a brief guide to the state energy program and other funding proposed under the american recovery...

A Brief Guide to the State Energy Program and Other Funding

Proposed Under the American Recovery Reinvestment Plan (ARRA)

•New Jersey is home to the Energy Department’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, located at Princeton University, which plays a leading international role in developing the innovations needed to make fusion energy practical and affordable. 

•New Jersey heavily relies on nuclear power as over half of its electricity needs are met by its three power plants

Weatherization • $118,821,296

State Energy Program • $73,643,000

Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant Program • $75,468,200

Total • $267,932,496

The Actual Award/State Funding Estimate

$118,821,296

Funds come to the state to redistribute to local programs and for training.

Funds can be used to weatherize and seal homes; upgrade to make more energy efficient etc.

State passes through the funds to

local Community Action Programs (CAPS).

Funding award was announced by the US Dept of Energy; funds not yet received.

State has applied for first 10% of funds.

(Application was due on 3/23/09.)

Follow-up state plan due on 5/12/09. Upon acceptance of Application, State shall receive the next 40% of allocation.

The Actual Award/State Funding Estimate• $73,643,000

Formula -funds come to the state to redistribute

Funds intended to promote energy conservation, reduce the rate of growth for energy demand, reduce dependence on imported oil etc.

Funding award announced by US Dept of Energy; funds not yet received.

State has applied for first 10% of the

funds per US Dept of Energy guidance.

Follow-up state plan was sent in on 5/12/09.

The Actual Award/State Funding Estimate

$75,468,200

Funds will come directly to the state and local governments.

$14.4 million of the $75.4 is for the state to distribute and the rest is distributed directly by the US Dept of Energy to 70 local municipalities and counties in NJ.

Funds intended to assist states and certain local governments in implementing strategies to reduce their total energy use.

Over $2.7 billion in formula grants are now available to U.S. states, territories, local governments, and Indian tribes under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, funded for the first time under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The program provides funds to units of local and state government, Indian tribes, and territories to develop and implement projects to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions in their communities.

As of May 11, 2009, the program application deadline for ALL applicants, including local, tribal, and state governments, is June 25, 2009, 8:00:00 PM, Eastern Time.

Funding awards announced for the state and NJ municipalities and counties on March 26, 2009.

The state is in the process of assembling an application for these funds.

The Actual Award/State Funding Estimate

$160,146,900

Funds come to the state to redistribute

Funds for grants and loans to help communities upgrade wastewater treatment systems.

Funding award announced by EPA; funds not yet received.

State has not yet applied for the funds; in process of reviewing applications for funding.

The Actual Award/State Funding Estimate

$43,154,000

Funds come to the state to redistribute

Funds for grants and loans for drinking water infrastructure.

Funding award announced by EPA; funds not yet received.

State has not yet applied for the funds; in process of reviewing applications for funding.

Weatherization • $118,821,296

State Energy Program • $73,643,000

Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant Program • $75,468,200

Total • $267,932,496

The State Energy Plan (SEP) was submitted on May 13th to the US Department of Energy and is being reviewed. 

New Jersey anticipate receiving a final

decision on the SEP from DOE in mid-July. 

An actual copy of the application to DOE was suppose to be posted on the recovery site and our BPU website but there has been some delay.

New Jersey’s State Energy Program (SEP) will receive $73,643,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support clean energy efforts in the State. 

The SEP, which is administered by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, is funded by grants received from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 

The grants are used by states to advance their clean energy goals including renewable energy and energy efficiency programs. 

State Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency - $20,643,000

Clean Energy Program - $17 million

Innovative Energy Projects for New Jersey Businesses - $15,000,000

HMFA Residential Energy Efficiency - $8 million

HMFA Solar Fund Program - $7 million

New Jersey Office of Energy Savings - $6,000,000

The Board of Public Utilities (BPU) will administer a new grant program to enable New Jersey state government entities to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. 

Applications will be reviewed by a team of representatives from the BPU, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA), the Office of Economic Growth, the Commission on Science and Technology, and the Office of Energy Savings. 

Technologies that qualify for this program include: wind energy, solar energy, biofuels, hydro energy, geothermal projects, and energy efficiency or energy storage applications that are used in coordination with renewable energy technologies. 

Any state department, agency, authority, or public college or university may apply for these funds. 

25%:  The use of an innovative technology, or an innovative application of a technology that furthers the goals of the SEP.

25%:  The ability to create jobs.

25%:  Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

25%:  The amount of energy created or saved.

The level of the grant for each selected project will be determined by the evaluation team outlined above. 

To be eligible, the applicant must demonstrate that its proposed project can commence work quickly and be completed within a given period of time based on guidemce provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) and the requirements outlined in the ARRA. 

The Clean Energy Program (CEP) is administered by the BPU, and provides incentives to individuals, businesses and local governments to invest in a variety of clean energy initiatives. 

Initiatives include rebates for Energy Star appliances, incentives for green buildings, and free energy audits.  All programs provided by the CEP are administered on a first-come, first-served basis.

The CEP is funded by the Societal Benefits Charge, which is a levy on ratepayers’ energy bills by the major utility companies in New Jersey. 

Increased energy efficiency incentives for residential customers that do not qualify under the HMFA program described below.  This increase could include an expansion of the Home Performance with Energy Star Program outlined above. 

Increased energy efficiency incentives for community based organizations, such as food banks, homeless shelters, and hospitals.  This increase could include an expansion of the Municipal Audit Program that makes energy audits available to local municipalities. 

Increased energy efficiency incentives for commercial and industrial customers whose capacity is greater than 200 KW. 

