Former Iowa governor forms energy consulting company

Former Iowa governor Chet Culver has recently announced that he is opening a consulting company focused on helping small businesses find affordable ways to generate renewable energy.

Culver lost the November election, but during his time in office he said he made Iowa's renewable energy industry a priority, The Associated Press reports. He is also a former chairman of the Governor's Wind Energy Coalition and Governors Biofuels Coalition.

Culver says that he saw the formation of the consulting company, named the Chet Culver Group, as the wisest choice following his November defeat, as it will give him the flexibility to do a number of things, including advocacy, marketing and business development in addition to creating jobs in the state. According to the Des Moines Register, he says he has no plans to become a registered lobbyist, and is prevented from doing so for two years by state law.

Though Culver is the only member of the group for now, Brad Anderson of LinkStrategies, a Des Moines public relations firm, says he expects to see other partners join the company later. The firm has already secured its first client - Viryd Technologies, an Austin, Texas-based small wind turbines manufacturer.