Quick Links
The Lunch & Learn program takes place on the second Tuesday of each month, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm EST.
If you are interested in presenting a topic, please contact us at nygeoinfo@ny-geo.org
August 11
AI Readiness: Where Does Your Business Actually Stand?
A practical assessment framework for mid-market companies.
In today's session, NY-GEO member Concurrent AI will demonstrate how leveraging Agentic AI can drive growth and support the advancement of geothermal projects.
Every board, peer group, and vendor is telling small & mid-market leaders to “do AI.” Very few can say where to start, and the results show it: pilots that impress nobody and quietly die. The problem is rarely the tool. It is readiness. AI amplifies whatever operation it lands in, so clean data, documented processes, and an aligned team get amplified, and silos, tribal knowledge, and manual re-entry get amplified too.
This session walks through an AI Readiness Assessment built for small to mid-market businesses: a 48-dimension, evidence-based scorecard across six pillars covering strategy, data, technology, talent, process, and risk. We look at how the scoring works, what a real scorecard looks like, and how a readiness tier translates into a concrete 240-day path from score to working AI.
Topics Covered:
- Why most mid-market AI pilots quietly die, and what “readiness” actually means
- The six pillars: Strategy & Leadership, Data Readiness, Technology & Infrastructure, Talent & Culture, Process Maturity, and Risk & Ethical AI
- How evidence-based scoring works: 48 dimensions, a 1–4 scale, and five readiness tiers
- A sample scorecard walk-through: reading your own results
- From score to working AI: the Foundation, Pilot, and Expand phases
- What the assessment provides and how to take the next step
- Q&A
Presenter:
David Day
David Day has spent the past decade helping mid-market manufacturers, distributors, and service businesses make sharper technology decisions — fractional CIO leadership, technology assessments, and AI readiness. His work centers on a simple conviction: technology decisions are business decisions, and small & mid-market companies deserve the same decision-grade rigor the large firms sell, without the overhead.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information
about joining the meeting.
September 15
Transferable Geothermal Tax Credits
What Buyers Expect Before they Write the Check
NY-GEO Members Walker Blue have put together an exceptional panel for our September Program. REGISTER HERE
Since Section 6418 opened the door to credit transfers, geothermal project owners have been able to sell their Investment Tax Credits to third-party buyers rather than absorb them over years of tax liability. A market has formed around those transactions, and it has matured fast. Buyers and their advisors now run diligence that looks less like a tax review and more like an underwriting file: engineering substantiation, prevailing wage and apprenticeship records, domestic content documentation, tax opinions, and insurance all get examined before anyone commits capital.
This panel walks through a credit transfer from the perspectives of the three disciplines that sit at the center of it.
- Walker Blue covers the engineering substantiation and compliance documentation that supports credit value.
- Mickelson & Company brings the buyer and transaction view: what purchasers and their counsel need to see before they write the check.
- Brown & Brown explains how tax credit insurance fits into the transaction and the broader risk management picture.
The goal is practical: help project owners understand what a prepared seller looks like, so their transaction closes faster and at better pricing.
Topics the panel will cover:
- How the transferable tax credit market has evolved and where geothermal fits today
- What buyers look for during due diligence, and the gaps that stall deals
- Why engineering substantiation carries more weight with buyers than it used to
- The role of more-likely-than-not tax opinions in a transfer
- Prevailing wage and apprenticeship documentation buyers expect to see
- Domestic content documentation and how it affects credit value
- Where tax credit insurance fits in the transaction and in overall risk management
Panelists:
David Diaz | Chief Strategy Officer, Walker Blue - Moderator
David Diaz is Chief Strategy Officer of Walker Blue, a national energy engineering and tax incentive firm formed in 2025 through the merger of Walker Reid Strategies and Blue Energy Group. He was previously Managing Partner of Walker Reid Strategies, the firm he led for more than a decade as it grew into a national Section 179D and energy tax certification practice. At Walker Blue, he oversees strategy across the firm’s Investment Tax Credit, prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance, domestic content certification, and Section 179D services. He is a frequent speaker on energy tax incentives, including at AICPA conferences. On this panel, David covers the engineering substantiation and compliance documentation that buyers scrutinize in geothermal credit transfers.
John Kapral |Senior Director, Renewable Energy Tax Incentives & Credits, Walker Blue LLC - Speaker
John Kapral supports clients navigating federal clean energy incentives, including Investment Tax Credits, compliance requirements, documentation, and credit monetization strategies. He brings more than 20 years of experience in specialty tax credits and incentives, with deep expertise in renewable energy tax credit advisory.
Faith Larson | Vice President of Renewables and Legal Counsel, Mickelson & Company - Speaker
Faith Larson leads the renewable energy tax credit program at Mickelson & Company, a tax-motivated capital advisory firm headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota that advises on tax credit transactions across the renewable energy, rural development, and railroad sectors. An attorney licensed in South Dakota, she joined the firm in 2023 after executive roles as Vice President of Corporate Development, Real Estate, and Procurement at C.H. Robinson and as CFO of GrainBridge. She holds a finance degree and an MBA from the University of Nebraska and a JD from Thomas Jefferson School of Law. On this panel, Faith brings the buyer and transaction perspective: what credit purchasers and their counsel need to see before committing capital.
Corey Lewis | Global Head of Tax Insurance, Brown & Brown - Speaker
Corey Lewis is the Global Head of Tax Insurance at Brown & Brown based out of New York, NY. He was previously a member of the North America Transaction Solutions Operating Committee, Co-Leader of the North American Tax Insurance Practice and Tax Credit Insurance Practice Leader at a large, global insurance broker. Corey began his career as an associate in the International Tax Services: Financial Services / Real Estate division in the New York office of PwC. Corey was recognized as a Power Broker and Rising Star in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025, and 2026 and as a Power Broker Finalist and Rising Star in 2023 by RISK & INSURANCE Magazine. Corey graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. and The University of Texas School of Law with a J.D.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information
about joining the meeting.
June 9
GREC's
Geothermal Renewable Energy Credits
Renewable Energy Created by Geothermal Installations.
- What are GRECs
- Who do GRECs benefit
- Why are GRECs Important
- GREC Status in Other States
- NYS - Where we are with our GREC legislation
- What are the next steps at the federal and state level?
- How can our members support the initiative?
May 12
GEODesignPRO
A hydraulic modelling tool optimized for fast and accurate calculations vital to successful geothermal system design
Presented by: John Manning
Presentation Deck GeoDesignPro Overview
Session Recording HERE
April 21
NY Greenbank
Unlocking Residential Geothermal Through ITC Transferability Bridge Lending
Presented by: Andrea Lee and Sam Bither
NY Green Bank is a division of NYSERDA dedicated to bridging financing gaps and mobilizing capital towards NYS clean energy projects primarily through project finance-style debt. NY Green Bank recently closed its first geothermal transaction, an investment tax credit transferability bridge loan, and are interested in finding additional ways to help fill financing gaps for NYS geothermal deployment. This Lunch n Learn will cover:
- An introduction to NY Green Bank and its investment approach
- Different types of financing available for geothermal
- Background on our recent ITC bridge loan for geothermal heat pumps
- How NY-GEO members should think about assembling a financing proposal
- Q&A
Learn More and Register HERE
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.