The Board of Public Utilities (BPU)

NJ Energy Resilience Bank (ERB)
The Board of Public Utilities and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority
have partnered to commit $200 million in funding for the ERB to assist critical facilities with securing resilient energy technologies that will make them – and, by extension, the communities they serve – less vulnerable to future severe weather events and other emergencies

The ERB will finance the design, acquisition, construction, and installation of distributed energy resources that will improve and increase the energy resiliency at certain New Jersey critical facilities.  The DER technologies to be financed under the ERB include, but are not limited to:

• CHP systems using various sized gas turbines, reciprocating internal combustion (IC) engines, or microturbines and may include thermal storage;
• Fuel cells with and without heat recovery; and
• Upgrades to solar panel systems with off-grid inverters and storage systems. (The ERB will not finance the cost for installation of solar PV panels or for any balance-of-system equipment related to solar PV panels.)

The ERB will focus on providing capital to those facilities that offer the greatest resilience benefits for the State. While the ERB has not set a schedule for the development and roll out of each market sector financing product, preliminarily (and subject to timely receipt of any required
federal regulatory waivers or clarifications), the ERB has developed initial financing products for the water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant market sector and for the hospitals and long-term care facilities market sector.

The ERB also projects to develop funding products for the following market sectors, though not necessarily in the following sequence:

• Colleges and Universities, and State and County Correctional Institutions; and,
• Multifamily Housing Units, Primary and Secondary Schools that act as Community Shelters during disasters, Other Facilities operating as Community Shelters during disasters, Certain Municipal Buildings, and Town Centers.

Further information on the NJ Energy Resilience Bank can be found at their website.

The Department of Community Affairs (DCA)

Post Sandy Planning Assistance Grant
This Program  provides grants to municipalities and counties to hire American Institute of Certified Planners /New Jersey Board of Professional Planners (AICP/PP) licensed planners to address conditions  created or exacerbated by the storm, identify approaches to rebuilding that will be more resistant to damage from future storm events, and encourage sustainable economic growth.

The grant award varies with type of assistance requested, ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.  There is no submission deadline and these grants are not competitive.  Grant applications will be accepted on a first come first serve basis until funds allocated to the Program have been exhausted. The grant will be for a term of 12 months or less.  Applications will be accepted beyond the first twelve months for a second round of activities or for first time applicants if funds allocated to the Program have not been exhausted. The Program is administered by the DCA’s Office of Local Planning Services. Contact: Carmen Valentin at (609) 633-6877 or Nicholas Nassiff at (609)633-0597.

The Economic Development Authority (EDA)

Stronger NJ Business Loans
The Stronger NJ Business Loan Program is available to help small businesses and non-profits that were impacted by Superstorm Sandy, as well as businesses looking to expand within storm-impacted communities.  Eligible small businesses and non-profits may apply for loans up to $5 million per eligible location, with 0% interest for the first 24 months. Loans can be used for renovation, new construction, equipment, and working capital.
[As of August 2014, due to the high volume of applications already received, EDA will not be accepting new applications for the Stronger NJ Business Loan Program.]

If you have questions regarding the Stronger NJ Business Loan Program or application process, the NJEDA Office of Recovery is available to help!  You can reach the NJEDA Office of Recovery at 1-855-SANDY-BZ or StrongerNJBusiness@njeda.com.  Business advisors are standing by and ready to assist you!
Stronger NJ Neighborhood and Community Revitalization Program
The Stronger NJ Neighborhood and Community Revitalization (NCR) Program will support the long-term recovery of small businesses and communities by funding long-term economic revitalization priorities. It will also support projects that retain or hire new employees thus contributing to the State's economy.

NJ Transit

NJ TRANSITGRID
The US Department of Energy is partnering with the State of New Jersey, NJ Transit and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to assess NJ Transit’s energy needs and help develop a conceptual design of an advanced microgrid system. 
Microgrids are different from traditional utility electric grids in that they generate electricity at or near where it is consumed.  They can connect to the larger utility grid or island themselves and operate independently.  In the event of a manmade or natural disaster that cause the larger grid to become nonoperational, the microgrid will power critical operations thereby increasing energy resilience and speed up recovery.