The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has set a capacity target of 65 MW for competitively awarded incentives for “dual-use” agrivoltaics projects in the state, under a three-year pilot program with a total capacity of up to 200 MW.
The board set a base amount of about $65/MWh for the solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs) that the projects will earn.
The board cautioned that financial incentives in the pilot program “are for evaluation and research purposes only and should not be considered indicative” of any future incentive levels.
Twenty-eight projects sized up to 10 MW, with a combined generation potential of 126 MW, have earned approval to submit full applications through a previous request for information.
Those projects propose to co-locate solar with the production of soybeans, hay, specialty grains, vegetables, berries, mushrooms, and native trees, as well as sheep and cattle grazing.
Participating projects will be required to report the agricultural and horticultural yields within the solar array-covered area and a research control area. Applicants that are partnered with a New Jersey “research public institution of higher education” will receive preference.
The agrivoltaics program at Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey, has been helping develop and implement the incentive program since 2023, under a three-year grant agreement.
Projects that consider the ability of a project to scale to a commercially viable installation for both agricultural products and solar production will receive some preference.
The pilot program aims to help create a new segment of the solar industry in New Jersey. By providing farmers with additional revenue, the regulatory board said, agrivoltaics can improve farm financial viability and enable continued agricultural or horticultural production, while increasing statewide production of clean energy.
The board said it is committed to establishing New Jersey’s position “as a marketplace leader” in agrivoltaics, in accordance with the state’s Dual-Use Solar Energy Act of 2021, “while at the same time controlling ratepayer costs” and working with state agency partners “to protect our farmland and natural resources.”
In New Jersey and the larger PJM Interconnection region, the order said, “new generation is crucial to address the need for additional capacity,” due to increases in electricity demand driven by load growth from artificial intelligence data centers, new manufacturing facilities, and transportation electrification.
New generation can provide “more predictable and affordable electricity for consumers and help the state achieve its clean energy goals,” the board said.
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