.jpg)
.jpg)
Remote Net Metered Solar Facilities
Background
On May 23, 2018, Governor Murphy signed the Clean Energy Act of 2018, L. 2018, c. 23 (“CEA Act”) into law. Among other mandates, the CEA Act directed the Board to "establish an application and approval process to certify public entities to act as a host customer for remote net metering capacity" within one hundred and twenty days of enactment. N.J.S.A. 48:3-87.12(a).
A Remote Net Metering (RNM) Stakeholders Meeting was held on July 31, 2018, at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, in the Public Hearing Room at 401 East State Street in Trenton, NJ. A meeting invitation was circulated to the Renewable Energy and Interconnection email distribution lists and posted to the Net Metering and Interconnection Stakeholder page along with an Agenda, a Draft Remote Net Metering Certification Agreement and a RNM Staff Request for Public Comment. A record of comments submitted can be found here.
On September 17, 2018, Staff proposed, and the Board approved, a RNM application and approval process. The RNM Order covered the following elements of the application and approval process: RNM eligibility; the definition of a Public Entity; Host Customer; Credit Receiving Customer; Total Average Usage; the determination of maximum capacity of the solar electric generation facility; the value of an RNM “Credit”; and the steps of the application process.
On December 21, 2023, Governor Murphy signed P.L. 2023, c. 190, an Act concerning Remote Net Metering (“Act”), which significantly modified the existing RNM program. The modifications made by the Act affect the eligibility requirements and the sizing methodology for RNM facilities and necessitate changes to the application and approval process.
The Act also amends N.J.S.A. 48:3-116, which requires the Board to establish an incentive program for solar facilities less than 5 MW with targets for various market segments and which the Board implemented in establishing Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) Program. Pursuant to the Act, remote net metered facilities up to 5 MW (dc) shall receive incentives through the ADI Program. The Act establishes a target of providing SREC-IIs to 50 MW per year of RNM facilities for each of the five years following the establishment of the ADI Program. On May 22, 2024, the Board established a RNM market segment in the ADI Program and allocated 50 MW as required by the Act.
On August 13,2024, NJBPU Board Secretary issued a Request for Information (RFI), IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A REMOTE NET METERING APPLICATION AND APPROVAL PROCESS PURSUANT TO L. 2023, C. 190, Docket No. QO24070554. The deadline for submitting public comments on this RFI was August 26, 2024.
Per Board Order dated December 18, 2024, IN THE MATTER OF A SUCCESSOR SOLAR INCENTIVE PROGRAM PURSUANT TO P.L. 2021, C.169, IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A REMOTE NET METERING MARKET SEGMENT IN THE ADI PROGRAM AND OF AN APPLICATION AND APPROVAL PROCESS PURSUANT TO P.L. 2023, CHAPTER 190, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has established a Remote Net Metering Application and Approval Process. for the Remote Net Metering market segment under the Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) Program.
NOTE: Staff of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (“Staff”) became aware, some time prior to the passage of the Act, that certain solar developers were promoting a construct referred to as “solar condominiums.” Staff has provided its viewpoint in a public Staff Letter; Staff’s views have not changed since the passage of the Act. This is a Staff document and may not represent the views of the Board or of the individual Commissioners.
Remote Net Metering (RNM) Registration Online Portal
[Online Portal: Coming Soon]
ADI Program - Remote Net Metering Solar Installer Trainings
| Date of Training | Presentation | Webinar Recording | Q&A |
| Coming Soon | Coming Soon | Coming Soon | Coming Soon |
ADI Program - Remote Net Metering Capacity Block
| Energy Year 2025 Capacity Block |
Capacity Subscribed |
Capacity Availableks |
| 50 MW (dc) | 0 MW (dc) | 0 MW (dc) |
ADI Program - Remote Net Metering Incentive Value
Solar facilities that participate under the Remote Net Metering component of the ADI Program will be eligible for the same SREC-II value as solar facilities that participate in the Community Solar Energy Program (CSEP). Board Staff anticipates that the majority of RNM projects will be greater than 1 MW and thus eligible under ADI for an $85 SREC-II in EY25; the $90 level available to CSEP projects in EY25 thus represents an augmented incentive. Staff does not recommend any additional adder for RNM projects.
| Market Segment |
System Size MW (dc) |
SREC-II Value |
| Remote Net Metering | Solar Facilities up to 5 MW | $90 |
15-year SREC II Qualification Life
Remote Net Metering (RNM) Solar Facilities Key Eligibility Requirements
All remote net metering host customers must be public entities.
- The Board approved process in the “2018 RNM order defines “public entity,” for purposes of RNM eligibility, consistent with the list of entities identified as eligible for aggregated net metering in the Solar Act of 2012 (L. 2012, c. 24): State entity, school district, county, county agency, county authority, municipality, municipal agency or municipal authority. The Board further determined that the definition of “public entity” expressly includes public universities.”
- RNM Registration with a solar facility sized over 5 MW (dc) will automatically be rejected.
- Solar project owners or their developers must follow the interconnection process required by New Jersey law at N.J.A.C. 14:8-1 through 14:8-5.9 and facilitated by their Electric Distribution Company (EDC).
- The solar equipment must be new. N.J.A.C. 14:8-11.4 (c) Any equipment used in an RNM-eligible facility must be new; that is, none of the equipment may have been used prior to the installation.
- Solar facilities must be connected to a distribution or transmission system owned or operated by a New Jersey public utility.
- Solar facilities receiving incentives that are 1 MW (dc) or greater in size are subject to the Prevailing Wage Act N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.25, et seq.
- All RNM projects must reach permission to operate on or before the expiration date noted in the acceptance letter.
