The second solicitation for financing by the State of New Jersey under the Clean Energy Manufacturing Fund began on June 1.  The recently launched program was specifically designed to support companies looking to site or materially expand a Class I renewable energy or energy-efficient product manufacturing facility in New Jersey, and will enable the state to take a leadership role in the clean technology industry by promoting new green jobs and growth while addressing the goals of Governor Jon S. Corzine’s Energy Master Plan. 
  The program is funded by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and administered through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The solicitation period opened June 1, and is scheduled to close on July 15.
  “The Clean Energy Manufacturing Fund will contribute greatly to the cost-competitiveness of renewable energy and energy efficiency in New Jersey while also supporting the creation of green collar jobs in the Garden State,” said Caren S. Franzini, chief executive officer of the EDA.
  “Our continued partnership with the EDA will create jobs, ensure energy security and help achieve Governor Corzine’s mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming,” added BPU Board President Jeanne M. Fox.
  Through the Clean Energy Manufacturing Fund, New Jersey clean technology manufacturers can receive funding under two separate components: project assessment and design, and project construction and operation.  In total, a qualified manufacturer of Class I renewable energy or energy efficiency systems, products or technologies may be eligible to receive up to $3.3 million in grants and interest-free loans. 
Up to $300,000 is available as a grant to assist with the manufacturing site identification and procurement, design, and permits. Up to $3 million is available as a zero-interest, ten-year loan to support site improvements, equipment purchases, and facility construction and completion.
  To take advantage of this program, a company must be a for-profit entity that is planning to manufacture eligible products in New Jersey and be entering or expanding within the manufacturing stage of commercial development.  A minimum 50-percent cash match of total project costs from non-state grants, loans, or equity, is required for both program components. Preference will be given to those projects that demonstrate a greater percentage of the project being designed, manufactured, processed, assembled or made ready for commercial sale at the company’s project facility in New Jersey. 
  Eligible technologies for funding include energy efficiency equipment and technology, Class I renewable energy and other technologies or equipment that can demonstrate their integral nature to the development of Class I renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. 
  Class I renewable energy is defined as electricity derived from solar energy, wind energy, wave or tidal action, geothermal energy, landfill gas, anaerobic digestion, fuel cells using renewable fuels, and, with written permission of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), certain other forms of sustainable biomass.