The state has a new state energy administrator — Theodore Peck — whose selection was quietly announced yesterday by Ted Liu, state director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Peck has been with the state's energy office for the past year before taking on the $115,000-a-year job, supervising a staff of more than 25.

Previously, he was a principal with management consultant Booz Allen Hamilton and led the Honolulu office for its first five years.

Peck's resume lists his first job in Hawai'i in 1988 as a Navy nuclear engineer and attack submarine officer.

In 2004, he was selected as one of Pacific Business News' "40 under Forty" and in 2006 was a Pacific Century Fellow. His resume indicates he is currently pursuing a Masters of Arts in Organizational Change from Hawai'i Pacific University.

He has been working on initiatives that include: energy planning, the shaping of the state's approach to renewable energy permitting and facilitation, the state hydrogen program, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, and the greenhouse gas emission reduction task force.

Peck could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Liu sent out an e-mail to employees within the department saying that Peck was chosen administrator of the Strategic Industries division.

That top energy job had been vacant since longtime energy manager Maurice Kaya retired in April 2007.

Kaya was credited with leading efforts to diversify the statewide economy, developing programs to increase investment in strategic technologies, and running energy programs for the state. Kaya brought national recognition to Hawai'i for his work on renewable energy and energy-efficient programs.