New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 14 - PUBLIC UTILITIES
Chapter 8 - RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Subchapter 1 - RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS
Section 14:8-1.2 - Definitions
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Additional definitions that apply to this chapter can be found at N.J.A.C. 14:3-1.1, 14:4-1.2, and 14:8-2.2.
"Brownfield" means any former or current commercial or industrial site that is currently vacant or underutilized and on which there has been, or there is suspected to have been, a discharge of a contaminant.
"Built environment" means the surface of one or more existing, serviceable structures or serviceable, improved, and impervious roadways built for a substantial purpose other than to facilitate solar development.
"Class I renewable energy" means electric energy produced from solar technologies, photovoltaic technologies, wind energy, fuel cells powered by renewable fuels, geothermal technologies, wave or tidal action, small scale hydropower facilities with a capacity of three megawatts or less and put into service after July 23, 2012, and/or methane gas from landfills or a biomass facility, provided that the biomass is cultivated and harvested in a sustainable manner. Types of Class I renewable energy that qualify for use in meeting the requirements of this subchapter are set forth at N.J.A.C. 14:8-2.5.
"Class II renewable energy" means electric energy produced by a hydro power facility that has a maximum design capacity of greater than 3 megawatts but less than 30 megawatts from all generating units combined or by a resource recovery facility, provided that such facility is located where retail competition is permitted and provided further that the Commissioner of Environmental Protection has determined that such facility meets the highest environmental standards and minimizes any impacts to the environment and local communities. Types of Class II renewable energy that qualify for use in meeting the requirements of this subchapter are set forth at N.J.A.C. 14:8-2.6.
"Competitive solar incentive-eligible facilities" or "CSI-eligible facilities" means all grid supply solar facilities and net metered solar facilities over five MW, as measured in direct current (MWdc), connected to a distribution or transmission system operated by a New Jersey electric distribution company.
"Connected to the distribution system" means, for a solar electric power generation facility, that the facility is:
1. Connected to a net metering customer's side of a meter, regardless of the voltage at which that customer connects to the electric grid;
2. An on-site generation facility;
3. Qualified for net metering aggregation;
4. Owned or operated by an electric public utility and approved by the Board;
5. Directly connected to the electric grid at 69 kilovolts or less, regardless of how an electric public utility classifies that portion of its electric grid, and is designated as "connected to the distribution system" by the Board pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:3-87.q, r, or s; or
6. Certified by the Board, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, as being located on a brownfield, an area of historic fill, or on a properly closed sanitary landfill facility.
Any solar electric power generation facility, other than that of a net metering customer on the customer's side of the meter, connected above 69 kilovolts shall not be considered connected to the distribution system.
"Dual-use" means the practice of siting energy generation facilities, structures, and equipment for the production of electric power from solar photovoltaic panels located on unpreserved farmland in agricultural or horticultural production that ensures the continued simultaneous use of the land below and adjacent to the panels for agricultural or horticultural production.
"EDC" means an electric public utility as defined in N.J.A.C. 14:3-1.1.
"Farmland" means land actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use that is valued, assessed, and taxed pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964,"N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.1 at any time within the 10-year period prior to the effective date of the Solar Act.
"Final remediation document" shall have the same meaning as provided in N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11b.
"Fossil fuel" means natural gas, petroleum, coal, or any form, of solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel derived from such material.
"Grid supply facility" means a solar electric power generating facility that is directly connected to the distribution system in the state that sells the electricity it generates at wholesale rates through PJM Interconnection or under wholesale bilateral contracts, but is not owned or operated by an electric utility and approved by the Board pursuant to N.J.S.A. 48:3-98.1.
"Historic fill" means non-indigenous material, no matter what date this material was emplaced on the site, used to raise the topographic elevation of a site, which were contaminated prior to emplacement and are in no way connected with the operations at the location of emplacement and which include, but are not limited to, construction debris, dredge spoils, incinerator residue, demolition debris, fly ash, and non-hazardous solid waste. "Historic fill" shall not include any material which is substantially chromate chemical waste or any other chemical production waste or waste from processing of metal or mineral ores, residues, slags, or tailings.
