Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Murphy, Assemblymen Conaway, Spearman, Karabinchak, Calabrese, Assemblywoman Carter, Assemblyman Stanley, Assemblywomen Haider, Tucker and Assemblyman Venezia
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Office of Clean Energy Equity in BPU; directs establishment of certain clean energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage programs for overburdened communities; makes change to community solar program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning clean energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage programs for overburdened communities, supplementing and amending P.L.2018, c.17, and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes and P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. There is established in the Board of Public Utilities an Office of Clean Energy Equity. The office shall promote, guide, and oversee the equitable deployment of clean energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage programs and technologies in overburdened communities, and the equitable provision of the tangible benefits of clean energy, increased energy efficiency, and energy storage at the household and community level, including clean energy asset ownership, energy cost savings, and employment and economic opportunities, to overburdened communities.
b. The board shall:
(1) establish onsite solar or community solar programs, including, but not limited to, programs using solar facilities installed, owned, and operated by independent, non-utility providers, which benefit 250,000 low income households or 35 percent of the low income households in the State, whichever is larger, by 2030, with the goal of reducing these households average energy burden to below six percent of household income, as defined by the United States Department of Energy Low Income Energy Affordability Data Tool. The board may implement the programs required pursuant to this paragraph in conjunction with existing renewable energy and energy efficiency programs or services; and
(2) require the establishment of a minimum of 1,600 megawatt hours of energy storage in overburdened communities, capable of delivering 400 megawatts of power, by 2030, which shall be sited in public facilities, as part of a microgrid connected to a public facility serving as a community energy resiliency hub, be directly sited in low income households, or be sited so as to otherwise increase the resiliency and reduce the energy burden of overburdened communities. In establishing the energy storage required pursuant to this paragraph, the office shall ensure that a community energy resilience hub is powered by clean energy, is community-based and community-centric, is inclusive of community-based organizations, and prioritizes the deployment of energy services to local residents during natural disasters.
c. The board, in cooperation with the Office of Clean Energy Equity, shall:
(1) integrate workforce development training into all clean energy and energy storage programs established by the board;
(2) provide outreach and recruitment campaign grants to community-based organizations to increase participation by residents of overburdened communities in clean energy and energy efficiency programs by hiring residents to conduct outreach and public education in those communities;
(3) develop, in coordination with community-based organizations, outreach materials concerning the provisions of this act in multiple languages that are easy to deliver through multiple media;
(4) appoint a community liaison and establish an advisory board consisting of representatives of overburdened communities responsible for conducting an internal and external review and evaluation of all clean energy and energy storage programs available to overburdened communities and provide annual recommendations to the board on unmet needs in overburdened communities and suggestions for improvements to those programs; and
(5) coordinate with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development concerning the requirements of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and with the Department of Community Affairs concerning the requirements of section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
d. (1) The board shall direct no less than 10 percent of the boards annual total clean energy budget, or at least $50 million annually, whichever is greater, to the Office of Clean Energy Equity to implement the provisions of this section. All programs, incentives, and other financing shall be appropriately structured to address the unique barriers faced by low income households and overburdened communities. Funding directed pursuant to this subsection shall be supplemental to, and not replace, any funds allocated to energy efficiency services for low income households managed or required by the board on the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The board may allocate additional funding, staff, and resources to the Office of Clean Energy Equity as the board determines appropriate.
Of the funds annually directed by the board to the Office of Clean Energy Equity pursuant to this paragraph, an amount not to exceed five percent may be used each year for costs associated with program administration, including costs incurred related to marketing, outreach, reporting, and evaluation activities to implement the provisions of this section. The Office of Clean Energy Equity may contract with a third party administrator with experience deploying solar energy and energy storage in overburdened communities to implement the provisions of this section.
(2) The board shall consult with other State departments and agencies to identify additional sources of funding and leveraged financing that may be available to meet the requirements of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(3) No later than January 15 of each year, the board shall provide public notice on its Internet website and in the New Jersey Register of the proposed budget for the Office of Clean Energy Equity for the forthcoming fiscal year and provide an opportunity for interested stakeholders to provide oral and written comments on the proposed budget.
e. No later than September 1 of each year, the board shall prepare and submit to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature a written report of the activities of the Office of Clean Energy Equity. The report shall describe, at a minimum, the activities of the office during the immediately preceding fiscal year, the amounts budgeted and expended for each program activity, the amount of funding remaining unexpended at the end of the fiscal year, a summary of the collaborations with other State departments and agencies and the activities that are planned or were carried out by those entities pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and a summary of the progress towards achieving the requirements of subsection b. of this section.
f. As used in this section:
Clean energy means energy that is produced through means that does not release into the atmosphere any criteria pollutant, toxic sub