Green Building Startup BlocPower Faces Uncertainty as CEO Quits

BlocPower, a New York-based climate startup once seen as leading the push to retrofit urban buildings for clean energy, is charting a new course this week after its co-founder and chief executive stepped down.

Under the leadership of Donnel Baird, who announced his departure late last week, the electrification company had received backing from the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund and prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Yet it faced ongoing issues with rolling out its electrification and jobs programs in the cities it partnered with.

Baird played an outsized role building BlocPower, a charismatic presence who described the startup’s mission ...