Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) The Transition Incentive shall be
available to projects that submitted a complete SREC Registration Program
registration or a complete subsection t application after October 29, 2018, but
have not received a Permission to Operate at the time the Board determines that
the State has attained 5.1 percent of its retail sales from solar electric
generation facilities and closes the SRP to new registrations. The Transition
Incentive shall also be available to the Subsection r applications that
received conditional certification from the Board in an Order dated March 29,
2019, if they have not received a Permission to Operate at the time the Board
determines that the State has attained 5.1 percent of its retail sales from
solar electric generation facilities (5.1% Milestone). The Transition Incentive
eligibility criteria for these projects that will be transferred into the
Transition Incentive Program are set forth at (d) below.
(b) In the event that the SREC Registration
Program is closed to new registrations before the establishment of a
registration program for the solar Successor Incentive Program, the Board may
allow projects that comport with the SREC eligibility requirements at
N.J.A.C.
14:8-2.4, the Board's Implementing Orders,
and the definition of "connected to the distribution system" at
N.J.A.C.
14:8-1.2, to register for the TI Program.
However, no new registrations for Subsection (r) applications shall be
accepted. The Transition Incentive eligibility criteria for these new projects
registering for the Transition Incentive Program after the attainment of the
5.1% Milestone are set forth at (e) below.
(c) A proposed project submitted for
registration in the TI-RPS following the closure of the SREC registration
program must be registered prior to the Board's establishment of a registration
program for the Successor Incentive Program. Said projects shall not be subject
to the deadline set forth at
N.J.A.C.
14:8-2.4(c)1, which requires
projects to register within 14 days of the execution of a contract. Projects
will, therefore, also not be subject to the penalty for non-compliance with
this 14-day deadline set forth at
N.J.A.C.
14:8-2.4(e). In lieu of an
executed contract, a TI registration package must contain a consumer disclosure
form executed by the solar developer and customer-generator on a standard form
made available on the website of the New Jersey Clean Energy Program
(NJCEP).
(d) Solar electric
generation facilities that have received a conditional registration for SRECs
pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
14:8-2.4(h)4 that has not
expired, been cancelled, or commenced commercial operations prior to the 5.1%
Milestone and have not submitted a post-construction certification package
within 90 days of the 5.1% Milestone that have been transferred to the
Transition Incentive registration program will receive a new conditional
registration. The new registration will incorporate a requirement to commence
commercial operations and submit a post-construction certification package
within *18 months* of the date that the Board determines that the 5.1%
Milestone has been attained, except for projects granted conditional
certification under the Subsection (r) program (N.J.S.A. 48:3- 87(r)*), which
will retain the registration expiration date set by the Board Order granting
the project conditional certification; projects granted conditional
certification under the Subsection (t) program (N.J.S.A.
48:3-87(t)) prior to April
30, 2020, which will receive a new registration on the later of the date set by
the Board Order granting the project conditional certification, plus any
extensions that have been granted or *18 months* from the date that the Board
determines that the 5.1% Milestone has been attained.
1. Such facilities must utilize the NJCEP
website to confirm registration transfer from the SREC registration program to
the Transition Incentive registration program and identify the defined market
segment described at N.J.A.C. 14:8-10.5(b)1.
2. Facilities registered for TREC
eligibility, if they commence commercial operations and submit a
post-construction certification package prior to the one-year anniversary of
the date that the Board determined the 5.1% Milestone was attained (or as
described in this subsection for Subsection (t) and Subsection (r) projects),
will be assigned a New Jersey State Certification Number for use in obtaining
TRECs from PJM-EIS GATs.
3.
Facilities registered for TREC eligibility, if they do not commence commercial
operations and submit a post-construction certification package prior to the
one-year anniversary of the date that the Board determined the 5.1% Milestone
was attained (or as described in this subsection for Subsection (t) and
Subsection (r) projects), will not be eligible for TRECs.
