EWING, NJ – July 13, 2016
Today Sustainable Jersey announced a New Jersey statewide Solar Challenge program and invited municipalities to participate in order to promote adoption of solar energy at the community-level. The Sustainable Jersey Solar Challenge takes advantage of Sustainable Jersey’s partnership with EnergySage, an online solar marketplace developed with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy.
Randall Solomon, co-director of Sustainable Jersey said, “The Sustainable Jersey Solar Challenge provides a simple, cost effective way for municipalities to engage homeowners and small businesses in adopting solar.” The eight-month community-led program leverages an online solar marketplace and a suite of locally-branded social media marketing tools to help spread the word in the community about solar and the program.
Communities selected for the Sustainable Jersey Solar Challenge will receive support from Sustainable Jersey and EnergySage in developing and promoting the outreach campaign. Participating communities will be featured on the Sustainable Jersey Solar Challenge website, which will track the progress of each community in achieving signed contracts for solar installation by local homeowners and businesses. The program will run from October 2016 to May 2017. The community achieving the highest number of signed contracts for solar installations by the conclusion of the program (based proportionally on number of households and businesses in each community) will win an award of $10,000.
“We’re delighted to support Sustainable Jersey in its efforts to provide communities throughout New Jersey with the right tools and resources for businesses and homeowners in the state to explore their solar energy options,” said Vikram Aggarwal, founder and CEO of EnergySage. “Our team is dedicated to helping municipalities make the process of adopting solar as transparent, easy and affordable for their residents as possible.”
The EnergySage Solar Marketplace allows consumers to easily and quickly comparison-shop for solar online. Everything from equipment to finance options can be evaluated and selected based on what the consumer feels is best for them. Because the online solar marketplace is open to all solar installers who meet the EnergySage vetting criteria, consumers have access to multiple high quality contractors.
Up to 10 municipalities will be accepted into the Sustainable Jersey Solar Challenge. Local solar challenge campaigns will launch in October 2016. Applications must be received by Sustainable Jersey no later than August 26, 2016. For more information and to download an application visit: http://bit.ly/29ElL3l
About Sustainable Jersey
Sustainable Jersey is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides tools, training and financial incentives to support communities as they pursue sustainability programs. Currently, 77 percent, or 437 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities are participating in the municipal certification program and 200 school districts and 487 schools are participating in the new Sustainable Jersey for Schools certification program.
Sustainable Jersey’s partners include the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Clean Energy Program. Program underwriters include the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Clean Energy Program and the Surdna Foundation. The 2016 Sustainable Jersey Small Grants program for municipalities is funded by PSEG Foundation and the Gardinier Environmental Fund. South Jersey Gas and New Jersey Natural Gas are Platinum Sponsors. NJM Insurance Group is a Gold Sponsor, Bayshore Recycling is a Silver Sponsor and our Bronze Sponsors are Investors Bank, Covanta, Energy Solve, JCP&L, GovPilot and SolarCity. The Sustainability Summit venue sponsors are Good Energy and Verizon.
About EnergySage, Inc.
EnergySage provides the first comprehensive online marketplace for consumers and businesses interested in converting to solar energy. By enabling people to comparison shop for “apples-to-apples” competitive quotes from pre-screened installers and financiers, the EnergySage Marketplace typically delivers cost-savings of up to 20 percent when compared to going directly to installers. EnergySage also simplifies today’s complex solar industry by providing tools and unbiased information that enable people to fully understand their product and financing options as well as their return-on-investment scenarios. Many leading organizations have forged partnerships with EnergySage to promote the adoption of solar energy, including Connecticut Green Bank, Staples, Walgreens and the World Wildlife Fund. For more information, please visit: www.energysage.com.