"Land in agricultural use" means the land used for common farmsite activities including, but not limited to: production, harvesting, storage, grading, packaging, processing, and the wholesale and retail marketing of crops, plants, animals, and other related commodities, and the use and application of techniques and methods of soil preparation and management, fertilization, weed, disease and pest control, disposal of farm waste, irrigation, drainage and water management, and grazing. The built environment is specifically excluded from land in agricultural use.
"Megawatt" means 1,000 kilowatts, measured in direct current (dc).
"Megawatt-hour" or "MWh" means 1,000 kilowatt-hours.
"Net metering" means a system of metering and billing for electricity in which the supplier/provider and/or the EDC:
1. Credits a customer-generator at the full retail rate for each kilowatt-hour produced by a class I renewable energy system installed on the customer-generator's side of the electric revenue meter, up to the total amount of electricity used by that customer during an annualized period determined under 14:8-5.3; and
2. Compensates the customer-generator at the end of the annualized period determined under 14:8-5.3 for any remaining credits, at a rate equal to the supplier/provider's avoided cost of wholesale power.
"Net metering aggregation" means a procedure for calculating the combination of the annual energy usage for all facilities owned by a single customer where each customer is a State entity, school district, county, county agency, county authority, municipality, municipal agency, or municipal authority, and which are served by a solar electric power generating facility in accordance with N.J.S.A. 48:3-87.e(4).
"NJDEP" means the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
"On-site generation facility" means a Class I or Class II renewable generation facility and equipment and services appurtenant to electric sales by such facility to the end use customer located on the property or on property contiguous to the property on which the end user is located. An on-site generation facility shall not be considered a public utility. The property of the end use customer and the property on which the on-site generation facility is located shall be considered contiguous if they are geographically located next to each other but may be otherwise separated by an easement, public thoroughfare, or transportation or utility-owned right-of-way.
"Properly closed sanitary landfill facility" means a sanitary landfill facility, or a portion of a sanitary landfill facility, for which performance is complete with respect to all activities associated with the design, installation, purchase, or construction of all measures, structures, or equipment required by the Department of Environmental Protection, pursuant to law, in order to prevent, minimize, or monitor pollution or health hazards resulting from a sanitary landfill facility subsequent to the termination of operations at any portion thereof, including, but not necessarily limited to, the placement of earthen or vegetative cover, and the installation of methane gas vents or monitors and leachate monitoring wells or collection systems at the site of any sanitary landfill facility.
"Renewable energy" means class I renewable energy or class II renewable energy, as those terms are defined in this section.
"School district" means a local or regional school district established pursuant to chapter 8 or chapter 13 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, a county special services school district established pursuant to article 8 of chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, a county vocational school district established pursuant to article 3 of chapter 54 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, or a district under full State intervention pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:7A-34 et seq.
"Site investigation" shall have the same meaning as provided in N.J.S.A. 54:10-23.11.b.
"Small scale hydropower facility" means a facility located within this State that is connected to the distribution system, and that meets the requirements of, and has been certified by, a nationally recognized low-impact hydropower organization that has established low-impact hydropower certification criteria applicable to:
1. River flows;
2. Water quality;
3. Fish passage and protection;
4. Watershed protection;
5. Threatened and endangered species protection;
6. Cultural resource protection;
7. Recreation; and
8. Facilities recommended for removal.
"Societal benefits charge" or "SBC" means a charge imposed by an electric public utility, at a level determined by the Board, in accordance with 48:3-60.
"Solar electric generation" means creation of electricity using a system that employs solar radiation to produce energy that powers an electric generator. Solar electric generation includes technologies that utilize the photovoltaic effect. Solar electric generation is a type of class I renewable energy.
"SREC Registration program" or "SRP" means an administrative process developed by the Board that requires filing with the Board documents detailing the size, location, interconnection plan, land use, and other project information as required by the Board for all proposed solar electric generation facilities seeking to create SRECs, including grid supply facilities seeking approval, designation, or certification as "connected to the distribution system."
"State entity" means a department, agency, or office of State government, a State university or college, or an authority created by the State.
"TPS/BGS provider" means an electric power supplier or a basic generation service provider, as these terms are defined at 14:4-1.2.
