New Jersey’s regulator has approved the construction of battery storage facilities and a procurement for further energy storage resources in the PJM-connected US state.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) last week approved three major measures to boost clean energy provision and address energy affordability, which the state’s new governor, Mikie Sherrill, has made a priority early in her tenure.
Among the measures passed by the board last week, the 3GW expansion of the New Jersey community solar programme is said to be the largest increase in the initiative in the state’s history.
The new capacity will be distributed across the state’s major utilities, with PSE&G taking the lion’s share at 1,555MW. Community solar initiatives enable residents without suitable rooftop solar installations, particularly low- to middle-income renters, to reduce their energy bills by subscribing to off-site solar projects.
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So far, the New Jersey community solar programme has had 37,000 subscribers, but NJPB said the initiative’s expansion could enable as many as 450,000 users to participate. The new round will include a 300MW carve-out for projects on landfill sites.
Additionally, the board has approved three PV projects totalling 24.1MW under the third round of the state’s Competitive Solar Incentive (CSI) programme. One of the three successful projects is a 10MW floating solar array being built at the Wanaque Reservoir for the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, which the board said would be the largest floating solar facility in the United States.
The state will also open a fourth round of the CSI programme, which awards solar renewable energy certificates to projects through a competitive tendering process, and is a key part of New Jersey’s target of 3,750MW of new solar by 2026. The fourth round will include a new tranche for projects of 20MW and over. Bidding will open this week and close on 24 April 2026.
355MW of BESS approved, 645MW procurement opened
Alongside the measures to expand solar in the state, the board has also approved incentives for three large battery energy storage system (BESS) projects totalling 355MW under the first round of the Garden State Energy Storage Program (GSESP). The projects will provide flexible, on-demand power to the PJM, helping ease grid capacity constraints.
A second round of the GSESP has also been opened for bidding, with solicitations being invited for 645MW of additional storage capacity. Tranche 2 is open to standalone BESS projects and to solar-plus-storage projects that are not eligible for other state incentive programmes.
NJBPU said this action responded directly to rapid load growth, driven in part by new data centres, that is straining the grid and pushing electricity prices higher.
When Governor Sherrill took office at the end of January, she immediately signed a number of executive orders targeting energy affordability through expansions to New Jersey’s solar and storage fleet.
“Solar and battery storage are the fastest and most cost-effective ways to build new electricity generation. Today’s actions advance Governor Sherrill’s clean energy goals while continuing the Board’s commitment to balancing affordability and promoting clean, in-state energy resources,” said NJBPU president Christine Guhl-Sadovy.
To read the full version of this article, visit PV Tech.
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