TRENTON, NJ – A bill introduced in the State Senate would modify multiple renewable energy incentive programs and require electric utilities to interconnect certain solar projects on firm timelines.
The measure, introduced December 4 by Senator Nicholas P. Scutari of District 22, directs changes to SREC-II, community solar, remote net metering, and related programs.
The bill also defines when electric lines up to 34.5 kilovolts qualify as distribution lines subject to Board of Public Utilities jurisdiction and eligible for interconnection.
The proposal permits co-location of SREC-II eligible projects across ADI, CSI, community solar, and remote net metering, provided projects are developed separately and use separate interconnections.
Interconnection deadlines and penalties
Electric public utilities would have 90 days to accept, process, and approve interconnection applications for community solar or remote net metering facilities on lines sized 34.5 kilovolts or less, with interconnection to be completed within 30 days of developer notice that a project is ready.
Deadlines could be extended once, by developer consent, for up to 30 days, and missed deadlines would carry a $5,000-per-day penalty payable to the developer and not recoverable from ratepayers.
Any electric line at 34.5 kilovolts or less would be deemed a distribution line, fall under BPU jurisdiction, and be eligible for interconnection by projects in State-sponsored solar or battery energy storage programs, including the Garden State Energy Storage Program.
Expanded siting, timing, and size rules
There would be no size or power output limits for community solar or remote net metering projects on landfills, brownfields, contaminated sites, or mining sites.
Projects on those sites participating in community solar or remote net metering would have at least 33 months from program registration to reach commercial operation, with automatic day-for-day extensions for utility-caused interconnection delays.
Remote net metering projects serving public entities could be up to 20 megawatts (direct current), be located on public or eligible private property including rooftops, parking lots, contaminated sites, landfills, or mining sites, and must serve certified public entities within the same EDC service territory.
Treatment of TRECs and legacy approvals
Developers holding TREC approvals for projects not yet in commercial operation would have 90 days after the effective date to register in community solar or remote net metering, or both if co-located, without decreasing the approved facility size; if a decrease would occur, registration would be optional.
Renewable energy facilities could use previously awarded but unused TRECs, including for projects that missed program deadlines or had excess awards, upon filing certification with the BPU and documenting assignment of rights; such TRECs would have a 15-year qualification life from the facility’s commercial operation date.
Zoning and procurement changes
A “renewable energy facility” would explicitly include battery storage for purposes of permitted use in municipal industrial districts on parcels of 20 or more contiguous acres under common ownership.
Solar, photovoltaic, battery storage, and other renewable energy facilities at landfills, brownfields, contaminated sites, mining sites, or closed resource extraction operations would be permitted uses in every municipality, with wind permitted at landfills and closed extraction sites outside the Pinelands.
Local contracting units could purchase remote net metering credits and similar renewable credits administered by the BPU without public bidding under the Local Public Contracts Law.
The bill directs the BPU to adopt implementing rules within 120 days based on existing interconnection rules at N.J.A.C. 14:3-8.1 et seq.