New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has appointed Richard L. Kauffman as “energy czar” and said he would chair a newly created cabinet position for the Energy Policy and Finance Subcommittee. In a state of the state address, Cuomo said his “ambitious agenda” includes “investments in energy infrastructure, solar power and an electric vehicle network. Kauffman would be tasked with, among other things, creating the state’s first “green bank” within the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The bank would offer loans and grants to further “clean” energy deployment, coordinate and leverage the state’s energy spending and alleviate financial market barriers “that currently impede the flow of private capital to renewable energy projects.” Kauffman is a senior adviser to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. He serves on the boards of the Brookings Institution and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

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