The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has approved three major initiatives to expand in-state, clean energy generation, improve grid reliability, and help control electricity costs. The NJPBU awarded incentives to solar and battery storage projects and opened a second round of storage solicitations, advanced the Competitive Solar Incentive (CSI) program, and approved the country’s largest-ever expansion of a state-run community solar program.
In a state where power prices have increased by double digits for most residents over the last year, it only makes sense that the board’s decisions were driven by dollars and cents.
“Solar and battery storage are the fastest and most cost-effective ways to build new electricity generation,” NJBPU president Christine Guhl-Sadovy put it simply.
According to clean energy advocacy group Vote Solar, such decisive steps to expand storage capacity and distributed solar will help the state reduce costs, strengthen its grid, and ensure clean energy benefits reach more households.
“Community solar is one of the most powerful tools available to ensure the benefits of clean energy reach every resident in New Jersey, allowing everyone— renters, low-income families, and those without suitable rooftops— to save money on their energy bills. We applaud the Sherrill administration and the BPU for taking bold action to expand battery storage and community solar at a moment when New Jersey families are facing rising electricity costs,” said Vote Solar’s Mid-Atlantic regulatory director, Kartik Amarnath.
51% of each community solar project in New Jersey’s program will serve low- and moderate-income (LMI) households. The program now also requires at least a 25% discount on utility bills for LMI subscribers.
“There is still important work ahead, but these actions demonstrate the urgency New Jersey families deserve,” declared Amarnath. “We look forward to working with state leadership to ensure New Jersey residents receive sustainable solutions to this affordability crisis— a clean energy transition that makes the state’s electricity system affordable, resilient, and fair.”
Storage Awarded, Storage Solicited
The NJBPU approved incentives for three large battery storage projects under the first solicitation of the Garden State Energy Storage Program (GSESP), totaling 355 megawatts (MW) of capacity, slightly above the 350 MW minimum required by state law.
The winning projects are:
- Woods Landing Storage LLC (200 MW, Sayreville, Middlesex County)
- Two Rivers Energy Storage LLC (150 MW, Ridgefield, Bergen County)
- North America Energy Storage Corp. (5 MW, Bordentown, Burlington County)
The battery projects will provide flexible, on-demand power to the PJM grid, which the board asserts will help to ease the capacity shortage that has contributed to higher electricity prices across the region. NJBPU analysis suggests significant ratepayer savings over the life of the program, upwards of $169 million, driven by increased grid capacity that helps moderate wholesale electricity prices during peak demand periods. Incentive payments for these projects will come from existing Societal Benefits Charge (SBC) funds, so no new rate increase will be required- music to the ears of New Jerseans from Cape May to Edgewater.
The board also launched Phase 1, Tranche 2 of the GSESP, opening a second competitive solicitation for 645 MW of additional storage capacity. Once Tranche 2 is complete, New Jersey will reach the full 1,000 MW transmission-scale storage target required by law and move significantly closer to its broader goal of accumulating 2,000 MW of storage by 2030.
Tranche 2 is open to stand-alone storage projects and to solar-plus-storage projects that do not qualify for storage incentives under the Board’s Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI) Program, filling an important market gap. Tranche 2 is expected to provide net savings to customers. By acting quickly, the NJPBU is positioning these projects to participate in next year’s PJM Base Residual Auction, which has easily cleared at the federal cap in the last two iterations.
Competitive Solar Incentive Program Keeps Plugging
New Jersey approved awards under the third solicitation of its CSI Program, totaling 24.1179 MW of new solar generation across three projects. The CSI Program uses competitive solicitations to award Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC-IIs) to eligible grid-supply solar, solar-plus-storage, and large non-residential net-metered projects, helping secure new solar at the lowest possible incentive cost. The third round opened May 14, 2025, and closed to bids September 30, 2025.
The winning projects are:
- Court at Deptford Solar (4.1 MW, Gloucester County)
- Deptford Landfill Solar (10 MW, Gloucester County)
- North Jersey District Water Supply Commission (10 MW, Passaic County)
The North Jersey District Water Supply Commission’s project, at the Wanaque Reservoir, would be the largest floating solar facility in the nation.
The board also announced the fourth CSI Program solicitation. Pre-qualification will begin March 11, 2026, and bids are due by April 24, 2026, at 11:59:59 p.m. EST. For this round, the board has created a new competitive tranche for basic grid supply projects of 20 MW or larger (Tranche 1A) and provided an avenue for large net-metered facilities to bid for a paired energy storage adder. The NJPBU set capacity allocations for all competitive tranches, established confidential price caps to protect ratepayers against high bids, and waived bid fees for projects that participated in the previous solicitation.
Historic Expansion of Community Solar
Last but certainly not least, the New Jersey Public Board of Utilities approved a 3,000 MW expansion of New Jersey’s Community Solar Energy Program — the largest capacity allocation in state history — enough to provide clean energy savings for about 450,000 subscribers. The expansion is expected to move New Jersey from seventh in the nation into the top tier for community solar deployment.
The new capacity will be distributed among the major electric utilities as follows:
- 1,555 MW for PSE&G
- 787 MW for Jersey Central Power & Light
- 324 MW for Atlantic City Electric
- 51 MW for Rockland Electric
- 300 MW reserved for landfill projects
Project registrations will be accepted through December 31, 2029, or until all 3,000 MW are subscribed, whichever comes first.
Low- and moderate-income (LMI) households will receive at least a 25% discount on their bills, and at least 51% of total program capacity will be reserved for LMI subscribers, ensuring that those most affected by energy price swings benefit the most. To date, New Jersey’s community solar program has delivered more than $70 million in bill credits and $14M in net savings to more than 37,000 subscribers across 162 operational projects, totaling 228 MW.
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