Business View Magazine | June 2019

281 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JUNE 2019 oil crises. Both the New York and national economies were quite heavily dependent on petroleum for a number of activities, including electric power generation. Oil was the primary source for heating fuel in New York State, as well as, obviously, for transportation. As a result of those oil crises, the state decided we needed to take better account of what alternatives might be available from a technology perspective, but also how to think about introducing those technologies into the economy. That’s when the Atomic and Space authority was repurposed and NYSERDA was created.” The agency, at the time, was very much focused on a research and development mission, taking account of the technology alternatives, still in rather nascent stages that would benefit from some focus. New York does not have an abundance of indigenous resources; its energy fuels have been imported over the vast majority of time: oil; coal (a larger fuel source earlier, especially in electrical production); and natural gas (a lesser fuel back in the 1970s), of which New York produced a very minute amount. Williams notes, “At that time, there was a focus on energy efficiency technologies. How could we find ways to make the equipment we depended on perform better and provide higher levels of work output per energy input required? But what might be some alternate resources from nascent energy supply technologies? That was the birth of looking at wind and solar technologies and bringing that into the New York State system.” Taking into account that New York’s economy was heavily dependent on importing energy resources, the authority’s life, from the beginning, focused on looking for alternatives that would benefit the New York State energy equation but would also be a catalyst for the markets that could be built in the state, so that in-state industries and in-state consumers would find an economic opportunity as well as positive environmental outcomes. Currently, there are about 330-350 employees at NYSERDA, with headquarters in Albany, and a presence in New York City, as well as Buffalo. The staff is made up of professionals: engineers, scientists, lawyers, MBAs, accountants - all contributing to the ways the programs are either designed or implemented and ensuring that they are performing the way they need to be. NEW YORK STATE ENERGY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT AUTHOR I TY