Green Infrastructure Programs

A business making a capital investment in a qualified wind energy facility of $50M ($17.5M if a tenant) in New Jersey and will be employing at least 150 new, full-time employees at the qualified wind energy facility or through an equipment supply coordination agreement.

Tax credits equal up to 100 percent of the qualified capital investments made, except as limited by a 110 percent net positive economic benefit to the State. Taxpayers may apply 20 percent of the total credit amount per year over a five-year period against their corporate business tax or insurance premiums, or sell the tax credit certificate for an amount not less than 75 percent of the credit amount.

Capital Investment Requirements:
Businesses must make or acquire a minimum $50 million capital investment in a qualified wind energy facility located in New Jersey.
Tenants must occupy space in a qualified wind energy facility located in New Jersey where the owner has made or acquired a minimum $50 million capital investment in the facility. The tenant-occupied space must represent at least $17.5 million of the capital investment in the facility.

New Full-Time Employee Requirements: Must employ a minimum number of new, full-time employees compared to the start of the application during the five eligibility years following application for the tax credit with 100 new full-time employees in the first year and 300 in the fifth year.

Offered by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) for new buildings and by the utility companies for existing buildings.

The New Jersey SmartStart Buildings program can provide a range of support to yield substantial energy savings, both now and for the future at no cost. Financial incentives are available for any size project, which can offset some of the added cost of purchasing qualifying energy-efficient equipment. Whether it is a project from the ground up, renovating existing space, or upgrading equipment, NJBPU has opportunities to upgrade the energy efficiency of the project.

Customers select equipment from a prequalified list of energy efficiency measures and receive a fixed incentive. If the project does not fall in the prescriptive category, it may be considered a custom measure.

Custom incentives are designed to encourage measures that are innovative and more energy efficient. Items not covered under prescriptive measures may be considered custom measures. Incentives are paid by the lesser of either: 50% of incremental project cost, the amount needed to buy down to a one-year payback, or $0.16 per kWh and $1.60 per therm of the estimated one-year energy savings following installation. Most non-residential utility customers are eligible to participate and receive up to $500,000 per electric account and $500,000 per natural gas account each program year.

For eligible commercial, industrial, agricultural, and certain multi-family residential real property owners looking to access financing to undertake clean energy improvements on their properties.

The Program enables eligible property owners to access financing to undertake clean energy improvements on their properties and repay the financing through the payment of an additional assessment to their municipality, similar to their real property tax.

Garden State C-PACE will help property owners minimize the up-front investment cost for clean energy, water conservation or resiliency-related improvements, which may increase the property’s value and the market competitiveness of their asset. By allowing a property owner to access up to 100% up-front financing for up to 30 years energy efficiency, renewable energy and resiliency improvements will be made more affordable.

Because the payment is secured by a senior lien, C-PACE projects are seen as less risky than typical loans, allowing capital providers to lend at lower interest rates than would otherwise be the case. Moreover, due to the security arrangements for the loan, capital providers are willing to extend loans that are longer in duration, typically tying the loan term to the expected life of the C-PACE project and its associated improvements. The longer loan terms result in lower periodic debt service payments, making it easier for energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy-related C-PACE projects to be cashflow- positive from the outset.