In his State of the State address, Gov. Cuomo announced the
formation of a green bank in New York. The green bank will be a
$1 billion initiative used to promote financing for clean energy
projects. Promoting clean energy and improving the State’s
energy infrastructure has been a major part of Cuomo’s agenda,
as evidenced by his Energy Highway Blueprint, NY-Sun / Solar
Jobs Initiative, and his Hurricane Sandy Moreland Commission. To
implement New York’s green bank, the governor has appointed
former DOE advisor Richard Kauffman to the newly created
cabinet-level position of Energy Czar. While the State has not
yet formally announced how the green bank will be organized or
how those interested in developing projects can apply for
funding through the green bank, Kauffman stated at the recent
Agrion Energy Summit & Sustainability Meeting in New York City
that green banks should “stimulate the capital markets to lend
to energy projects, [and] direct lending should be done in as
limited a way as possible and only i