Panel urges swift launch of New Jersey Storage Incentive Program as committee hears BPU and industry

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities told a legislative committee that the board’s proposed New Jersey Storage Incentive Program (NJSIP) is intended to accelerate energy‑storage deployment, improve reliability and lower long‑term costs for ratepayers. "My name is Sofia Deloslich, and I'm the acting director of government affairs at the board," BPU staff said in opening remarks, presenting the straw proposal and its comment schedule.

BPU staff described the program’s objectives and design features, including a stated goal to deploy 2,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030 and a first‑year funding allocation referenced in testimony as $46,000,000. Staff said incentives would be available for both front‑of‑meter (grid‑supply) and behind‑the‑meter (distributed) systems and would combine fixed and performance‑based payments. The presentation also cited an estimate that storage supported by the program could avoid roughly 2,000,000 metric tons of CO2 over a 20‑year window.

Industry witnesses urged prompt implementation and pointed to financing and interconnection challenges that could slow projects. "The New Jersey storage incentive program is nearing completion," Lyle Rawlings of the Mid Atlantic Solar and Storage Industry Association told the committee, and he urged the BPU to make larger allocations available in the first one or two years and to broaden performance incentives to accelerate deployment for behind‑the‑meter projects.

Developers and operators described the technical profile and timeline for common projects. Dan Watson of Jupiter Power said many commercial projects rely on a four‑hour duration model and that the BPU’s design appears aligned with that typical duration; he also cautioned that PJM interconnection and market rules can create long lead times, with some projects submitted now not expected to complete interconnection until 2028. "So that the typical duration of a battery ... is a 4 hour duration," Watson said, explaining charging and discharge cycles and overnight recharge strategies.

Speakers also discussed program design choices that affect cost and siting. Some witnesses advocated prioritizing smaller, sub‑20 MW projects for near‑term deployment because they can avoid the multiyear PJM transmission‑scale queue, while others emphasized the economies of scale in larger, grid‑scale projects and the importance of long‑term contracting to secure private investment.

Committee members pressed witnesses on assumptions behind the state's generation forecasts and the role of offshore wind. Witnesses said offshore wind could account for a sizable share of a 100% clean mix by 2035 in some scenarios but emphasized uncertainty and the need for a diversified generation portfolio that includes storage, nuclear and firm resources.

The BPU said stakeholders have until Dec. 18 to submit written comments on the straw proposal. Next steps described in testimony include staff review of comments and revisions to the program design ahead of an anticipated program launch in the first half of 2025.