NY Green Bank Announces Completion Of First Private Capital Raise And Largest By A Green Bank In The U.S.

$314 Million Transaction with Bank of America Enables NY Green Bank to Meet Record Demand for Financing Without Requiring Additional Public Funds

August 2, 2021

NY Green Bank, a division of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), today announced the closing of its first private capital raise, the largest ever conducted by a green bank in the United States. The $314 million transaction was completed with Bank of America and ensures NY Green Bank can continue meeting unprecedented demand for its capital without requiring further public funds. With this additional liquidity, NY Green Bank will be able to invest in more clean energy and sustainable infrastructure projects statewide, in support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s goal to reduce emissions 40 percent by 2030 as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act). 

Andrew Kessler, Acting President, NY Green Bank, said, “NY Green Bank is proud to have built a portfolio that is attractive to private sector capital providers. This transaction demonstrates that we have achieved our goal of increasing private sector activity in clean energy markets and leverages that progress to fuel our focus on new areas where market transformation is still needed. This is a natural step in NY Green Bank’s continued evolution and will allow us to advance our goal to put as much capital as possible to work in disadvantaged communities and other priority areas in the coming years.”

This capital raise will allow NY Green Bank to reinvest capital into new projects at a faster rate by making this additional financing available to more projects. Additionally, NY Green Bank’s ability to raise such a significant amount of private capital provides third party validation of the quality of its transaction portfolio and demonstrates the strong and growing appetite among private sector investors to gain more exposure to the types of investment opportunities NY Green Bank has originated.

Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA said, “This is a significant milestone that demonstrates NY Green Bank’s success in forging a new path to expanding its investments that benefit all New Yorkers without the need for additional public funds. NY Green Bank’s continued leadership in mobilizing private sector capital into clean energy markets highlights its essential role in advancing the State’s ambitious climate agenda as we transition to a renewable energy future.”

The transaction with Bank of America also demonstrates lender confidence in the ability of sustainable infrastructure assets to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns. As a new means by which NY Green Bank can mobilize private capital, this transaction creates precedent for more financial institutions to support clean energy projects.

Today’s announcement expands upon NY Green Bank’s mission to work in collaboration with the private sector to increase investments into New York’s clean energy markets in support of the climate and equity goals contained in the state’s Climate Act. NY Green Bank has made cumulative overall investments of $1.6 billion as of June 2021, which are expected to result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing approximately 300,000 cars from the road for a period of 24 years. NY Green Bank has consistently generated positive net income since 2017.

Currently, NY Green Bank’s ever-growing, diverse pipeline totals $790 million in clean energy investment opportunities, as presented in its inaugural annual Impact Report. This portfolio of investments spans various sectors such as residential, agricultural, and commercial industrial, technology classes including solar, energy efficiency, wind and sustainable transport, and every region of New York State, with this variety expected to increase.

In addition to the investment from Bank of America, global investment bank Moelis & Company acted as placement agent in connection with the transaction.

NY Green Bank is a New York State-sponsored investment fund that provides capital to project developers, building owners, property managers, energy service companies, and other sustainable infrastructure market participants for economically and technically viable projects, especially where funding from traditional financers may not be available. It is the largest green bank in the nation. For more information on the NY Green Bank, please visit greenbankny.ny.gov.

New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan

Governor Cuomo's nation-leading climate agenda is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy as New York State recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Enshrined into law through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York is on a path to achieve its mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and to reach economy wide carbon neutrality. It builds on New York's unprecedented investments to ramp-up clean energy including over $21 billion in 91 large-scale renewable projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce buildings emissions, $1.8 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $1.2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. Combined, these investments are supporting more than 150,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector in 2019, a 2,100 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011 and a commitment to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. Under Governor Cuomo's leadership, New York will build on this progress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, while ensuring that at least 35 percent with a goal of 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities, and advance progress towards the state's 2025 energy efficiency target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs of end-use energy savings.

NY Green Bank

NY Green Bank is a division of NYSERDA. NY Green Bank is a state-sponsored, specialized financial entity working with the private sector to increase investments into New York’s clean energy markets, creating a more efficient, reliable and sustainable energy system. NY Green Bank’s investments and activities support Governor Cuomo’s nation-leading goals to combat climate change, as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which requires that 70 percent of the State’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2030 and calls for 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035, 6 gigawatts of distributed solar by 2025, and 3 gigawatts of energy storage by 2030. To learn more about NY Green Bank, visit greenbank.ny.gov or follow us on LinkedIn.

NYSERDA

NYSERDA, a public benefit corporation, offers objective information and analysis, innovative programs, technical expertise, and funding to help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, save money, use renewable energy, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. NYSERDA professionals work to protect the environment and create clean-energy jobs. NYSERDA has been developing partnerships to advance innovative energy solutions in New York State since 1975. To learn more about NYSERDA’s programs and funding opportunities, visit nyserda.ny.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.