(e) Solar electric generation facilities
seeking Transition Incentive program eligibility following the determination
that the 5.1% Milestone has been met and prior to the Board's announcement of
the opening of a registration process for the Successor Incentive Program must
complete the following process in order to be issued a notice of conditional
registration:
1. The registrant shall submit
a complete registration package to the Board prior to the Board's announcement
of the opening of a Successor Incentive program. Each initial registration
package shall be completed in accordance with the instructions found on the
Board's New Jersey Clean Energy Program website at
www.njcleanenergy.com. The
registration instructions shall require the following basic types of
information:
i. Information identifying and
describing the owner, host location, builder/installer, and operator of the
solar electric generating facility;
ii. Basic information describing the solar
facility, including its capacity, manufacturer, and expected output;
iii. A technical worksheet, in a form
provided on the Board's NJCEP website, detailing the technical specifications
of the solar facility;
iv. A
construction schedule for completing the solar facility, including significant
milestones;
v. For net metered
projects, a consumer disclosure agreement executed between the owner and
installer of the solar facility;
vi. For grid supply projects applying under
Subsection (t), a binding legal document that provides reasonable assurance
that the solar facility will be constructed;
vii. Basic information regarding the cost of
equipment and installation, presented as a simple budget;
viii. A site map of the land upon which the
generating facility will be located, including all features that may affect the
construction and/or performance of the solar facility; and
ix. Any other data or information necessary
for Board staff to determine whether the solar electric generation from the
facility will meet the requirements for TRECs under this subchapter;
2. Upon receipt of an initial
registration package, Board staff shall review the package for completeness. If
the initial registration package is incomplete or deficient, Board staff shall
notify the registrant in writing of the deficiencies. The registrant shall
revise the package and resubmit it within seven business days of this notice.
Failure to resubmit within this time will result in cancellation of the
registration process, in which case a complete new registration process shall
be required for the solar facility to obtain a New Jersey State Certification
Number;
3. Once the registration
package is complete, Board staff shall review the package to determine whether
the solar facility meets the TREC eligibility requirements of this subchapter.
If the facility does not meet these requirements, Board staff shall notify the
registrant; and
4. If the solar
facility *,* as described in the initial registration package *,* meets TREC
eligibility requirements, Board staff shall issue notice to the registrant of a
conditional registration for the facility. The notice of the conditional
registration shall:
i. State that, if the
solar facility is constructed as described in the initial registration package,
Board staff will issue a New Jersey State Certification Number for the solar
facility upon construction completion and inspection subject to conditions
referenced in this subsection;
ii.
Include an expiration date occurring on:
(1)
The *18-month* anniversary of the registrant's notice of conditional
registration for facilities that are net metered, provide on-site generation,
or provide power for a qualified customer engaged in aggregated net metering
*and that registered in the Transition Incentive Program prior to October 30,
2020*;
*(2) The one-year
anniversary of the registrant's notice of conditional registration for
facilities that are net metered, provide on-site generation, or provide power
for a qualified customer engaged in aggregated net metering and that registered
in the Transition Incentive Program after October 30, 2020; or*
*(3)* For Subsection (t) projects (that is,
projects granted conditional certification pursuant to
N.J.S.A.
48:3-87(t)), the two-year
anniversary of the registrant's Board Order granting conditional certification;
and
iii. Include notice
that construction of the facility must be completed prior to the expiration of
the conditional registration.
(f) When construction of the solar electric
generating facility is complete, the facility owner shall submit a
post-construction certification package that meets the requirements of (g)
below, and shall request an inspection of the facility by Board staff, or an
inspection waiver, through the Board's NJCEP website at
www.njcleanenergy.com.
(g) A post-construction certification package
shall include all of the following:
1. A copy
of the conditional registration notice issued by the Board under this
section;
2. A final "as built"
technical worksheet, detailing the technical specifications of the completed
solar electric generating facility, including any changes from the technical
worksheet submitted as part of the initial registration package;
3. Digital photographs of the site and the
completed solar facility;
4. A
shading analysis, detailing any shade that will affect the facility;
5. An estimate of the electricity production
of the solar facility;
6. Where
applicable, documentation of compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and
local law, including eligibility for any tax incentives or other government
benefits;
7. A copy of the initial
application, executed by the relevant EDC, to interconnect the facility to the
corresponding EDC's distribution system, as well as the EDC or PJM approval to
interconnect and energize the facility; and
8. A statement that an inspection of the
solar facility, or an inspection waiver, has been requested through the Board's
NJCEP website, and the date of the request.
(h) Additional requirements to establish TI
eligibility for Subsection (t) projects are enumerated at
N. J.S.A.
48:3-87(t), the Solar Act of
2012, and the Board's Implementing Orders, and are incorporated herein by
reference. Developers must apply to the Board for conditional certification of
projects seeking eligibility for TRECs using the same process developed for
SREC eligibility pursuant to
P.L.
2012, c. 24
(N.J.S.A.
48:3-87(t)).
(i) Except as modified in this subchapter,
all TI Program projects must comply with all rules and regulations of the SREC
Registration program at
N.J.A.C.
14:8-2.4.
