NY Green Bank

Andrew Kessler serves as president and oversees the institution's investment strategy, credit decisions, and origination activity. The bank operates with a dedicated investment team and a board that reviews major transactions. Day-to-day structuring and underwriting decisions rest with Kessler and the senior investment staff.

NY Green Bank originates transactions through developer relationships, commercial bank partnerships, and direct inbound inquiries. It does not accept deposits or lend to retail borrowers. The bank works with developers of community solar, energy storage, building efficiency, and clean transportation projects, often stepping into transactions that private lenders decline on structure or term.

NY Green Bank is a division of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) but operates with a separate investment mandate and a dedicated balance sheet. Its capital is derived from ratepayer funds and federal allocations, not annual state appropriations, which gives it operational independence from the state budgeting cycle.

NY Green Bank engages exclusively in direct lending, credit enhancements, and warehouse facilities. It does not commit capital to third-party funds. Its transactions are structured as bilateral or syndicated debt arrangements with project sponsors and co-lenders.

The bank does not finance fossil-fuel generation, nuclear energy, or any project inconsistent with New York State's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act targets. It also stays away from consumer lending, residential direct-to-homeowner products, and early-stage technology grants.

NY Green Bank serves as a technical blueprint for green banks funded through the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Its decade of operating data — including default rates, mobilisation ratios, and programme design — was cited extensively in the design of the federal programme, and its leadership has advised other emerging state green banks.

The bank does not co-invest alongside general partners in equity structures. It participates as a senior or mezzanine lender and frequently syndicates or co-lends with commercial banks and other institutional debt providers on individual project financings.