New Jersey Board of Public Utilities offers feasibility study grants for town center microgrid systems

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities recently opened the first 60-day application window for the Town Center Distributed Energy Resources Microgrid Feasibility Study Incentive Program.

The incentive program offers up to $200,000 to qualified state and local governments to cover the expenses of a feasibility study for Town Center Distributed Energy Resources microgrids, which can provide power to critical facilities in a local area or town center during electric grid outages.

The program helps to address priorities set in a new section added to the Administration’s Energy Master Plan (EMP) in December 2015, which covers energy resiliency and emergency preparedness and response.

“This is an exciting step in implementing the Christie Administration’s EMP policies supporting the development of town center microgrid systems,” Richard S. Mroz, president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, said. “These onsite powerhouses will provide communities with the ability to operate critical facilities, such as government buildings, police and fire operations, hospitals and shelters, independently of the grid.”

The board established a budget of $1 million for the incentives, which is expected to fund five to 12 feasibility studies. After the feasibility study phase, selected applicants will move to the second phase of the project, the detailed engineering design phase.