NY Green Bank is a New York State-sponsored investment fund dedicated to filling financing gaps in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure markets. Their investments contribute to greenhouse gas emissions reductions, energy efficiency, clean energy generation, and the mobilization of private capital in key market sectors. 

NY Green Bank uses public capital to mobilize private investment into underserved green sectors, filling market gaps and advancing public climate targets, with the goal of enabling private investors to expand their sustainable infrastructure portfolios in a meaningful way. The green bank model has been active and growing for over a dozen years, with green banking institutions operating at the local, state, regional, and national levels, both as government-affiliated agencies and as independent non-profits.

Kaitlin Butler is a Vice President on NY Green Bank’s Investment and Portfolio Management team where she supports the origination, evaluation, and execution of scalable clean energy and efficiency project investments across New York State. Prior to joining NY Green Bank, Ms. Butler was on the investment team at Mobility Capital, supporting deal sourcing and execution, fundraising, and impact measurement for next-generation transportation solutions. She is also a 2021 Clean Energy Leadership Institute Fellow in the inaugural New York CELI cohort, aiming to advance the just energy transition in New York and beyond.

Show Notes:

[2:45] - Kaitlin describes what NY Green Bank is and what they are focused on.
[3:45] - Before her work at NY Green Bank, Kaitlin found herself working in investment banking.
[5:05] - One key objective of NY Green Bank from the start has been to close financing gaps.
[7:41] - Kaitlin walks us through the process of lending and financing projects and shares how they are working to close financing gaps.
[10:17] - Kaitlin shares that they are very excited about the Storage Roadmap and incentives by NYSERDA.
[12:34] - One of the ways to get started with NY Green Bank is by speaking with Kaitlin and through a portal on their website.
[14:33] - There are some exciting changes in IRA legislation that impact tax equity.
[16:50] - A great idea can come from any developer. NY Green Bank reviews all applications.
[18:32] - Every time a transaction is closed, it is published on the NY Green Bank website. Kaitlin shares what other metrics are available to view.
[20:58] - NY Green Bank is not here to compete with private capital.
[22:34] - In the climate space, Kaitlin is most excited about recent federal fund mobilization.
[24:17] - Don’t start with skills, start with values.
[25:36] - There are tons of resources and organizations to help learn climate finance and a lot of opportunities since there is so much work to do.

Links and Resources:

• NY Green Bank Website