Bill Text: NJ A3974 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Modifies various provisions of State's renewable energy incentive programs; requires electric public utilities to consider interconnection applications for certain solar projects.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-06-30 - Substituted by S3183 (3R) [A3974 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A3974-Amended.html
ASSEMBLY, No. 3974
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT J. KARABINCHAK
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Modifies various provisions of State's renewable energy incentive programs; requires electric public utilities to interconnect certain solar projects.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee on March 16, 2026, with amendments.
An Act concerning renewable energy, supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes, and amending various sections of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. As used in this section:
"Administratively determined incentive program" means the program for the award of SREC-IIs to small solar facilities pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2021, c.169 (C.48:3-116).
"Board" means the Board of Public Utilities.
"Co-location" means siting two or more SREC-II eligible solar facilities on the same property or on contiguous properties, such that the individual facilities are eligible for a higher incentive value than they would be if they were combined into one single facility. In the case of net metered projects, SREC-II eligible solar facilities shall 1[be]1 not be deemed co-located if they serve separate net metering customers.
"Community solar program" means the program established by the board pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2018, c.17 (C.48:3-87.11).
"Competitive solicitation incentive program" means the program for the award of SREC-IIs to solar facilities pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2021, c.169 (C.48:3-117).
"Contaminated site" means any currently contaminated portion of a property on which industrial or commercial operations were conducted and a discharge occurred, and its associated disturbed areas, where "discharge" means the same as the term is defined in section 23 of P.L.1993, c.139 (C.58:10B-1).
"Garden State Energy Storage Program" means the program established pursuant to P.L.2025, c.136 (C.48:3-121.2 et al.).
"Mining site" means a sand mine, gravel pit, or mine, or former sand mine, gravel pit, or mine, closed resource extraction facility, or land classified as "extractive mining" in Level II of the modified Anderson classification system within the most recent Land Use-Land Cover geographic information system data layer produced by the Department of Environmental Protection.
"Remote net metering program" means the program established by the board pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2018, c.17 (C.48:3-87.12).
"Renewable energy facility" means the same as the term is defined in section 1 of P.L.2009, c.35 (C.40:55D-66.11).
"Renewable energy incentive program" means the competitive solicitation incentive program, remote net metering program, community solar program, administratively determined incentive program, T REC program, SREC-II program, or any other program administered by the board, which provides financial incentives to renewable energy projects or facilities.
"Solar renewable energy certificate" or "SREC" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
"Solar renewable energy certificate-II" or "SREC-II" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-51).
"Transition renewable energy certificate" or "TREC" means a certificate issued by the board or its designee under the solar energy transition incentive program, which is designed to transition between the SREC program and the SREC-II program established pursuant to P.L.2021, c.169 (C.48:3-114 et al.).
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87), or any other law, rule, regulation, order, or board order to the contrary, there shall be no prohibition on the co-location of solar facilities either registered or seeking registration or participation in the administratively determined incentive program, the competitive solicitation incentive program, the community solar program, the remote net metering program, or any combination thereof. Multiple solar facilities may be co-located, either on the same property, or on contiguous properties, so long as the facilities are 1[(1)] :1 developed as separate projects or separate phases of the same project 1[,] ;1 and 1[(2)]1 have separate interconnection facilities.
c. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87), or any other law, rule, regulation, order, or board order to the contrary, there shall be no size or power output restriction for solar facilities that are located on landfills, brownfields, contaminated sites, or mining sites for the purposes of eligibility for the community solar program or the remote net metering program.
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87), or any other law, rule, regulation, order, or board order to the contrary, any project sited on a landfill, brownfield, contaminated site, or mining site that is participating in the community solar program, the remote net metering program, or any combination thereof shall have no less than 33 months from the date of registration in the applicable program to achieve commercial operation, as evidenced by a 1[permission to operate] permission-to-operate1 letter from the applicable electric public utility. The 33-month period referenced above shall be automatically extended, on a day for day basis, without the need for additional board order or other confirmation, in the event of utility-caused delays regarding interconnection of the project to the local electric transmission or distribution system.
