Upgrading buildings leads to cleaner air, economic growth, and lower electricity bills

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities today approved a pilot program to fuel private investment in energy efficiency in buildings through Environmental Defense Funds’ (EDF) Investor Confidence Project (ICP). New Jersey is the first state to incorporate ICP best practices and standards into an existing state energy efficiency incentive program.
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EDF’s Investor Confidence Project standardizes the way energy efficiency projects are developed and brought to market, increasing confidence in predicted energy and financial returns that will increase investor confidence and help scale national and global energy efficiency markets. ICP offers a series of protocols that define industry best practices for energy efficiency project development and a credentialing system that includes third-party validation.

“Using smart engineering standards and best practices to help save energy in buildings creates local jobs, cuts pollution and saves New Jerseyans money,” said Mary Barber, EDF Director, New Jersey Clean Energy. “Buildings use nearly 40 percent of all energy in the U.S., so improving their efficiency is key to a clean energy future. Launching this pilot to standardize energy efficiency projects builds on the Garden State’s existing commitment to clean energy and pioneers innovative, cost-effective solutions that serve as a model for other states around the country.”

The New Jersey Clean Energy Program’s pilot will incorporate the Investor Confidence Project’s energy efficiency protocols into the state’s Pay for Performance (P4P) program. The P4P pilot introduces ICP as an alternative way for buildings to meet the pay-for-performance requirements.
One of the goals of the pilot is to assemble data over three years of participation that will provide project developers and the New Jersey Clean Energy Program with new information regarding project performance over an extended period of time; crucial information to ensure that the predicted energy and environmental benefits are achieved and maintained.