NY Green Bank Announces Andrew Kessler as President

Managing Director Also Added to Lead Disadvantaged Communities-Focused Lending

August 12, 2021

NY Green Bank, a division of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), today announced Andrew Kessler as President. Mr. Kessler has been serving as Acting President since February 2021. NY Green Bank also announced the addition of David Davenport as Managing Director on the Investment and Portfolio Management team to lead NY Green Bank’s investment activity in disadvantaged communities. Today’s announcement supports the State’s nation-leading goals, including delivering at least 35 percent with a goal of 40 percent of the benefits of the clean energy transition to disadvantaged communities as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act).

Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA said, “Andrew stepped seamlessly into the leadership role at NY Green Bank and has done an exemplary job of keeping the momentum going and driving clean energy investments across the state. With the addition of David to the NY Green Bank team, it further positions NY Green Bank to scale up its delivery of the benefits of the clean energy economy to all New Yorkers with a dedicated focus on underserved communities.”

Mr. Kessler joined NY Green Bank in 2018 as Managing Director and Co-Head of Investment and Portfolio Management. He has developed extensive experience in corporate and project finance and advisory as well as operational management, corporate development, and project development over his 25-year career. Prior to joining NY Green Bank, he founded and led the Biogas, Waste & Recycling Advisory group at the Danish Trade Council based in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kessler also served as Co-Head of the Danish Trade Council’s North America Energy and Environment Group and founded Turning Earth, an integrated organics recycling company focused on converting organic waste streams into biogas and other beneficial resources. Prior to launching Turning Earth, Mr. Kessler spent 15 years as an investment banker holding senior positions as a corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions professional at various firms including HSBC, Waller Capital, Morgan Stanley, and Duff & Phelps.

Andrew Kessler, President, NY Green Bank, said, “I look forward to continuing to lead NY Green Bank as we identify new markets and provide critical financing for clean energy infrastructure. I am proud to oversee the advancement of our disadvantaged communities strategy, including a new affordable housing financing pathway and will ensure we bring the benefits of clean energy to disadvantaged communities across the state.”

Mr. Davenport will be responsible for leading NY Green Bank’s disadvantaged community lending activities, including financing high-performance affordable housing and beneficial building electrification projects that serve historically marginalized New Yorkers. Mr. Davenport has over 30 years’ experience in real estate, finance, and government. Prior to joining NY Green Bank, Mr. Davenport served as Senior Vice President at Urban American Management and Managing Principal of its Urban Greenfit subsidiary, where he successfully led financing and development of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in over 6,000 units of multifamily affordable housing that have been recognized as best-in-class in performance and financial innovation.

Mr. Davenport previously served as a Vice President and Investment Officer at Citi Community Capital where he led nationwide programs investing in mixed-use real estate and affordable housing with debt and equity instruments utilizing new markets tax credits, low-income housing tax credits, historic tax credits, and other leveraged financing structures.

David Davenport, Managing Director, NY Green Bank said, “There is tremendous opportunity for buildings to contribute to the aggressive emission reduction and equity goals outlined in the Climate Act. I am very excited to bring my experience in community development and my track record financing and developing deep energy retrofits of mixed-use properties and affordable housing to NY Green Bank and to work with the team to further advance progress in this important work.”

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 more than 300,000 cars from the road over the next 24 years. 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 [PDF]. This portfolio of investments spans various sectors, including solar, energy efficiency, wind, storage, sustainable transportation, and across every region of New York State, with this variety expected to increase with the recent announcement of NY Green Bank’s first private capital raise.

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.

For more information about Mr. Kessler, Mr. Davenport, and the NY Green Bank team, please visit the website.

New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan

New York State’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. With the Climate Act as its guide, 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 New York State’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.

About 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.