Episode 141: John Lochner, VP of Innovation at NYSERDA

Today's guest is John Lochner, VP of Innovation at NYSERDA.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a government agency focused on climate energy innovation. With a team of around 350 people, it supports clean solutions through catalytic capital and public policies.

Dedicating his career to energy for the last decade, John worked at Credit Suisse in renewable energy, sold a cleantech startup, and spent several years at environmental non-profits. He now serves as the VP of Innovation at NYSERDA. His team focuses on research and development and funds a portfolio of climate startups in New York. They are working with an $800M tenure fund to finance their projects and programs. John oversees this fund and is involved in a handful of accelerators in the greater New York community. NYSERDA provides John the opportunity to match his private-sector knowledge with government support to enable a clean and just energy transformation.

In this episode, John and I explore what led him to focus on energy, his role on the innovation team, and NYSERDA's charter. He also explains where he sees the biggest levers for change, what role the government should play in the energy transition, and why New York state is a pioneer in this space. John is a great guest who sits at the forefront of the green revolution!

Enjoy the show!

You can find me on Twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded December 14th, 2020.


In Today's episode we cover:

  • How and why John became concerned with climate change

  • NYSERDA's mission and history

  • Initiatives and services that NYSERDA provides

  • The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and how it has affected NYSERDA's charter

  • The innovation group's purpose and John's role on the team

  • KPIs NYSERDA uses to assess its progress and milestones the group is striving to hit

  • Problems and projects NYSERDA will tackle that the public sector avoids

  • NYSERDA's evaluation process when taking on new projects and investments

  • How NYSERDA's fund is structured and the key differences between a private equity fund and a government fund

  • Why New York State is a pioneer in this space and how it compares to other states with similar organizations

  • The role individual states play in the clean transitions versus that of the federal government

  • What John thinks President Biden should prioritize in his first 100 days

  • What sectors have the most impact on the clean transition


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