e. 1[A developer that previously received an approval in the TREC program for any project that has not achieved commercial operation as of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), shall register the project, within 90 days after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), in the community solar program, the remote net metering program, or both programs if the facilities are co-located, for registrations that do not cause a decrease in the previously approved facility size. If the registration would cause a decrease in the previously approved facility size, the developer may register the project in the community solar program, the remote net metering program, or both, as the case may be. The registration shall be conditional until the developer's receipt of a conditional approval to construct from the applicable local public utility.
f.]1 An electric public utility shall, 1[within 90 days of] upon1 receipt of a complete application, accept, process, and approve interconnection applications for community solar or remote net metering facilities on any electric line that is sized 34.5 kilovolts or less 1[and shall complete interconnection in no less than 30 days from written notification from the developer of the project being ready for such interconnection. These deadlines may be extended by written consent of the developer, for no more than 30 days. Failure by the electric public utility to meet these deadlines will result in a penalty of $5,000 per day payable to the developer, which shall be paid by the electric public utility and shall not be passed on to ratepayers]1.
1[g.] f.1 Any electric line maintained by an electric public utility that is sized at 34.5 kilovolts or less shall be considered to be distribution lines, shall be subject to the board's jurisdiction, and shall be eligible for interconnection by any project participating in the community solar program, remote net meter program, the competitively determined incentive program, the Garden State Energy Storage Program, or any other State-sponsored solar electricity incentive program or battery energy storage program.
1[h. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87) to the contrary, any renewable energy facility shall be eligible to utilize previously awarded, but not utilized TREC incentives, including for awarded TREC projects that either (1) did not achieve commercial operation by the required program deadline, (2) were awarded TRECs in excess of those actually utilized by the project, or (3) otherwise did not utilize the awarded TRECs. Any project utilizing such previously awarded TREC incentives shall file a certification with the board detailing the TRECs being utilized and providing evidence of assignment from the prior developer of any right, title, and interest to any such previously awarded TRECs. Any TRECs utilized in this way shall have a qualification life of 15 years from the date of the commercial operation of the facility at which they are utilized.]1
2. Section 1 of P.L.2009, c.35 (C.40:55D-66.11) is amended to read as follows:
1. A renewable energy facility on a parcel or parcels of land comprising 20 or more contiguous acres that are owned by the same person or entity shall be a permitted use within every industrial district of a municipality.
For the purposes of this section:
"renewable energy facility" means a facility that engages in the production or storage of electric energy from solar technologies, photovoltaic technologies, battery storage technology, or wind energy.
(cf: P.L.2009, c.35, s.1)
3. Section 2 of P.L.2011, c.141 (C.40:55D-66.16) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. Notwithstanding any law, ordinance, rule or regulation to the contrary, a solar or photovoltaic energy facility, battery storage, or renewable energy facility or structure associated with either a solar or photovoltaic energy facility constructed and operated on the site of any landfill, brownfield, contaminated site, mining site, or closed resource extraction operation, shall be a permitted use within every municipality.
b. Notwithstanding any law, ordinance, rule or regulation to the contrary, a wind energy generation facility or structure constructed and operated on the site of any landfill or closed resource extraction operation, shall be a permitted use within every municipality outside the pinelands area as defined pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-3).
The Department of Environmental Protection may adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as necessary to effectuate the purposes of this subsection.
