In July 2021, Governor Murphy signed the Dual-Use Solar Energy Act of 2021 (L. 2021, c. 170, “Dual-Use Act”) which directs the Board to adopt rules establishing a Pilot Program for the development of dual-use solar projects on productive farmland (also known as “agrivoltaics”).

The Pilot Program is designed to encourage the development of dual-use solar facilities and the creation of a new segment of the solar industry in New Jersey that is compatible with the State’s rich agricultural heritage. Specifically, the Pilot Program seeks to demonstrate and study the compatibility of active agricultural or horticultural production and solar photovoltaic infrastructure on the same land/property. Board staff (“Staff”) engaged the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program (“RAP”) at Rutgers University (“RU”) for providing crucial input into the design of the Pilot Program.

May 1, 2023, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities ("NJBPU") executed a three-year grant agreement with RAP at RU to facilitate the development and implementation for a Dual-Use Solar Pilot Program can be found at Board of Public Utilities | Newsroom.

Status Update (as of, September 27, 2024): The design and implementation of a Pilot Program remain under development. Please see actions taken to date listed below:

June 10, 2024, NJBPU issued a Request for Comments on the preliminary draft rules for the Dual-Use Solar Pilot Program. The deadline for submitting comments was, June 24, 2024, at 5 pm EST.

NJBPU conducted a virtual stakeholder meeting on the Dual-Use Pilot Program Straw Proposal on November 29, 2023. The deadline for submitting comments was December 13, 2023, at 5 pm EST. The revised meeting announcement, straw proposal, presentation and recording can be found at Board of Public Utilities | Newsroom.

Additional Resources:

• Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program (RAP)
• Additional information on agrivoltaics: RAP's Resources