Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman CHRISTIAN E. BARRANCO
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Assemblyman JOSEPH V. EGAN
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Energy Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships Program and related financing program in NJ Infrastructure Bank; and authorizes certain energy contracts under Public School Contracts Law and Local Public Contracts Law up to 30 years.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning energy infrastructure public-private partnerships, supplementing Title 58 of the Revised Statutes, and amending various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) Sections 1 through 28 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be known and may be cited as the Energy Infrastructure Public-Private Partnerships Act.
2. (New section) a. The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) It is the public policy of this State to assure that the States energy infrastructure is developed and maintained in a manner that assures, to the greatest extent possible, the availability of reliable and resilient state-of-the-art energy resources to the State and, in particular, to the critical facilities that provide necessary lifeline services to the States citizens and businesses;
(2) The increasing magnitude and frequency of weather events, such as Hurricane Ida, Winter Storm Quinn, Hurricane Irene, and Superstorm Sandy, and the devastation they inflicted on the State, have revealed the vulnerability, inadequacies, and obsolescence of the States energy infrastructure, which has failed, sometimes for prolonged periods of time, to provide adequate, reliable, and resilient service to the State;
(3) These weather events, and the current condition of the States aging energy infrastructure, underscore the substantial and immediate need for the State to improve the energy resources available to State, county, and municipal facilities that provide critical lifeline services, including hospitals, police and fire departments, water and wastewater treatment facilities, shelters, colleges, universities, schools, and prisons;
(4) The reliability, resiliency, and efficiency of the States energy infrastructure will be improved if the State encourages the development of the energy-related projects authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which will reduce the vulnerability of critical facilities to threats posed by weather and other events, minimize equipment failures caused by deterioration, disrepair, and obsolescence, enhance the production and delivery of energy, improve the energy efficiency of facilities, reduce peak demand, energy costs, and greenhouse gas emissions, and promote economic development and create jobs;
(5) The implementation of energy-related projects through public-private partnerships will enable the State to leverage the capital and expertise of the private sector, which will permit necessary and long overdue energy-related projects to be developed, in many instances on a self-funded basis; and create economic stimulus and job creation opportunities for the State and its workforce without taxpayer or ratepayer support; and
(6) The use of energy infrastructure public-private partnerships will also facilitate the attainment of the goals of the States Energy Master Plan, which include aggressive initiatives to, among other things, expand the implementation of renewable energy, decarbonize buildings, transportation, and the power grid, improve energy reliability and resiliency, and introduce state-of-the-art technologies that can make buildings more energy efficient and reduce energy usage, peak demand, energy costs, and greenhouse gas emissions.
b. The Legislature therefore determines that:
(1) It shall be the public policy of this State to foster energy-related public-private partnerships to develop state-of-the-art energy projects that obviate or minimize the need for capital investments in energy projects by governmental entities, taxpayers, and utility ratepayers;
(2) In order to foster the energy projects authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), it is necessary and appropriate for the Legislature to authorize the use of public-private partnerships that leverage private sector financial resources and expertise and provide a platform for governmental and private entities to share the responsibilities and benefits of these projects;
(3) The critical and immediate need to improve the States energy infrastructure and achieve the States near- and long-term energy goals, compels the State to pursue the energy-related public-private partnerships authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which will enhance the reliability, resilience, and efficiency of the States energy infrastructure by introducing state-of-the-art energy technologies that will mitigate current vulnerabilities to major storm events, harden critical infrastructure, energy generation, and delivery systems, enhance redundancy in energy supply, promote greater emergency preparedness, enhance fuel supply diversity, increase energy efficiency, expand the use of renewable energy resources, reduce peak demand, energy usage, energy costs, and greenhouse gas emissions, and promote economic development and job creation, thereby ensuring a better, cleaner, and more prosperous future for the State and its citizens; and
(4) The energy-related public-private partnerships authorized by P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) will encourage private capital investment and leverage the technical, financial, and managerial expertise of the private sector to assist certain entities that otherwise lack the necessary capital, resources, or expertise to design, develop, own, manage, operate, and maintain needed energy infrastructure projects.
3. (New section) As used in sections 1 through 28 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
Bank means the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank, created pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1985, c.334 (C.58:11B-4).
Board means the Board of Public Utilities or any successor agency.
Class I renewable energy and Class II renewable energy mean the same as those terms are defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
Distributed electric generation resource means distributed sources of electric power generation and energy storage facilities including, but not limited to, Class I and Class II renewable energy, dispatchable generation, cogeneration, combined heat and power, on-site generation, fuel cells, waste heat recovery, and energy storage technologies.
District energy system means an on-site generation facility, as defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51), that provides thermal or electric energy services, or both, to end-use customers for use for heating or cooling regardless of whether the customer is located on a property that is separated from the property on which the on-site generation facility is located by more than one easement, public thoroughfare, transportation right-of-way, or util