This bill amends New Jersey's renewable energy incentive programs, particularly focusing on solar energy projects and their interconnection with electric public utilities. It introduces new definitions for solar facilities, including "co-location," "community solar program," and "contaminated site." The bill allows for the co-location of solar facilities on the same or adjacent properties, provided they are developed as separate projects with distinct interconnection facilities. It also removes size and power output restrictions for solar facilities on landfills, brownfields, contaminated sites, or mining sites, granting these projects a minimum of 33 months to achieve commercial operation after registration. Additionally, it mandates that electric public utilities accept and process interconnection applications for community solar or remote net metering facilities on distribution lines sized 34.5 kilovolts or less.

Moreover, the bill expands the definition of renewable energy facilities to include energy storage technologies and allows for the construction of solar and renewable energy facilities on various types of sites, including landfills and contaminated areas, as permitted uses within municipalities. It also exempts the purchase of remote net metering credits from public bidding requirements under the Local Public Contracts Law and raises the maximum size for remote net metering projects from five megawatts to 20 megawatts. These modifications aim to enhance the state's renewable energy infrastructure and promote the development of solar energy projects, ultimately facilitating the integration of renewable energy resources in New Jersey.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 40:55D-66.11, 40:55D-66.16, 40A:11-5, 48:3-87.12