(cf: P.L.2011, c.141, s.2)
4. Section 5 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-5) is amended to read as follows:
5. Any contract the amount of which exceeds the bid threshold, may be negotiated and awarded by the governing body without public advertising for bids and bidding therefor and shall be awarded by resolution of the governing body if:
(1) The subject matter thereof consists of:
(a) (i) Professional services. The governing body shall in each instance state supporting reasons for its action in the resolution awarding each contract and shall forthwith cause to be printed once, in the official newspaper, a brief notice stating the nature, duration, service and amount of the contract, and that the resolution and contract are on file and available for public inspection in the office of the clerk of the county or municipality, or, in the case of a contracting unit created by more than one county or municipality, of the counties or municipalities creating the contracting unit; or (ii) Extraordinary unspecifiable services. The application of this exception shall be construed narrowly in favor of open competitive bidding, whenever possible, and the Division of Local Government Services is authorized to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations after consultation with the Commissioner of Education limiting the use of this exception in accordance with the intention herein expressed. The governing body shall in each instance state supporting reasons for its action in the resolution awarding each contract and shall forthwith cause to be printed, in the manner set forth in subsection (1) (a) (i) of this section, a brief notice of the award of the contract;
(b) The doing of any work by employees of the contracting unit;
(c) The printing of legal briefs, records, and appendices to be used in any legal proceeding in which the contracting unit may be a party;
(d) The furnishing of a tax map or maps for the contracting unit;
(e) The purchase of perishable foods as a subsistence supply;
(f) The supplying of any product or the rendering of any service by a public utility, which is subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or its successor, in accordance with tariffs and schedules of charges made, charged or exacted, filed with the board or commission;
(g) The acquisition, subject to prior approval of the Attorney General, of special equipment for confidential investigation;
(h) The printing of bonds and documents necessary to the issuance and sale thereof by a contracting unit;
(i) Equipment repair service if in the nature of an extraordinary unspecifiable service and necessary parts furnished in connection with the service, which exception shall be in accordance with the requirements for extraordinary unspecifiable services;
(j) The publishing of legal notices in newspapers as required by law;
(k) The acquisition of artifacts or other items of unique intrinsic, artistic or historical character;
(l) Those goods and services necessary or required to prepare and conduct an election;
(m) Insurance, including the purchase of insurance coverage and consultant services, which exception shall be in accordance with the requirements for extraordinary unspecifiable services;
(n) The doing of any work by persons with disabilities employed by a sheltered workshop;
(o) The provision of any goods or services including those of a commercial nature, attendant upon the operation of a restaurant by any nonprofit, duly incorporated, historical society at or on any historical preservation site;
(p) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c.440.)
(q) Library and educational goods and services;
(r) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2005, c.212).
(s) The marketing of recyclable materials recovered through a recycling program, or the marketing of any product intentionally produced or derived from solid waste received at a resource recovery facility or recovered through a resource recovery program, including, but not limited to, refuse-derived fuel, compost materials, methane gas, and other similar products;
(t) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1999, c.440.)
(u) Contracting unit towing and storage contracts, provided that all of the contracts shall be pursuant to reasonable non-exclusionary and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, which may include the provision of the services on a rotating basis, at the rates and charges set by the municipality pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1979, c.101 (C.40:48-2.49). All contracting unit towing and storage contracts for services to be provided at rates and charges other than those established pursuant to the terms of this paragraph shall only be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder in accordance with the provisions of the "Local Public Contracts Law," P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.) and without regard for the value of the contract therefor;
(v) The purchase of steam or electricity from, or the rendering of services directly related to the purchase of steam or electricity from a qualifying small power production facility or a qualifying cogeneration facility as defined pursuant to 16 U.S.C. s.796;
(w) The purchase of electricity or administrative or dispatching services directly related to the transmission of purchased electricity by a contracting unit engaged in the generation of electricity, or the purchase of remote net metering credits, similar renewable energy credits, or renewable energy production credits pursuant to a program administered by the Board of Public Utilities, including the remote net metering program established pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2018, c.17 (C.48:3-87.12);
(x) The printing of municipal ordinances or other services necessarily incurred in connection with the revision and codification of municipal ordinances;
(y) An agreement for the purchase of an equitable interest in a water supply facility or for the provision of water supply services entered into pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1993, c.381 (C.58:28-2), or an agreement entered into pursuant to N.J.S.40A:31-1 et al., so long as the agreement is entered into no later than six months after the effective date of P.L.1993, c.381;
(z) A contract for the provision of water supply services entered into pursuant to P.L.1995, c.101 (C.58:26-19 et al.);
(aa) The cooperative marketing of recyclable materials recovered through a recycling program;
(bb) A contract for the provision of wastewater treatment services entered into pursuant to P.L.1995, c.216 (C.58:27-19 et al.);
(cc) Expenses for travel and conferences;
(dd) The provision or performance of goods or services for the support or maintenance of proprietary computer hardware and software, except that this provision shall not be utilized to acquire or upgrade non-proprietary hardware or to acquire or update non-proprietary software;
(ee) The management or operation of an airport owned by the contracting unit pursuant to R.S.40:8-1 et seq.;
(ff) Purchases of goods and services at rates set by the Universal Service Fund administered by the Federal Communications Commission;
(gg) A contract for the provision of water supply services or wastewater treatment services entered into pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2002, c.47 (C.40A:11-5.1), or the designing, financing, construction, operation, or maintenance, or any combination thereof, of a water supply facility as defined in subsection (16) of section 15 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-15) or a wastewater treatment system as defined in subsection (19) of section 15 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-15), or any component part or parts thereof, including a water filtration system as defined in subsection (16) of section 15 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-15); or
(hh) The purchase of electricity generated from a power production facility that is fueled by methane gas extracted from a landfill in the county of the contracting unit.
