Friday, April 2, 2010 11:00 AM
Salary Survey: Nuclear Exec Earns $3 Million
By Amy Harder, NationalJournal.com
The nuclear power industry may be stagnant, but the sector's top trade group is banking on turning that around -- and as one sign, it's giving its top executive a hefty salary.
The Nuclear Energy Institute in 2008 paid its president and CEO, at that time Frank Bowman, more than $3 million in total compensation. Bowman was the seventh-highest-paid executive out of more than 500 organizations in all different policy areas, according to an annual National Journal salary survey. Eight other energy and trade groups, including the American Petroleum Institute, Edison Electric Institute, American Iron and Steel Institute, and American Gas Association, also gave their top executives seven figures in 2008.
At the other end of the spectrum, it apparently doesn't pay to be green. The Union of Concerned Scientists, Greenpeace, the National Wildlife Federation and the American Wind Energy Association were among seven groups paying their chiefs between $400,000 and $100,000. Greenpeace's former executive director, John Passacantando, was the fifth-lowest-paid executive in the survey overall, making a (comparatively) paltry $103,624. The Environmental Defense Fund and World Wildlife Fund paid their executives the most of the green groups, at roughly $496,000 and $486,000, respectively.
The presidents of the Business Roundtable and U.S. Chamber of Commerce received salaries of $5.6 million and $3.8 million, respectively. But these groups lobby on much more than just energy and the environment.
Subscribers to National Journal can see the entire survey here, including nonprofits and trade associations that have an office in D.C. with revenue of $10 million or more.
After the jump, see a list of the top 10 compensation packages that groups in the energy/environment sector paid their chiefs.
| Organization | Top executive salaries in 2008 |
| 1. Nuclear Energy Institute | $3.0 million |
| 2.American Petroleum Institute | $2.7 million |
| 3.Edison Electric Institute | $2.5 million |
| 4.National Rural Electric Cooperative Association | $2.0 million |
| 5.American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity | $1.7 million |
| 6. American Iron and Steel Institute | $1.6 million |
| 7.American Gas Association | $1.4 million |
| 8. American Chemistry Council | $1.3 million |
| 9. Association of American Railroads | $1.1 million |
| 10. American Forest and Paper Association | $896,168 |
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