Sponsored by:
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Directs BPU to establish utility-scale solar energy development program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning utility-scale solar energy development, supplementing and amending P.L.1999, c.23, and amending P.L.2016, c.12.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:
(1) In order to achieve the State s goal of securing 50 percent of its electricity supply from renewable energy by 2030 with the least cost and the greatest benefit to consumers, it is critical (a) to continually reexamine the State s renewable energy programs and consider creating new programs, and (b) for all solar electric energy generated by a facility connected to an electric public utility or to transmission facilities operated by the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. to be considered Class I renewable energy and for the facility to be eligible to generate renewable energy certificates for the solar energy it generates provided that it is not simultaneously generating solar renewable energy certificates;
(2) The 2019 Energy Master Plan ( EMP ) found that: (a) the State can achieve its 100 percent clean energy and 80 percent greenhouse gas reduction goals with little added cost, and likely net savings when health benefits and climate change mitigation benefits are taken into account, in part by maximizing the development of in-State renewable energy generation, including 17 gigawatts of solar power by 2035 and 32 gigawatts by 2050; (b) under the least cost path identified by the EMP, solar energy could meet 34 percent of the State s clean energy needs by 2050; and (c) to embark on this least cost path, the EMP determined that the State should add at least 400 megawatts of in-State solar power each year through 2030;
(3) Utility-scale solar energy is the least-cost renewable energy resource in both the State and the Mid-Atlantic region, and New Jersey has the market potential for at least 3,000 megawatts of utility-scale solar energy by 2030;
(4) Fostering and incentivizing the development of new utility-scale solar facilities within the State will: (a) mitigate price and delivery risks while ensuring an adequate, efficient, and reliable supply of renewable energy; (b) enhance the continued diversification of the energy resources used in this State, resulting in environmental and health benefits to New Jersey residents and a more resilient energy supply; and (c) encourage lower financing rates and enable the development of more affordable renewable energy resources;
(5) A utility-scale solar energy development program that establishes a competitive solicitation process for long-term contracts to provide Class I renewable energy will help achieve the State s goal of securing 50 percent of its electricity supply from renewable energy by 2030 at a cost to customers that is equal to or less than the costs that would be borne by customers without the creation of such a program, thus causing no conflict with the renewable energy portfolio standard cost caps established by section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87); and
(6) It is in the public interest to create a utility-scale solar energy development program that includes an annual competitive solicitation process to identify cost-effective utility-scale solar facility projects capable of supplying clean and reliable solar energy to New Jersey consumers.
b. (1) No later than one year after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the board, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations establishing an annual competitive procurement program to develop utility-scale solar facilities capable of producing at least 3,000 megawatts of power by 2030. This program shall include a transparent, competitive, and fair annual solicitation process that is open on a non-discriminatory basis to any entity seeking to construct a utility-scale solar facility that can achieve commercial operation within two years after the date of execution of a power purchase agreement, and standardized evaluation criteria to be applied equally to all bids and bidders.
(2) The evaluation criteria shall include the ability of the utility-sale solar facility and any power purchase agreement entered into pursuant to this section to:
(a) provide enhanced electricity reliability;
(b) contribute to reducing seasonal electricity price spikes;
(c) be cost effective to ratepayers over the term of the contract, taking into consideration potential economic and environmental benefits to the ratepayers;
(d) avoid line loss and mitigate transmission costs to the extent possible and ensure that transmission cost overruns, if any, are not borne by ratepayers;
(e) be paired with energy storage systems;
(f) mitigate any environmental impacts associated with the construction of the facility; and
(g) create and foster employment and economic development in the State.
c. (1) No later than 18 months after the effective date of c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the board shall establish the competitive procurement process, in accordance with subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph (1) of subsection d. of this section, and conduct a competitive solicitation for utility-scale solar facility projects, in accordance with subparagraphs (a), (b), and (c) of paragraph (2) of subsection d. of this section.
d. (1) By December 31 of each year after the competitive solicitation conducted pursuant to subsection c. of this section, the board, after notice and opportunity for public comment, shall establish for the competitive procurement to take place in the following year:
(a) a procurement target of at least 375 megawatts, measured as alternating current, which target may be increased by the board to qualify for federal incentives or if the board otherwise finds doing so is in the public interest; and
(b) a cost cap based on the board s forecast of the 20-year market price of energy, capacity, and Class I RECs, and including the total cost of remunerations paid pursuant to subsection d. of this section and a just and reasonable value for capacity.
(2) By June 30 of each year after the establishment of the competitive procurement process pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the board shall conduct a competitive solicitation for utility-scale solar facility projects, which shall: