Barton named NYSERDA’s new leader

ALBANY, N.Y. — A woman who once served as CEO of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) is the new president and CEO of NYSERDA.

NYSERDA is short for New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Its board of directors of has appointed Alicia Barton to the authority’s top job.

Barton succeeds John Rhodes, who served as president and CEO since 2013, and is now chair of the New York State Public Service Commission, NYSERDA said in a news release issued last week.

Barton once held the top job at MassCEC, a quasi-public agency that helped to make the state a “national leader” in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and deployment of clean technologies, according to NYSERDA.

Barton has “extensive expertise” in the energy sector with regulatory and policy issues, project development, environmental compliance, and establishing new markets for clean-energy technologies.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Alicia’s caliber and experience join the state’s energy-leadership team,” Richard Kauffman, chairman of energy and finance for New York, said in the NYSERDA release. “Alicia will play a pivotal role in providing continuity to the momentum that has been created at NYSERDA. Her dedication and commitment to driving clean-energy resources and technologies will help us advance Gov. Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision and benefit all New Yorkers.”

More about Barton

Barton has spent more than a decade in both the public and private sectors leading “successful” clean-energy projects and companies, NYSERDA said.

Besides her work with MassCEC, Barton most recently worked at Foley Hoag LLP, a Boston, Massachusetts–based law firm, serving as the co-chair of its energy & cleantech practice.

Prior to joining Foley Hoag, Barton served as chief of operations for the global utility group at Maryland Heights, Missouri–based SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE), overseeing teams focused on the global development of utility-scale wind and solar projects.

In addition, Barton directed the Massachusetts Environmental Policy (MEPA) office, including its “first-in-the-nation,” environmental-impact review of greenhouse-gas emissions.

Following her time at MEPA, Barton served as the deputy commissioner for policy and planning for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (Mass DEP).

Barton began her career in legal roles in the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and at Foley Hoag, NYSERDA said.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in natural resources from Ohio State University and a juris doctor degree from Boston College Law School, according to the news release.

 

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com