This bill seeks to enhance New Jersey's renewable energy incentive programs by introducing new definitions and clarifying existing terms related to solar energy facilities. It allows for the co-location of solar facilities on landfills, brownfields, or mining sites without size or power output restrictions, and establishes a timeline for these projects to achieve commercial operation. Additionally, the bill mandates electric public utilities to process interconnection applications for community solar or remote net metering facilities within 90 days and to complete interconnections within 30 days of developer notification, imposing a penalty of $5,000 per day for non-compliance.

Moreover, the bill expands the definition of renewable energy facilities to include energy storage technologies and allows previously awarded but unused Transition Renewable Energy Certificates (TRECs) to be utilized by renewable energy projects. It streamlines the registration process for developers transitioning from the TREC program to community solar or remote net metering programs, ensuring they retain their approved facility sizes. The remote net metering program is also amended to increase the maximum project size from five megawatts to 20 megawatts, thereby broadening the scope for renewable energy development in the state.

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