Clean Energy Act

Pursuant to the Clean Energy Act of 2018 (P.L. 2018, c. 17), the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (“Board” or “BPU”) must close the SRP to new applications upon the attainment of 5.1 percent of the kilowatt-hours sold in the State from solar electric power generators connected to the distribution system. By Order dated February 27, 2019, Docket No. QO18070698, the Board clarified this section of the Act as follows: projects previously determined to be eligible for SRECs by meeting the October 29, 2018 deadline and satisfying all other applicable requirements shall continue to be eligible to create SRECs after the State’s attainment of the 5.1% Milestone; and, projects in the SRP pipeline that did not submit a completed registration or application for designation or conditional certification before midnight of October 29, 2018 and that have not commenced commercial operations when the Board determines that the 5.1% milestone has been reached may not be eligible for SRECs.

The Act also shortened the SREC Qualification Life from 15 to 10 years. In the same Order noted above the Board Ordered Board Staff to apply a 10-year SREC Qualification Life to all applications submitted after midnight on October 29, 2018. Please see the Board’s Order for additional details.

By Order dated July 10, 2019, the Board further addressed implementation of the Act by stating that projects that filed a complete SRP registration or application for designation or conditional certification after October 29, 2018 but that have not reached commercial operation at the time the Board determines that the 5.1% Milestone has been attained will be eligible to be considered for any transition program that the Board may adopt, provided they have maintained eligibility in other respects. (I/M/O a New Jersey Solar Transition Pursuant to P.L. 2018, c.17, BPU Docket No. Q019010068 Order dated July 10, 2019 available here).

By Order dated December 6, 2019, the Board ordered the creation of a Transition Incentive (“TI”) program, comprised of fixed-price, factorized Transition Renewable Energy Certificates (“TRECs”). Projects that submitted complete SRP registrations after October 29, 2018, that have yet to commence commercial operations but otherwise remain in good standing in the SRP pipeline at the time that the Board determines that the 5.1% Milestone has been attained, will be eligible for the TI. (I/M/O a new Jersey Solar Transition Pursuant to P.L. 2018, c. 17, BPU Docket No. QO19010068, Order dated December 6, 2019 available here.

The Transition Incentive Program was established by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) to provide a bridge between the Legacy SREC Registration Program and the Successor Program. The Transition Incentive Program will be open to new registrations from the close of the SRP until the Successor Program registration is established.

RPS rule amendments to the SRP provisions were adopted on February 3, 2020 which addressed the Board’s calculation and reporting methodology on progress toward the 5.1% milestone and clarified the eligibility requirements for certain classes of projects.

By Order dated March 27, 2020, in light of the COVID response, the Board relaxed the SRP requirement for submission of the Post-Construction Certification package before registration expiration to allow developer/owners to submit the final package 90 days from the date of issuance of the PTO.  On April 6, 2020, the Board determined that the 5.1% Milestone shall be attained on or before May 1, 2020, and therefore directed TRC to close the SREC Registration Program to new registrations on April 30, 2020. Additionally, the Transition Incentive Program was established by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) to provide a bridge between the Legacy SREC Registration Program and the Successor Program. The Transition Incentive Program will be open to new registrations from the close of the SRP until the Successor Program registration is establish

Schedule for Closing the SREC Registration Program and Opening of the Transition Incentive Program

• SRP online portal is closed to NEW registrations as of April 30, 2020 11:59:59 EST
  
• On May 1, 2020, 12:01 am EST, the Transition Program (TI) portal opened to NEW TI applications and to projects that previously registered in the SREC Registration Program, but did not receive permission to operate from the Electric Distribution Company (EDC) by the date the 5.1% milestone was attained, April 30, 2020.

How do I Transfer My SRP Registration to the TI Program

• Instructions on Transferring from SRP to TI

Process for Requesting Extended Time for SRP Registrations to Obtain Final Inspection and Permission to Operate (PTO)

Per Board Order 4/27/2020 certain projects impacted by COVID-19 may be eligible for an extension to receive Permission to Operate (PTO) for purposes of determining SREC eligibility.  For complete projects that applied for local code inspection or PTO by April 30 but were unable to fulfill due to COVID delays, the SRP portal will remain open to submit final inspections and PTO no later than ninety (90) days following the end of the Public Health Emergency or State of Emergency established by Executive Order No. 103 (Murphy, 2020), whichever ends later.

Projects that would like to submit a waiver in the online portal will be required to submit the documents listed on the below checklist:

• Permission to Operate (PTO) Waiver Request Instructions and Checklist
• Milestone Reporting Form - Request for Relief from Requirement for PTO

Registration Packet

SRP is closed to new registrations.

SRP Online Registration Portal

• SRP online portal is closed to NEW registrations as of April 30, 2020 11:59:59 EST
• SRP online portal will remain open for Final As-Built Packet (Post Construction Certification) submissions
• On May 1, 2020, 12:01 am EST, the Transition Program (TI) portal opened to NEW TI applications and to projects that previously registered in the SREC Registration Program, but did not receive permission to operate from the Electric Distribution Company (EDC) by the date the 5.1% milestone was attained, April 30, 2020.

Milestone Reporting Forms

Required for all Grid Supply Facilities and All Net Metered Facilities Greater Than 1 MW:  The Milestone Reporting Form must be submitted by the Registrant as an initial report with the SRP Registration Packet and quarterly thereafter, including any extensions, if applicable, that may be granted to the initial SRP acceptance period, until the Final As-Built packet is submitted.

• Net Metered and Grid Supply Facilities Milestone Reporting Form (Jan 2020)
• Community Solar Milestone Reporting Form (Jan 2020)

Extension Policy

NOTE: Although an extension has been granted for some projects that registered after 10/29/18, the expiration date is defined as the earlier date of when the Board determines that the 5.1% milestone has been attained for SRP closure - OR - the expiration date listed in the pipeline report.

• SRP Final As-Built Checklist (updated Aug 2019)
• SRP Final As-Built Instructions (updated Jul 2018)
• SRP Final As-Built Technical Worksheet (updated Jan 2020)
• Post-Construction NJDEP Compliance Form Solar Act Subsection (t) N.J.S.A 48:3-87
• Subsection (q) Return of Escrow Instructions 082014
• Subsection (q) Escrow Change Letter 08202014

Tools needed to complete the forms

NJCEP reserves the right to request a complete copy of production estimates, a full shade analysis, or any relevant documentation from the installer at any time.  Save a copy of the “Results” pages for permanent record with the project file.

PVWatts/System Advisor Model (SAM)

• PV Watts Calculator - Instructions for Using PV Watts Calculator
• System Advisor Model (SAM)

Commonly Used Shading Analysis Tools
NJCEP permits the use of other tools as long as the tool can provide a full summary report, in case the Program Manager requests copies.

• Solar Pathfinder
• Solmetric Sun Eye

To Verify the Solar Azimuth Orientation

• Solmetric Roof Azimuth Measurement Tool
• NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (formerly the National Geophysical Data Center)

Program Contacts

Correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:

SREC Registration Program
New Jersey's Clean Energy Program
Phone:  866-NJSMART (866-657-6278)
njreinfo@NJCleanEnergy.com