Michael Shimazu
Project Manager, Innovation and Business Development
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)

Michael Shimazu manages several programs in the Innovation and Business Development group at NYSERDA to increase the opportunities for clean technology companies to commercialize new products and grow their business. These include six clean energy business incubators, an Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, and direct funding to innovative companies with promising plans for growth and manufacturing in New York. He has more than 20 years experience in technology commercialization in startup companies, universities and government. He was a co-founder of MOEC, an optical components company, where he raised more than $27 million in venture capital and launched several profitable new products. He has also advised several technology startups as a consultant and Business Development Director at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He holds the S.B. from MIT and M.S. from Rensselaer.

About The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a public benefit corporation created in 1975. NYSERDA's earliest efforts focused solely on research and development with the goal of reducing the State's petroleum consumption. Today, NYSERDA's aim is to help New York meet its energy goals: reducing energy consumption, promoting the use of renewable energy sources, and protecting the environment.

Currently, NYSERDA is primarily funded by state rate payers through the System Benefits Charge (SBC), which was established on May 20, 1996, and was specified funding from July 1, 1998 to June 30, 2001. These SBC funds were allocated towards energy-efficiency programs, research and development initiatives, low-income energy programs, and environmental disclosure activities. Part of this funding went into the creation of New York Energy SmartSM which helps to maintain momentum for the State's efforts to develop competitive markets for energy efficiency; demand management; outreach and education services; research, development, and demonstration; low-income services; and to provide direct economic and environmental benefits to New Yorkers. The SBC was extended through June 30, 2006, and most recently until June 30, 2011.

NYSERDA strives to facilitate change through the widespread development and use of innovative technologies to improve the State's energy, economic, and environmental wellbeing. In fulfilling its mission, NYSERDA's workforce reflects its public service orientation, placing a premium on objective analysis and collaboration, as well as reaching out to solicit multiple perspectives and share information. NYSERDA is committed to public service, striving to be a model of efficiency and effectiveness, while remaining flexible and responsive to its customers' needs. NYSERDA's programs and services provide a vehicle for the State to work collaboratively with businesses, academia, industry, the federal government, environmental community, public interest groups, and energy market participants. Through these collaborations, NYSERDA seeks to develop a diversified energy supply portfolio, improve market mechanisms, and facilitate the introduction and adoption of advanced technologies that will help New Yorkers plan for and respond to uncertainties in the energy markets.

NYSERDA is governed by a board consisting of 13 members, including the Commissioner of the Department of Transportation, the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Chair of the Public Service Commission, and the Chair of the Power Authority of the State of New York, who serve ex officio. The remaining nine members are appointed by the Governor of the State of New York with the advice and consent of the Senate and include, as required by statute, an engineer or research scientist, an economist, an environmentalist, a consumer advocate, an officer of a gas utility, an officer of an electric utility, and three at-large members.