In fact many are concerned about his departure, worrying that no successor will have the breadth of expertise Esty had across energy and environmental subjects, and some fear a backsliding, especially in regional energy initiatives.
CEFIA
All’s well that ends well in energy — maybe
The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority — the state’s first-in-the-nation green bank –- could wind up getting back all of the $30.4 million commandeered for general revenue. And all $5 million from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that was to be diverted to general revenue from energy efficiency programs is once again destined for energy efficiency.
Budget cuts to green bank irk enviros and concern solar industry
It took a day or so for the smoke to clear on the House version of the budget -– and once it did, the energy and environment community was aghast. Funding for the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority –- the state’s first-in-the-nation green bank — had been commandeered for general revenue. More than 20 percent was redirected in fiscal year 2014, and nearly all of it the following year.
A national nod for CEFIA
Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority — the first state green bank anywhere — got a major shout-out from the Brookings Institution, the nearly 100-year-old left-leaning Washington-based think tank.
State green bank chief: entrepreneurial spirit in a government suit
Bryan T. Garcia, the president of the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority, calls himself a believer in the philosophy of hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take,” Garcia quotes Gretzky as famously saying — and quotes him often.