New York State’s green bank generated profits of $2.7 million (£2.1m) in the last financial year.

This was achieved through investing a total of $291.6 million (£228.8m) in clean energy over the period, which has reduced emissions by up to 6.4 million tonnes, equivalent to removing 70,000 cars from the road for 20 years.

New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo says the money generated as a result of revenue exceeding expenditure will be re-invested into future renewable power transactions.

In addition to achieving positive net income and driving decarbonisation, the organisation’s investment portfolio was worth $346.1 million (£271.5m) by the end of March and is expected to leverage investments potentially totalling $1.4 billion (£1.1bn) over the lifetime of the projects.

Governor Cuomo said: “New York is taking aggressive action to reduce our carbon footprint and through the nation’s largest green bank, we continue to invest in smart growth strategies that will help make our communities cleaner, greener and stronger than ever before.

“As the federal government continues to sidestep funding and support of critical clean energy programs, New York will continue to lead the fight against climate change, while working with communities across the state to ensure sustainable initiatives and support future generations of New Yorkers.”

The State Of New York is starting a new initiative to help create 40,000 clean energy jobs by 2020.

The £2.3 billion sale of the UK’s Green Investment Bank (GIB) to the Macquarie Group was confirmed earlier this year.