During his three-year term, Esty helped create the state’s first comprehensive energy policy, proposing new mechanisms to finance energy efficiency and renewable power projects, as well as tools to promote clean energy innovation and reduce energy costs.
“Dan Esty led the way in integrating and reinvigorating our approach to environmental regulation and energy policy and building a strong foundation for 21st century action,” Malloy
said in a statement. “During the three years he served as Commissioner, innovative and breakthrough programs were put in place to successfully address long-standing environmental and energy challenges. In addition, steps were taken to lighten the burden of electricity costs, an issue that has created real problems for our families and businesses.
“I thank Commissioner Esty for all he has done in working closely with me to build a stronger future for Connecticut and I wish him all the best upon his return to his duties at Yale.”
At the heart of the state’s energy strategy was the passage of the nation’s first “green bank” — the
Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority — which uses private capital and other funds to provide low-interest loans to projects exploring cleaner and cheaper electricity technologies.
“It’s been a fabulous experience and has given me a chance to test in the real world many of the strategies and policies that I had been thinking and writing about for two decades as a Yale professor,” Esty said of his experience in Hartford.
“But I am excited about getting back into the classroom. It’s always been a particular joy to have Yale students to work with who dig into these complicated topics with great energy and enthusiasm.”
This semester (spring 2014) Esty will teach one course, Climate Change and the Quest for Clean Energy (
F&ES 840b/LAW 21754).