NY Green Bank Raises $314M, Completes First Private Capital Funding With BofA

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NY Green Bank, the largest of its kind in the nation, has completed a $314 million private capital transaction with Bank of America (BofA), a first for NY Green Bank and the largest private deal by a green bank in the U.S.

The funding will enable NY Green Bank to accelerate and expand investments in clean energy projects in support of New York’s aggressive energy and emissions goals, including 70% electricity from renewables by 2030 and zero-emissions electricity by 2040, as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

A number of other states have established green banks as well. Green banks drove a total of $1.69 billion investment in clean energy projects in 2020, according to the Coalition for Green Capital’s annual green bank report. 

Established in 2013, NY Green Bank has made a cumulative total of over $1.3 billion investments in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure projects, according to its latest Impact Report, across a wide range of technologies such as energy efficiency, grid-scale energy storage and transportation electrification as illustrated in its investment portfolio.

A division of NYSERDA, NY Green Bank is a New York State-sponsored investment fund focused on accelerating clean energy deployment in New York State. The entity works with private sector participants such as project developers, building owners, property managers, and energy service companies. NYSERDA, a public benefit corporation, has been developing partnerships to advance innovative energy solutions in New York State since 1975.

NY Green Bank’s investment strategy includes the following investment criteria:

• Transactions will have expected financial returns such that revenues of NY Green Bank on a portfolio basis will exceed operating costs and expected portfolio losses – i.e., products are provided at market rates.
• Contribution to financial market transformation (e.g., multiples of capital mobilized to fund total project costs and potential to drive the type of volume, including scalability and replicability, that can materially and sustainably expand markets).
• Transactions will have the potential for energy savings and/or clean energy generation that will contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in support of New York’s clean energy policies.