- Solar facilities on contaminated site or landfills are subject to New Jersey Solar Erosion and Sediment Control Act N.J.S.A. 4:24-39 et seq, its implementing rules at N.J.A.C. 2:90 and NJDEP’s Stormwater Management rules under N.J.A.C. 7.8.
- ADI Program does not permit RNM solar facilities on prime agricultural soils and soils of Statewide importance, as identified by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which are located in Agricultural Development Areas certified by the State Agricultural Development Committee.
- Remote Net Metering Solar Facilities are prohibited from "Commencing Construction," (defined as obtaining permission to operate or PTO) prior to receipt of acceptance into the ADI program. Solar facilities that obtain PTO prior to the issuance of the acceptance letter will be required to petition the Board of eligibility in the ADI program.
Definitions
- Project Representative: A representative Point of Contact responsible for submitting the RNM application and interconnection Part 1 to the EDC, for providing the allocations and any changes to those allocations moving forward, and for submitting RNM registration and all required documentation. A Project Representative can be from the public entity or a solar developer.
- Receiving Customers: Entities designated to receive credits must be public entities located in the same EDC territory as the solar facility.
- Receiving Accounts: Customer accounts that are credited by the EDC for a portion of the generation of an RNM solar facility. The aggregate total usage of these accounts during the previous 12 months will determine the maximum size of the solar facility.
Remote Net Metering Siting Requirements
The solar systems can be located on property owned, licensed or leased by public entity or on any suitable private property.
Remote Net Metering solar facilities are prohibited from being installed on the following site types:
- Land preserved under the Green Acres Program
- Land designated as freshwater wetlands as defined pursuant to P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-1 et seq.), or coastal wetlands as defined pursuant to P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-1 et seq.)
- Forested lands, as defined by the board in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection
- Prime agricultural soils and soils of Statewide importance, as identified by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which are located in Agricultural Development Areas certified by the State Agricultural Development Committee
- Preservation area of the pinelands area and land designated as forest area within the pinelands comprehensive management plan
RNM Initial Registration Requirements
[Checklists and forms will be posted soon]
* A RNM Milestone Reporting Form is required to be submitted for solar facilities over 1 MW (dc) with the initial registration package and quarterly thereafter, up until the submission of the Final As-Built (Post Construction Certification) Package.
Identifying Major and Minor Deficiencies
As the RNM Registration is reviewed, it will either be accepted or deemed incomplete. This document explains how the ADI processing team identifies minor and major deficiencies within your RNM registration packet.
[documents to be posted soon]
Note: Please be advised, if your RNM Registration packet is rejected, whether for a major or minor deficiency, and the RNM capacity block has been fully subscribed before you have resubmitted your registration package, you will no longer be eligible to submit a new registration in this capacity block. The RNM registration online portal will be closed for new registrations under this capacity block, and you will be required to wait until the next capacity block is opened to submit a new registration.
RNM FInal As-Built (Post Construction Certification) Package
[Checklists and forms will be posted soon]
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.
PV Watts / System Advisor Model (SAM)
Extension Policy
Remote Net Metered solar facilities accepted in the ADI Program may be eligible for one 6-month extension from the SuSI Program Manager. The registrant may apply for an extension for any solar installation that cannot complete the installation and submit a complete Final As-Built (Post Construction Certification) package with permission to operate from the Electric Distribution Company in the RNM registration online portal on or before the expiration date noted in the Acceptance Letter.
- Checklist (to be posted soon)
- Milestone Form (to be posted soon)
Extension Requests will be reviewed and considered on a case-by-case basis and should include supporting documentation of extenuating circumstances for the delay in completing the facility, evidence that the facility has made progress towards completion, and demonstrations of the likelihood of timely and successful completion of the solar facility. When deciding on the extension request, the processing team will consider whether the registrant has submitted timely quarterly milestone reporting forms. If the extension is granted, the ADI Program will provide a new registration expiration date six months from the expiration on the original conditional Acceptance Letter.
Any RNM solar facility that would like to submit a request for a second extension must submit a petition to the NJBPU, for consideration. Instructions on how to file a petition can be found at How to File a Petition.
Co-location
Co-location is not permitted in RNM, unless the Board grants a waiver to a petition. N.J.A.C. 14:8-11.4(f). Co-location is defined as siting two or more SuSI-eligible solar facilities on the same property or on contiguous properties such that the individual facilities sum to greater than 5 MW in aggregate and/or are eligible for a higher incentive value or different program than they would be if they combined into one single facility. RNM facilities located on different rooftops on separate buildings and different properties regardless of ownership are not considered co-located. Furthermore, an RNM solar facility and a net metered facility are not deemed co-located if they serve separate customers. If the review of the Post Construction Certification (Final As-Built) packet or project inspection reveal that the registrant failed to disclose co-located solar facilities, the Board may take enforcement action, including but not limited to adjusting the incentive downward by multiplying the aggregated project size by the lowest incentive level among the projects’ qualifying market segments.
RNM Requirements for Increases / Decreases to the Solar System
RNM solar facilities can increase up to 20 percent or 25 kW (dc), whichever is smaller from the system size submitted in the original RNM registration. Systems that are increased more than the 20 percent or 25 kW, whichever is smaller will be required to submit a petition to the NJBPU Board Secretary to request a waiver to this rule. A RNM solar facility cannot increase the system’s capacity beyond 5 MW (dc).
The ADI Program does permit RNM solar facilities to decrease the system from the original system size that was submitted with the initial RNM registration.
Program Contacts
Correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:
New Jersey's Clean Energy Program
Successor Solar incentive (SuSI) Program
Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) Program
NJREINFO@NJCleanEnergy.com
Phone: 866-NJSMART (866-657-6278)