New Jersey State Seal


Solar Activity Reports


Find a Solar Trade Ally


Solar Energy


Join Our Listserv


Follow Us:

Become a Facebook Fan!Follow us on Twitter!Follow us on Twitter!


Home » Renewable Energy » Program Updates and Background Information » The Solar Act

Solar Act Proceedings, Implementation, and Milestones

This page contains a chronological list of all proceedings related to the implementation of the Solar Act. It will be updated as new proceedings are scheduled and materials are submitted.

Solar Act Stakeholder Meeting Process

On July 23, 2012, L. 2012, C. 24 ("Solar Act") was signed into law by Governor Christie. The Solar Act amends certain aspects of the statute governing generation, interconnection, and financing of renewable energy. Among other actions, the Solar Act requires the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities ("Board") to conduct proceedings to establish new standards and to develop new programs to implement the directives. On October 4, 2012, the Board directed Staff to initiate proceedings and convene a public stakeholder process to fulfill the directives of the Solar Act (Docket No. EO12090832V).

Fifty written comments were received by the submittal deadline, with some entities submitting multiple comments. All comments can be viewed. A Table of Contents at the beginning of the document outlines the order in which they appear.

Aggregated Net Metering

On March 20, 2013, following a public stakeholder process, the Board adopted new rules at N.J.A.C. 14:8-7 to codify the Aggregated Net Metering requirements of the Solar Act. The rules are designed to permit public entity electric utility customers to install a solar generation system, sized not to exceed the aggregate of the metered annual use of the customer's qualified facilities that are all in the same rate class under the applicable tariff. The meter directly connected to the solar generation system must use a net metering billing account that will be the only meter to benefit from the full retail value of the electricity produced by the solar generation system. Major components of the rules include the requirement that only the meter on which the solar generation system is installed may receive a retail credit for the solar system's generation and that all other qualified facilities shall be billed at the full retail rate, with the customer receiving compensation at the wholesale rate for all generation in excess of the usage at the host location. The rules can be accessed online at www.lexisnexis.com/njoal under Title 14 Chapter 8 of the New Jersey Administrative Code.

Calculation methodology for allocating the increased RPS obligation

In the Order dated May 21, 2014, I/M/O the Implementation of the Solar Act L.2012, C.24, N.J.S.A. 48:3-87 (D)(3)(C): the Limited Exemption of Certain Basic Generation Service Providers from the Increased Solar Requirements, the Board approved the proposed calculation methodology for allocating the increased RPS obligation from exempt BGS providers to non-exempt BGS providers. The Order also extends the deadline for the filing of the solar portion of the Annual RPS Compliance Report for the period ending May 31, 2014 to December 1, 2014.

SREC Qualification Life

In the Order dated September 18, 2013, I/M/O the Implementation of N.J.S.A 48:3-87 (T), the Board found the regulations concerning the definition of "qualification life" need to be amended to reflect that authorization to accrue SRECs requires Board approval under the Solar Act and approval to energize by the appropriate authority. The current definition of "qualification life" set forth in N.J.A.C. 14:2-2.2 does not reflect this two-pronged requirement, as it was written and codified prior to the Solar Act. Until such time as the regulations may be amended, the Board will define the start of the “qualification life" for applications submitted pursuant to the Soar Act based upon "the date of authorization to energize or the date upon which the Solar Act application for Board approval was filed, whichever is later." (Docket Nos. EO12090832V, EO12090862V)

The Clean Energy Act, signed by Governor Murphy on May 23, 2018, included the following provision: "For all applications for designation as connected to the distribution system of a solar electric power generation facility filed with the Board after the date of enactment of P.L. 2018 c. 17 (C. 48:3-87.8 et al.) the SREC term shall be 10 years." L. 2018, c. 17, 2(d)(3).

On October 29, 2018 the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities clarified the language above as follows: NJ SREC Update: Implementation of New 10-year SREC Term.

Subsection (q) of the Solar Act

The Board approved an application process for an initial round of applications on April 29, 2013. The Order approving this initial Subsection q. application process with attached instructions for filing a notice of intent to apply, the application and a standard form escrow agreement is available at the link below. The application process is intended only for developers of grid-supply solar electric power generation facilities ("Facilities") seeking approval from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities ("NJBPU" or "Board") to qualify pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:3-87 (q) as "connected to the distribution system" for purposes of Solar Renewable Energy Certificate ("SREC") eligibility.

