Public Engagement Director Jon Carson. 

Before the meeting, Frank wrote a blog post that focused on hydropower's tremendous potential, including its capacity to provide an additional 60,000 MW of electricity to America's power grid and create 1.4 million cumulative jobs in the process.  Much of this potential can be reached by powering some of the approximately 80,000 dams in the United States that are not currently used for renewable energy production. 

In addition, Frank discussed the innovative efforts undertaken by Voith Hydro to further advance environmental sustainability.  Specifically, Voith Hydro boasts technology that will allow for nearly 100% uninjured fish passage through its hydropower turbines, allowing clean, renewable, large scale, and reliable hydropower to work in concert with nature. 

Frank's visit to the White House comes after the National Hydropower Association's annual conference in Washington, DC.  Leaders from the industry were in town to discuss advancements in the industry, the regulatory climate, and legislative efforts to promote hydropower in Congress.  Given the enthusiasm at the conference and the recognition by the White House, it is clear that hydropower will continue to be the nation's leading source of renewable energy.

For more information about the Champions of Change program, please visit www.whitehouse.gov/champions.  To watch the event live starting at 12:30 P.M. EDT, please visit www.whitehouse.gov/live.

The Importance of Hydro Power

Hydro power is the largest, oldest and most reliable form of renewable energy generation. Worldwide, it makes an indispensable contribution to stable power supplies and hence to economic and social development - both in industrial countries and in emerging markets. Hydro power also makes a significant contribution to climate-protecting energy production. Voith has been a leading supplier of this technology from the early beginning and continuously develops it further. 

About Voith Hydro

Voith Hydro is a Group Division of Voith and - with a current workforce of almost 5,300 employees and a sales volume of 1.2 billion Euros in the business year 2010/2011 – belongs to the world-wide leading companies for hydro power equipment. Voith Hydro North America is headquartered in York, PA and employees over 500 people.

Voith sets standards in the markets energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith employs almost 40,000 people, generates euro 5.6 billion in sales, operates in more than 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned companies in Europe.

CONTACT:  Lewis Lowe, Strategies 360
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SOURCE Voith Hydro