New Jersey Creates Nation's First Energy Resilience Bank

New Jersey recently created the first-in-the-nation “Energy Resilience Bank (ERB).”  Designed to address a repeat of the devastating impacts of SuperStorm Sandy, when over 8 million people lost electric power in the region, the ERB will provide $200 million for municipalities to finance clean resilient power solutions.  This will include “projects that would ensure a highly reliable power supply to critical public facilities such as water and wastewater treatment plants, hospitals, shelters, emergency response centers and transit networks in the event the larger electrical grid fails.” 

Clean Energy Group (CEG) applauds the creation of this first infrastructure bank to focus on energy resilience.  New Jersey has created a model to finance resilient power projects, to protect against power outages during severe weather events.  The ERB is an important way for states to finance projects like solar with energy storage in food banks, fire stations, wastewater treatment plants, and schools.  This is a model that other states should track and evaluate for possible replication.

New Jersey Creates Nation's First Energy Resilience Bank