New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has created a Community Energy Plan Grant program for municipalities to develop a community energy plan to meet the goals of the state’s Energy Master Plan.
Donor Name: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
State: New Jersey
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Type of Entity: Municipalities
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 03/18/2022
Size of the Grant: $25,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
The Community Energy Plan Grant (“CEPG”) Program will help municipalities plan for and invest in energy resilience, renewable energy, and efficiency to work towards a better environment for all residents.
This grant will be available to all municipalities, with additional support and funds provided to municipalities that have been identified as containing overburdened census tracts and distressed municipalities, according to the Environmental Justice Law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157 and the Department of Community Affairs Municipal Revitalization Index (MRI) respectively (“Overburdened Municipalities”).
The purpose of this application is for municipalities to create a Community Energy Plan that aligns local communities with the State’s Energy Master Plan, including any benchmarking and audit services that are needed.
Funding Information
- All municipalities that submit a completed application are eligible for a $10,000 grant award.
- Municipalities identified as an overburdened municipality, as more fully described below, are eligible for a $25,000 grant award.
- Program Year 2
Eligibility Criteria
The CEPG is open to projects that meet the following minimum requirements. The applicant must:
- Be a municipality;
- Review and select the list of high-impact strategies:
- Select each strategy that the municipality is interested in exploring more in-depth
- Space is provided to add specific initiatives that are not already included on the list;
- Provide a preliminary project budget;
- Submit a signed and dated municipal resolution documenting the governing body’s approval of the application and commitment to implement the required community energy plan process with the completed application form.
- Not have been awarded a Community Energy Plan Grant previously.
Overburdened Municipalities have been identified based on the below criteria:
- The municipality has over 50% of its population living in an Overburdened Community (OBC) Census Block as defined by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157; and
- The municipality meets one or both of the following criteria (either A or B):
- Over 35% of the population is living under 200% of the poverty level according to U.S. Census 2019 ACS data; or
- The municipality is categorized as “distressed” according to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (“DCA”) based on their score using the DCA’s Municipal Revitalization Index (MRI) score (a 50 or higher).
For more information, visit Community Energy Plan Grant Program.
