Independent policy and strategy advisory bridging the public and private sectors — turning regulatory mandates and market goals into outcomes both sides can build on.
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"I see my role as the bridge between the public and private sectors, built so both sides win."
Written poorly, regulation constrains a market. Written well, it fuels one — animating movement toward the policy goal behind the rule. I bring the public-sector experience of writing those rules and the private-sector experience of building within them, to help clients shape the grid, the technology that runs on it, and the companies positioned to compete.
A program on paper and a program that actually gets built are two different things. I work with agencies, coalitions, and legislators to design policy that survives contact with the market — turning statutory goals into rules the energy transition can actually scale within.
Policy that ignores how industry actually operates doesn't get the results it's designed for. As a state leader, I built deep relationships with developers, financiers, and operators — learning their perspective firsthand and using it to shape policy and regulation that works in practice, not just on paper. I see my role as the bridge between the public and private sectors, built so both sides win.
As an executive team member at NYSERDA, steward of a $5B+ public clean energy investment portfolio spanning distributed solar, energy storage, clean transportation, and home electrification — coordinating directly with the Governor's senior energy leadership to design, implement, and deliver on statewide clean energy goals.
Overhauled and relaunched the $1B NY-Sun Initiative, growing statewide solar capacity from 167 MW in 2014 to 8,054 MW while cutting project costs 65%. Program performance earned the confidence of state leadership to repeatedly raise the deployment mandate — from 3 GW to 10,500 MW — with New York now on pace to surpass that target ahead of schedule. In 2026, that capacity shaved 8% off the statewide peak load, generating approximately $200 million in consumer savings.
Designed and scaled New York's community solar program in partnership with the state's utilities. The market is now recognized by Wood Mackenzie as the dominant community solar market in the country, with continued growth projected through 2026.
Conceived the policy framework and led the collaborative development of the Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) tariff, replacing net metering with a first-of-its-kind compensation structure that aligns distributed energy value with grid needs — now studied as a model by other states.
Launched bulk, retail, and residential storage markets toward a 3,000 MW target, and directed the roadmap that led the NY Public Service Commission to adopt a 6 GW storage order — including the nation's first indexed storage credit.
Led Governor Hochul's interagency battery energy storage fire safety working group, resulting in new fire codes adopted by the NY State Code Council — positioning New York at the forefront of BESS fire safety nationally and giving the industry the regulatory certainty to accelerate large-scale storage deployment.
Coordinated a multi-agency effort to replace diesel-idling truck refrigeration at the Bronx's Hunts Point Produce Market with a new intermodal distribution facility incorporating solar, storage, and high-efficiency refrigeration — helping procure $450M in city, state, and federal funding.
Sandbank Energy Strategies is an independent advisory practice built around a simple premise: the clean energy transition moves at the speed of policy, not technology. Getting projects built takes fluency in both.
David Sandbank brings more than 16 years at the intersection of energy markets, public policy, regulation, and private investment. As Senior Vice President at NYSERDA, David served on the executive team as steward of a $5B+ clean energy portfolio, coordinating directly with the Governor's senior energy leadership to design and deliver on statewide clean energy goals — including a 48-fold scale-up of New York's distributed solar market, the nation's first Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) tariff, and a statewide community solar program launched in partnership with New York's utilities that made the state the #1 community solar market in the country.
He also directed the statewide energy storage roadmap that led the New York Public Service Commission to adopt a 6 GW storage order — including the nation's first indexed storage credit, a mechanism now used as a model in other states.
Before entering the public sector, David founded and scaled OnForce Solar, growing the company to 100+ employees and earning recognition as the 3rd fastest-growing company in New York City and an Inc. 500 listee for three consecutive years. That dual vantage point — inside the agencies that write the rules, and inside the companies that have to work within them — is the foundation of every engagement.
Whether you're navigating a proceeding, building a policy case, or planning a go-to-market strategy for a clean energy program — let's talk.
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