The Pay for Performance program provides performance-based funding incentives for large commercial and industrial customers that participate in the program and implement whole-building measures that reduce their total energy consumption.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) will administer a new competitive program to provide financial assistance to businesses in New Jersey that are pursuing innovation in energy efficiency, renewable energy or alternative energy. 

The program is designed to push clean energy technologies beyond conceptual stages of development and into the marketplace. 

Technologies such as energy storage, geothermal, biofuels and innovative uses for solar energy projects will be supported under this program. 

To be deemed eligible, applicants must demonstrate private funding and prove that their project can commence and complete work within a given period of time.  This determination will be made by staff at EDA based upon program rules provided by the USDOE and the requirements outlined in the ARRA cited above. 

Once applicant eligibility has been established, the following scoring criteria will be utilized to determine which projects to fund:

25%:  The use of an innovative technology, or an innovative application of a technology that furthers the goals of the SEP.

25%:  The ability to create jobs.

25%:  Potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

25%:  The amount of energy created or saved.

No project will receive support for more than 50% of the total cost of the project. 

Through its Green Homes Office, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) is developing programs that aid in the development of sustainable and energy efficient affordable housing.

These includ financial incentives to developers and property owners to include green building design and solar energy projects for their affordable housing units.

HMFA will administer a low-interest loan program to single-family and multifamily property owners to make energy efficiency upgrades to their buildings.

The interest for these loans will not exceed 3%. CEP incentives will be used to offset the costs of the upgrades, and the HMFA loan will fund the remainder.

These loans will only be made available to:

1. Households that are at or below 250% Area Median Income: The higher of Statewide or County median income, based on a family of four.

2. Owners of multifamily buildings that meet HMFA’s affordability requirements.

3. Households or affordable multifamily building owners that are not eligible for other equivalent financing offered by the utilities.

HMFA will work with the BPU and the electric and gas utility companies to market this program.

$81,800 = 100% AMI.  $204,500 = 250% AMI Ranges from $85,000 to $96,700 at 100% AMI (250% AMI = $212,500 - $241,750)

Grants will fund the remaining cost of the solar array, after the federal investment tax credit and any state rebates have been collected.

In exchange for the grant, the HMFA will own all of the Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SRECs) that are generated from the system.

HMFA will identify the best sites for the installation of these solar energy arrays.

HMFA will take into consideration the following:

the age of the roof; and

the structural characteristics of the property that may impact its ability to be a good candidate for solar energy, such as shading concerns.

Projects that maximize job creation, generate energy, provide a benefit to the residents of the property, and show an ability to complete the project within the timeframe specified by the HMFA in consultation with the BPU will be given priority status.

The Office of Energy Savings is charged with reducing state government’s energy consumption and lowering its energy costs. 

It performs energy audits on state-operated buildings in order to identify opportunities for energy efficiencies. 

It prioritizes the buildings that consume the greatest amount of energy first, and makes capital investments to those facilities.  Its current annual budget is $10 million dollars.

Candidates for upgrades include any building owned by the Treasury Department; for example, state-run medical facilities, prisons, and office buildings.

Based on their energy audits, the Office of Energy Savings prioritizes specific projects that maximize the following:

The number of jobs created;

Project readiness;

Expected savings in energy costs; 

Expected annual energy reductions;

The amount of greenhouse gas emission reductions;

The public benefit of the improvements.

The return on investment is realized by those who use the facilities and lower energy bills for the state.

If you are aware of waste or mismanagement at any level of New Jersey government, the State wants to

know. Call the State Comptroller at their toll-free hotline, 1-866-547-1121. All communication will remain

confidential.

Army Corp of Engineers Brownfields Investigation and

Cleanup Grants Clean Water State Revolving

Fund Community Service Block Grants Diesel Emissions Reductions Drinking Water State Revolving

Fund Energy Efficiency and

Conservation Block Grants Federal Water Quality

Management Planning Grants Hazardous Substance Superfund Health Information Technology Leaking Underground Storage

Tanks Trust Fund

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

State Energy Program NJ Department of

Transportation Economic Stimulus Project Selection Criteria

NJ Transit Project List New Jersey Department of

Transportation Project List Small Cities / Community

Development Block Grant U.S. Department of the

Interior Wildfire Hazard Reduction

High Growth and Emerging Industry Sectors: The ARRA provides $750 million for worker training and job placement in high growth and emerging industry sectors.

Of that amount, $500 million is reserved to prepare workers for efficiency and renewable energy careers. These funds will be awarded by the US Secretary of Labor.

DCA applied to the Federal Department of Energy (DOE) for a Wheatherization grant.

The application proposes giving the New Jersey Department Labor Workforce Development (LWD) $4 million for training.

LWD will develop with training partners carefully crafted Non Government Organization (NGO) to and award funding. 

  Currently LWD has three Green Job

Training Grants programs totaling 2 million to training individuals from inner cities who have historically encountered employment barriers.  

The Green Jobs Act of 2007 lacked appropriated funding to effectively implement.

  The Green Jobs Act of 2007 is the

framework under which much of the ARRA green job training $ will be awarded.

The US Department of Labor recently announced a Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) indicating that they will make $500 million available to the states for green job training programs for individuals who have historically faced employment barriers for training to prepare them for entry level green jobs.   

Van Jones was recently appointed by Obama as the Green Jobs Czar (I don’t know his offical title).  

He founded an organization Green for All,  which influenced the city of Oakland to implement a green job training program that is beginning to receive national recognition (although the program has not quite completed its first year).  NJ LWDs program will be modeled after the California program. 

Houshold / Income

1 - $10,830 2 - $14,570 3 - $18,310 4 - $22,050

5 - $25,790 6 - $29,530 7 - $33,270 8 - $37,010

For families with more than 8 persons, add $3,740 for each additional person.