(2) It is to be made or entered into with the United States of America, the State of New Jersey, county, or municipality, or any board, body, officer, agency, or authority thereof, or any other state or subdivision thereof.
(3) Bids have been advertised pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-4) on two occasions and (a) no bids have been received on both occasions in response to the advertisement, or (b) the governing body has rejected the bids on two occasions because it has determined that they are not reasonable as to price, on the basis of cost estimates prepared for or by the contracting agent prior to the advertising therefor, or have not been independently arrived at in open competition, or (c) on one occasion no bids were received pursuant to (a) and on one occasion all bids were rejected pursuant to (b), in whatever sequence; a contract may then be negotiated and may be awarded upon adoption of a resolution by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the authorized membership of the governing body authorizing the contract; provided, however, that:
(i) A reasonable effort is first made by the contracting agent to determine that the same or equivalent goods or services, at a cost which is lower than the negotiated price, are not available from an agency or authority of the United States, the State of New Jersey or of the county in which the contracting unit is located, or any municipality in close proximity to the contracting unit;
(ii) The terms, conditions, restrictions, and specifications set forth in the negotiated contract are not substantially different from those which were the subject of competitive bidding pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-4); and
(iii) Any minor amendment or modification of any of the terms, conditions, restrictions, and specifications, which were the subject of competitive bidding pursuant to section 4 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-4), shall be stated in the resolution awarding the contract; provided further, however, that if on the second occasion the bids received are rejected as unreasonable as to price, the contracting agent shall notify each responsible bidder submitting bids on the second occasion of its intention to negotiate, and afford each bidder a reasonable opportunity to negotiate, but the governing body shall not award the contract unless the negotiated price is lower than the lowest rejected bid price submitted on the second occasion by a responsible bidder, is the lowest negotiated price offered by any responsible vendor, and is a reasonable price for goods or services.
Whenever a contracting unit shall determine that a bid was not arrived at independently in open competition pursuant to subsection (3) of this section it shall thereupon notify the county prosecutor of the county in which the contracting unit is located and the Attorney General of the facts upon which its determination is based, and when appropriate, it may institute appropriate proceedings in any State or federal court of competent jurisdiction for a violation of any State or federal antitrust law or laws relating to the unlawful restraint of trade.
(4) The contracting unit has solicited and received at least three quotations on materials, supplies, or equipment for which a State contract has been issued pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-12), and the lowest responsible quotation is at least 10 percent less than the price the contracting unit would be charged for the identical materials, supplies, or equipment, in the same quantities, under the State contract. A contract entered into pursuant to this subsection may be awarded only upon adoption of a resolution by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the full membership of the governing body of the contracting unit at a meeting thereof authorizing the contract. A copy of the purchase order relating to the contract, the requisition for purchase order, if applicable, and documentation identifying the price of the materials, supplies or equipment under the State contract and the State contract number shall be filed with the director within five working days of the award of the contract by the contracting unit. The director shall notify the contracting unit of receipt of the material and shall make the material available to the State Treasurer. The contracting unit shall make available to the director upon request any other documents relating to the solicitation and award of the contract, including, but not limited to, quotations, requests for quotations, and resolutions. The director periodically shall review material submitted by contracting units to determine the impact of the contracts on local contracting and shall consult with the State Treasurer on the impact of the contracts on the State procurement process. The director may, after consultation with the State Treasurer, adopt rules in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to limit the use of this subsection, after considering the impact of contracts awarded under this subsection on State and local contracting, or after considering the extent to which the award of contracts pursuant to this subsection is consistent with and in furtherance of the purposes of the public contracting laws.
