When it comes to green energy, SUNY and New York State are already rich in talent and resources. We have an incomparable base of experts in both academia and industry who are researching, analyzing, developing, and commercializing cutting-edge energy initiatives, and we are one of only ten states with a major Department of Energy laboratory—Brookhaven National Laboratory. But our resources are geographically dispersed, and our projects sometimes fall short of their potential because of a lack of coordination. SUNY’s Green Incubator will develop an integrated network of energy specialists from academia, industry, government, and the public policy arena who will fast-track our strategies, putting us on the leading edge of opportunities. And we will tap into more and different kinds of financing— including venture capital and angel investment funding—to place New York at the forefront of the clean energy economy.
With an annual energy bill of about $280 million, SUNY is among the state’s largest energy consumers—now, we need to be its smartest. While each of our campuses has a sustainability coordinator and committee, and while we’ve established stringent energy standards for new buildings and renovations, we can and must do much more to shrink our carbon footprint. We will reduce SUNY’s system-wide energy consumption by at least 30 percent over the next decade by becoming the nation’s first system of “energy smart” campuses. Our 465,000 students, meanwhile, represent a potential critical mass of green thinkers and doers, especially if we offer courses and degree programs that equip them with the best thinking and practices. And if our campuses get it right, our communities will too.