Richard Kauffman

Kauffman leads New York State’s "Reforming the Energy Vision" (REV) initiative, which has the stated goal of creating "a cleaner, more affordable, more modern and more efficient energy system in New York, through the increased development of distributed energy resources, like rooftop solar, energy efficiency, and battery storage."[13] REV refers to a diverse set of policy actions taken by New York State to remake its energy system, both by altering state-level energy regulatory structure, and by simultaneously providing evolving support for clean energy research, finance, and deployment.

In April 2014, under the leadership of Kauffman and New York Public Service Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman, the NYPSC began a regulatory reform process for New York's electric utility business.[14] Kauffman, Zibelman, and Department of Public Service (DPS) Staff have articulated a wide variety of policy objectives for the REV Regulatory Proceeding in an attempt to modernize the electrical grid system, including the promotion of more efficient energy use, deeper penetration of renewable energy resources such as wind power and solar power, and wider deployment of Distributed Energy Resources, such as microgrids, on-site power supplies, and energy storage. The reform also seeks to promote greater use of advanced energy management products to enhance demand elasticity and efficiencies, and monetize operational efficiency for the electrical grid. Also stated is a larger goal of transforming electric utilities into Distributed System Providers (DSPs) that can manage and appropriately value a diverse set of Distributed Energy Resources.[15]

Another component of the "Reforming the Energy Vision" initiative is the Clean Energy Fund (CEF) administered by NYSERDA, a $5 billion commitment to support renewable energy and efficiency markets under the new REV Regulatory Proceeding framework. When filing for the funds, NYSERDA requested, "greater levels of flexibility to move funds within each of the CEF portfolios" to respond to evolving energy market realities.[16] The proposal received positive feedback from clean energy advocates including the Sierra Club.[17]

In 2014, Kauffman and NYSERDA established NY Green Bank, a state-funded specialized financial entity designed to increase private investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects which have had difficulty accessing financing. NY Green Bank has the stated goal of facilitating financing of more reliable and efficient energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.[18] It also seeks to address market barriers in clean energy financing markets and increasing overall capital availability through various forms of financial support. These support methods may include credit enhancement, project aggregation, and securitization.[19] The organization has committed to working exclusively in partnership with private sector lenders to leverage its funds with private capital. NY Green Bank is the largest Green Bank in the nation.

Governor Cuomo and Kauffman announced the NY-Sun solar program in April 2014, intended to expand deployment of solar capacity throughout the state.[20] The $1 billion program is intended to provides long-term, stable incentive funding over a 10-year period to support photovoltaic (PV) solar projects throughout New York, with the ultimate goal of transitioning New York's solar industry to a sector that can function without subsidy support.[21]

In February 2015, the Cuomo administration announced NY Prize, a $40 million "Community Microgrid" competition for New York.[22] Microgrids are local energy networks that are able to separate from the larger electric grid during extreme weather events or emergencies, and provide power to the grid when needed. Microgrid technology can combine solar, wind, hydro or combined heat and power systems for local power generation.