The initial Subsection (q) application process was a two part process, which opened on May 15, 2013 with applicants being required to submit via electronic mail a completed, signed and scanned one-page Notice of Intent. An application with an escrow agreement executed by May 15 was required to be hand delivered to the Board within five calendar days of filing the Notice or by May 31, whichever was earlier.

A copy of the Subsection (q) application materials from the initial application period is also available at the link below. This document includes instructions, a one page notice of intent, the application form and standard form escrow agreement in writeable "PDF" format.

On August 21, 2013, the Board approved or conditionally approved 21 Subsection (q) applications from the initial round of applications held in May 2013. The Board also directed staff to conduct a second round of applications to fill the remaining capacity in each year. The Order approving the second Subsection (q) application process is available at the link below. Also below are attached instructions for filing a notice of intent to apply in the second round, an updated application and a revised standard form escrow agreement. This second application process is intended only for developers of grid-supply solar electric power generation facilities ("Facilities") shall not exceed 10 MWdc at a unique interconnection point seeking approval from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities ("NJBPU" or "Board") to qualify pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:3-87 (q) as "connected to the distribution system" for purposes of Solar Renewable Energy Certificate ("SREC") eligibility.

Archive documents of interest related to Subsection (q):

Subsection (r) of the Solar Act

Subsection (r) of the Solar Act requires a proposed solar electric power generation facility that is neither net metered nor an on-site generation facility, may be considered "connected to a distribution system" only upon designation as such by the Board, after notice to the public and opportunity for public comment or hearing. Staff have worked with stakeholders to develop a rule proposal for implementation of Subsection r and a process to enable the submission and review of applications.

Subsection (s) of the Solar Act

Subsection (s) of the Solar Act authorizes the BPU to approve grid-supply solar projects located on farmland as eligible to earn SRECs if they meet specific criteria, including but not limited to filing a notice of intent to qualify with the Board within 60 days of the effective date of the law. This notice must have been received by September 21, 2012.

The list below contains projects that filed notice of intent to qualify by September 21, 2012. Please note that the items in black text provided PJM SIS dates that were before June 30, 2011, and the items in red text provided PJM SIS dates after June 30, 2011 (or did not provide any PJM queue data).

The application was required to be completed for any project seeking approval pursuant to N.J.A.S. 48:3-87(s) by December 17, 2012. The development of this application was discussed at the November 9, 2012 public hearing on various provisions of the Solar Act.

Staff received 57 applications from 25 developers seeking approval pursuant to Subsection s. for over 640 MW dc of potential solar capacity proposed to be located on farmland. After extensive review, on April 29, 2013, staff recommended that the Board approve three applications as connected to the distribution system serving New Jersey eligible to create SRECs in the RPS. A copy of the Order memorializing the Board's decision at the April 29 meeting can be found here.

A Request for Comment was issued on August 5, 2013 in regard to Subsection (s) deferrals. Comments were due September 5, 2013 and can be found here. The stakeholder comments were used by Staff to develop a recommendation for the Board in establishing supplemental filing requirements for deferred Subsection (s) applications memorialized in the Order dated October 22, 2014 found below.

Archive documents of interest related to Subsection (s):

Subsection (t) of the Solar Act

Subsection (t) of the Solar Act

Subsection (t) of the Solar Act provides that; "No more than 180 days after [July 23, 2012], the Board shall, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and, after notice and opportunity for public comment and public hearing, complete a proceeding to establish a program to provide SRECs to owners of solar electric power generation facility projects located on a brownfield, on an area of historic fill or on a properly closed sanitary landfill facility".

NJDEP has asked that the following links/documents be made available to developers of Subsection t projects:

i. NJ DEP, AQES BES
ii. Solid Waste Guidelines
iii. Solar Siting Analysis

Archived documents of interest related to Subsection (t)


Solar Activity Reports


Find a Solar Trade Ally


Solar Energy


Join Our Listserv


Follow Us:

Become a Facebook Fan!Follow us on Twitter!Follow us on Twitter!



New Jersey State Seal