(5) Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the subject matter consists of the combined collection and marketing, or the cooperative combined collection and marketing of recycled material recovered through a recycling program, or any product intentionally produced or derived from solid waste received at a resource recovery facility or recovered through a resource recovery program including, but not limited to, refuse-derived fuel, compost materials, methane gas, and other similar products, provided that in lieu of engaging in public advertising for bids and the bidding therefor, the contracting unit shall, prior to commencing the procurement process, submit for approval to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services, a written detailed description of the process to be followed in securing the services. Within 30 days after receipt of the written description the director shall, if the director finds that the process provides for fair competition and integrity in the negotiation process, approve, in writing, the description submitted by the contracting unit. If the director finds that the process does not provide for fair competition and integrity in the negotiation process, the director shall advise the contracting unit of the deficiencies that must be remedied. If the director fails to respond in writing to the contracting unit within 30 days, the procurement process as described shall be deemed approved. As used in this section, "collection" means the physical removal of recyclable materials from curbside or any other location selected by the contracting unit.
(6) Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the contract is for the provision of electricity by a contracting unit engaged in the distribution of electricity for retail sale, for the provision of wholesale electricity by a municipal shared services energy authority as defined pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2015, c.129 (C.40A:66-3), or for the provision of administrative or dispatching services related to the transmission of electricity, provided that in lieu of engaging in public advertising for bids and the bidding therefor, the contracting unit shall, prior to commencing the procurement process, submit for approval to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services, a written detailed description of the process to be followed in securing these services. The process shall be designed in a way that is appropriate to and commensurate with industry practices, and the integrity of the government contracting process. Within 30 days after receipt of the written description, the director shall, if the director finds that the process provides for fair competition and integrity in the negotiation process, approve, in writing, the description submitted by the contracting unit. If the director finds that the process does not provide for fair competition and integrity in the negotiation process, the director shall advise the contracting unit of the deficiencies that must be remedied. If the director fails to respond in writing to the contracting unit within 30 days, the procurement process, as submitted to the director pursuant to this section, shall be deemed approved.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.131, s.174)
5. Section 6 of P.L.2018, c.17 (C.48:3-87.12) is amended to read as follows:
6. a. No later than 120 days after the date of enactment of P.L.2023, c.190, the board shall establish an application and approval process for remote net metered solar energy projects serving public entities as receiving customers.
A remote net metered solar energy project shall:
(1) have a capacity up to [five] 20 megawatts, as measured in direct current;
(2) exclusively serve public entities certified by the board to act as receiving customers and located within the same electric distribution company service territory as the project;
(3) be located on any property owned, licensed, or leased by any public entity or on any suitable private property, including, but not limited to, rooftops of commercial buildings, parking lots, brownfields [for which a final remediation document has been issued, or properly closed sanitary landfill facilities] , contaminated sites, landfills, or mining sites;
(4) not be sited on:
(a) land preserved under the Green Acres Program;
(b) 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.);
(c) forested lands, as defined by the board in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection; or
[d)] (d) 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;
(5) have a facility size calculated based upon the total aggregate electricity usage of the receiving public entity customer utility accounts to be served by the project, based on the total usage of each proposed customer account over the previous twelve months; and
(6) be metered separately.
b. The board shall establish a remote net metering application process to approve remote net metered solar energy projects and certify public entities to act as receiving customers for remote net metering generating capacity. The process shall be modeled after the relevant rules and regulations adopted by the board for the community solar energy program pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2018, c.17 (C.48:3-87.11), including, but not limited to, the calculation of the value of the net metering credit. An electric public utility shall be entitled to full and timely cost recovery, including the full value of public remote net metering credits provided to customers and billing system investments, associated with public remote net metering consistent with the Community Solar provisions pursuant to subsection e. of section 5 of P.L.2018, c.17 (C.48:3-87.11).
c. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2023, c.190)
d. The electric distribution company that serves the location of a solar energy project approved pursuant to this section shall be responsible for reviewing and approving the interconnection of the solar energy project.
(cf: P.L.2023, c.190, s.1)
6. No later than 120 days after the effective date of this act, the board shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as necessary for implementing the provisions of this act, which shall be based on existing rules located at N.J.A.C.14:3-8.1 et seq.
7. This act shall take effect immediately.
