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BPU approves nine‑month extensions, new interconnection rules and monthly queue reporting for stalled community solar projects
Summary
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved nine‑month extensions for community solar and competitive solar incentive projects, directed utilities to complete engineering studies before conditional approvals, and ordered monthly public reporting of the interconnection queue to reduce delays that have stalled dozens of projects.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Aug. 13 approved a package of measures intended to clear a backlog of community solar (CSAP) and Competitive Solar Incentive (CSI) projects slowed by interconnection engineering studies and limited distribution grid capacity. Staff told commissioners that a wave of projects entering the programs simultaneously produced substantial wait times and that many projects require substation or site upgrades.
Staff recommended — and the board adopted — four main steps: extend commercial operation deadlines for all currently registered CSAP and CSI projects by nine months (with a single additional six‑month extension available on request); require that program registration include written authorization from the electric distribution company (EDC) that reflects completion of a facility or equivalent engineering study; direct EDCs to publish a monthly interconnection queue inventory showing project locations and progress; and initiate rulemaking to revise program registration deadlines and interconnection reporting.
In testimony, staff said the primary bottleneck has been completion of engineering studies and significant utility upgrade work, with some utility territories facing upgrades that can take one to two years. Commissioners pressed staff and one another on whether responsibility lies with developers, who they said should anticipate delays, or the utilities and permitting processes. Staff said the board intends the conditional‑approval requirement to shift work upstream so EDCs perform necessary studies before projects are conditionally approved, which staff said should reduce the volume shock that occurred when many projects sought studies at once.
Commissioners also discussed accountability tools and the market effects of extending timelines. One commissioner cautioned that lengthening deadlines could add market uncertainty and potentially raise capacity prices, while others said extensions would prevent unnecessary project forfeitures and better protect ratepayer investments in awarded projects.
The board approved the staff recommendations on a roll call vote.
