In July 2021, Governor Murphy signed the Dual-Use Solar Energy Act of 2021 (L. 2021, c. 170, Dual-Use Act) which directs the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU or Board) to adopt rules establishing a Dual-Use Pilot Program (Pilot Program) for the development of dual-use solar projects on productive farmland (also known as “agrivoltaics”). Dual-use or agrivoltaics refers to the use of the same land for both farming and solar energy production.

The Pilot Program is designed to encourage the development of dual-use solar facilities and the creation of a new segment of the solar industry in New Jersey that is compatible with the State’s rich agricultural heritage. Specifically, the Pilot Program seeks to demonstrate and study the compatibility of active agricultural or horticultural production and solar photovoltaic infrastructure on the same land/property. Board staff engaged the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program (RAP) at Rutgers University (RU) as well as the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to provide expert input into the design of the Pilot Program.

On October 23, 2024, the Board approved a notice of proposal to amend its existing solar energy rules to include the Pilot Program to be codified at N.J.A.C. 14:8-13 as a new subchapter and amendments to the Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI) Program, set forth at N.J.A.C. 14:8-11. The SuSI Program provides solar incentives to qualified solar electric generation facilities and the Pilot Program is designed to provide incentives to agrivoltaics solar facilities as an adder, or additional financial incentive, to incentives available under the SuSI Program.

Per Board Order dated October 23, 2024, the Board launched the Pilot Program, which will serve to provide incentives for agrivoltaics in New Jersey in the first instance. Staff will issue a Notice of Incentive Availability (NOIA) in January next year, inviting interested parties to submit expressions of interest for pre-qualification into the Pilot Program. The Pilot Program will facilitate the installation and operation of up to 200 megawatts of solar over three years.

Pursuant to Appendix B of the Dual-Use Pilot Order:  
The cost of the research equipment shall be the responsibility of the applicant, including the equipment needed for collecting data pertaining to environmental metrics. Management and collection of the data listed in (A) through (M) [pursuant to the Appendix,] for the first three (3) years of a Selected Project by the Board or its designee, will be at no cost to the participant. Participants may choose to contract with a non-Board appointed entity to collect the data at their own cost.

The Board’s designee in this case is the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program (RAP) at Rutgers University. Contact information for RAP can be found on their website:
https://agrivoltaics.rutgers.edu/.

Upcoming Events

On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at 9:30 am, the Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program (RAP) will be hosting a 2-hour Agrivoltaics session during the NJ Agricultural Convention and Trade Show in Atlantic City, NJ.

Past Proceedings

June 10, 2024 - NJBPU issued a Request for Comments on the preliminary draft rules for the Dual-Use Solar Pilot Program. The deadline for submitting comments was, June 24, 2024.

November 29, 2023 - NJBPU conducted a virtual stakeholder meeting on the Dual-Use Pilot Program Straw Proposal. The deadline for submitting comments was December 13, 2023. The revised meeting announcement, straw proposal, presentation and recording can be found at Board of Public Utilities | Newsroom.

May 1, 2023 - NJBPU executed a three-year grant agreement with RAP to facilitate the development and implementation of the Pilot Program. Information about the grant agreement can be found at Board of Public Utilities | Newsroom.

Additional Resources

• Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program (RAP)
  • Additional Resources

Program Contacts

To receive emails on Dual-Use Pilot Program stakeholder workshops, webinars, and program updates, please sign up for the Renewable Energy Listserv.

Correspondence and inquiries should be directed to:

New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program
Successor Solar incentive (SuSI) Program
Dual-Use Solar Pilot Program
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Phone: 1 (800) 624-0241
Contact/Feedback: www.nj.gov/bpu/about/contact