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For Immediate Release: Contact: Alonza Robertson
Date: 03/20/2026 609-913-6237

Clean Energy Program to Provide Grants to Nineteen Municipalities 

 

Trenton—The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) today awarded grants to 19 municipalities as part of the Community Energy Plan Grant (CEPG) Program. Seventeen of the municipalities will receive the $10,000 award and two municipalities will receive the enhanced award of $25,000.  

 

“Since its inception in 2019, the Clean Energy Plan Grant (CEPG) Program has issued grants to159 communities across New Jersey," said NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “CEPG is a great investment to help municipalities identify clean energy projects to help lower energy costs and benefit residents, especially those in overburdened communities.”  

 

The CEPG program empowers local communities to create community energy plans that align with the State’s Energy Master Plan, which is the roadmap to achieving the State’s clean energy and emissions reductions goals. Municipalities may earn up to $25,000 to create localized community energy plans to combat climate change, with a specific focus on equitable access, energy resilience, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. Municipalities that successfully create a community energy plan will be prepared to apply for various NJCEP incentives. Here is the list of communities that will be receiving awards:  

 

Municipality  

County  

Long Branch  

Monmouth  

Newark  

Essex  

Atlantic Highlands  

Monmouth  

Bloomfield  

Essex  

Byram  

Sussex  

Chesterfield  

Burlington  

East Amwell  

Hunterdon  

Egg Harbor Township  

Atlantic  

Englewood Cliffs  

Bergen  

Hackensack  

Bergen  

Hillsborough  

Somerset  

Jackson  

Ocean  

Keyport  

Monmouth  

Mahwah  

Bergen  

Mullica  

Atlantic  

Neptune City  

Monmouth  

North Haledon  

Passaic  

Point Pleasant Beach  

Ocean  

Wall  

Monmouth  

  

"Sustainable Jersey is proud to serve as the technical assistance provider for the Community Energy Planning Grant program,” said Randall Solomon, Executive Director of Sustainable Jersey. “It's an honor to support municipal teams in planning actions that will reduce energy use and save money for the municipalities, while working toward making the goals outlined in the Energy Master Plan a reality."  

   

A previous award winner, the Borough of Madison, NJ, upgraded two historic municipal buildings, both over 100 years old, with energy efficient HVAC equipment. Both buildings will be retrofitted with air-source heat pumps, one of which will replace an old gas-fired, steam heating system. The projects are examples of maintaining and preserving historic public buildings while improving efficiency and saving money for municipalities.  

  

The Board created the CEPG Program in 2019, with year one of the CEPG program providing grants to three local governments and year two of the program redesigned to expand funding availability to overburdened municipalities.  

Administered by NJBPU’s Office of Clean Energy Equity, the CEPG program allows overburdened municipalities to be eligible for larger grants; while all towns are eligible for $10,000, those deemed overburdened are eligible for $25,000.  In partnership with NJBPU, Sustainable Jersey provides priority technical assistance to CEPG applicants, with a particular focus on overburdened municipalities, including preparation of applications and development of community energy plans.   

About the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU)  

NJBPU is a state agency and regulatory authority mandated to ensure safe, adequate and proper utility services at reasonable rates for New Jersey customers. Critical services regulated by NJBPU include natural gas, electricity, water, wastewater, telecommunications and cable television. The Board has general oversight and responsibility for monitoring utility service, responding to consumer complaints, and investigating utility accidents. To find out more about NJBPU, visit our website at www.nj.gov/bpu.    

 

About New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) 

NJCEP, established on January 22, 2003, in accordance with the Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act (EDECA), provides financial and other incentives to the State's residential customers, businesses and schools that install high-efficiency or renewable energy technologies, thereby reducing energy usage, lowering customers' energy bills and reducing environmental impacts. The program is authorized and overseen by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), and its website is www.NJCleanEnergy.com