8 NJ Municipalities and 3 School Districts Tap EDF Climate Corps to Save Energy

Graduate Student Talent Matched with Municipalities and School Districts

Today, Sustainable Jersey announced the eight municipalities and three school districts that were selected to receive an Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Climate Corps Fellow. Sustainable Jersey is pairing five EDF Fellows with municipalities and school districts to provide expertise and support for evaluation, planning and implementation of projects that will help improve the energy performance of their facilities. This year’s Climate Corps Fellows are coming from graduate school programs at the following universities: Columbia University, Duke University, Indiana University, University of Michigan and West Virginia University.

Thanks to support from New Jersey Natural Gas , three Fellows have been matched with Sustainable Jersey municipalities and school districts located within their utility service territory. “We are proud of our partnership with Sustainable Jersey – now in its 11^th year – to help connect communities with the resources they need to make wise energy choices,” said Anne-Marie Peracchio, director of conservation and clean energy policy for New Jersey Natural Gas. “The host towns and schools will benefit greatly from this unique opportunity as the Climate Corps Fellows provide guidance and insight to help them address challenges and plan customized energy-efficiency solutions that help advance their sustainability goals.” Since 2015, Sustainable Jersey, with the support of New Jersey Natural Gas, has placed 15 EDF Fellows to assist a total of 21 schools/school districts and 19 municipalities.

The municipalities and school districts that will be paired with an EDF Fellow funded by New Jersey Natural Gas are:

New in 2020, EDF and Sustainable Jersey are directly supporting two Fellows to work with distressed municipalities participating in Sustainable Jersey. The New Jersey Municipal Revitalization Index (MRI) was used to identify community distress levels when considering applications. The two New Jersey municipalities that will be paired with an EDF Fellow funded by the Environmental Defense Fund in 2020 are:

Since the Climate Corps program’s inception in 2008, over 1,000 graduate students have been placed in more than 500 leading organizations spanning the U.S. and China. Together they have helped identify energy savings worth more than $1.6 billion, the equivalent of 2.3 million metric tons in carbon emissions. 

The EDF Fellows will begin work with township and school district staff in June 2020. To accommodate COVID-19 restrictions, the Fellows will work remotely. Sustainable Jersey provides guidance to the EDF Fellows to help them advise participating schools and municipalities about resources specific to New Jersey, as well as initiatives that earn points toward the Sustainable Jersey certification program. In particular, the EDF Fellows help the towns and school districts access the many incentives available through New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program and the New Jersey Natural Gas SAVEGREEN Project. In recent years the EDF Fellows have helped the host towns and school districts reduce their own energy usage and also promote the energy efficiency projects within their communities, including the SAVEGREEN Project’s zero-percent on-bill repayment programs that make energy efficiency more accessible for customers.

“Now more than ever, we need our municipal and school district leaders to emphasize and more importantly to showcase how solving climate change also builds a healthier, stronger economy and a more resilient future for all,” said Sustainable Jersey Executive Director Randall Solomon. “Over the course of the summer, EDF Fellows will get energy efficiency projects on the fast track to accomplishment – simultaneously lowering energy costs and environmental impact.”

Learn more about what the EDF Climate Corps Fellows have accomplished in previous years for New Jersey schools and municipalities: NJ EDF Climate Corps Project Reports.