Dive Brief:
- New Jersey has launched a one-year pilot aimed at boosting investor confidence in energy efficiency projects by incorporating increased verification and measurement standards.
- The state will become the first to incorporate the Environmental Defense Fund’s Investor Confidence Project protocols into an existing energy efficiency program.
- The pilot will be run through the New Jersey Clean Energy Program, and will begin accepting applications for commercial and industrial projects in December.
Dive Insight:
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities last week approved a new pilot that will incorporate energy efficiency protocols to ensure investors the projects will work and their returns will be stable. The move, aimed at bolstering investment in the state, makes New Jersey the first to incorporate EDF's Investor Confidence Project protocols into an existing energy efficiency program.
The New Jersey Clean Energy Program will run the pilot for a year, to demonstrate how the ICP can be incorporated into an existing commercial and industrial energy efficiency program. BPU President Richard Mroz said investors who receive "accurate, detailed financial savings data on energy-efficiency projects are better-equipped and more likely to continue investing in projects to save energy."
And the state is looking to build on momentum generated by the project. Mroz sad that as the program demonstrates "investment attractiveness of energy conservation measures, even more financial resources will become available for New Jersey businesses to upgrade and grow their facilities.”
The state will use the pilot to consider adopting the standards more broadly into its Pay for Performance Existing Building program. Applicants will have the option of participating in the pilot as an alternative compliance path, or following the traditional Pay for Performance Program requirements. The pilot program's incentives have been modified, BPU explained, to offset costs that may be associated with providing additional quality assurance and data to meet the ICP requirements.
New Jersey's Pay for Performance program credits businesses who take a comprehensive approach to saving energy in both new construction as well as existing buildings. Incentives are directly linked to reducing energy use by at least 15%.
In an EDF blog post announcing the program, the group said broad efficiency measures have been hampered by a lack of confidence from private investors, but solving this problem would ultimately help lower utility bills.
"The large-scale adoption of energy efficiency in buildings is a key to achieving a cleaner environment, lower utility bills, and more comfort for customers," wrote EDF's New Jersey Director of clean energy, Mary Barber.
