Cuomo appoints president of New York Green Bank

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has appointed Alfred Griffin of Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C)  as president of the New York Green Bank, a $1 billion initiative to leverage private-sector financing for clean-energy projects that are intended to create jobs.

Griffin joins the Green Bank from Citigroup Global Markets Inc., where he specializes in structured finance with roles in corporate and investment banking, capital markets, and risk management, the governor’s office said in a news release.

In his career, Griffin has worked with multiple asset classes and industries, including alternative energy and new product development to finance renewable-energy generation and energy efficiency.

“As president of the Green Bank, Mr. Griffin will bring invaluable experience in the banking and investment industry to help lead the initiative to finance clean energy projects and leverage private investment across the state,” Cuomo said in the news release.

Cuomo in September announced the launch of the Green Bank with a petition the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) filed with the Public Service Commission (PSC) seeking to use about $165 million in uncommitted funds for the Green Bank’s initial capitalization, his office said.

This initial funding will permit the Green Bank to begin its work leveraging private- sector financing for clean-energy projects.

“The establishment of New York’s Green Bank will demonstrate how partnerships between the public and private sectors can leverage private capital to facilitate the transition to a more cost-effective, resilient and clean-energy system,” Griffin said in the news release.

Griffin is the fourth addition to New York’s energy leadership team this year, according to Cuomo’s office.

Previously, Cuomo appointed Richard Kauffman as chairman of energy and finance for New York and chairman of NYSERDA; John Rhodes as president of NYSERDA; and Audrey Zibelman as chair of the PSC.

Working with Gil Quiniones, president and CEO of the New York Power Authority, they’re designing and implementing Cuomo’s statewide plan to “scale up” clean energy, improve New York’s competitiveness for clean-energy businesses, and make the state’s energy systems more “resilient,” Cuomo’s office said.

Described as a “central component” of this plan, the Green Bank will work with private-sector lenders and provide financial products that can address market barriers that limit private-sector capital flows into otherwise “attractive” renewable-energy and energy-efficiency projects, according to the governor.

The Green Bank is expected to offer its initial financial products in early 2014, according to the news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com