Matthew R. Simmons, an energy investment banker who espoused the peak oil concept, grew to become an advocate for alternative energy and served as energy adviser to President George W. Bush, died at his North Haven island home, officials said Monday. He was 67.

The founder of Houston-based Simmons & Co. International authored the 2005 book “Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy,” elevating worries concerning Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves and delivering his concept that the planet was nearing peak oil production.

In 2007, Simmons founded The Ocean Energy Institute, a think tank and venture capital fund in Rockland to promote offshore wind energy research and development. The institute is a part of the consortium led by the University of Maine, which aims to design and test floating deep-water wind turbine platforms.

“Matt Simmons was an innovative thinker who pushed ideas that have the potential to yield a more environmentally and economically sustainable future for Maine and the world,” said Maine Gov. John Baldacci, who attended the opening of the institute’s headquarters last month.

In 1974, Simmons founded Simmons & Co. International, which became one of the largest investment banking providers serving the energy industry. He carried on to function as chairman emeritus until last month, when he launched onto the Ocean Energy Institute.

As an international energy expert, Simmons correctly predicted in 2007 that oil would surpass $100 a barrel. The following year, it peaked at $147 a barrel. Simmons was recently very critical of BP PLC’s handling of the Gulf oil spill and predicted the company would file for bankruptcy. In one interview, he said the cleanup costs could top $1 trillion.