New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 2 - AGRICULTURE
Chapter 76 - STATE AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Subchapter 24 - SOLAR ENERGY GENERATION ON PRESERVED FARMS
Section 2:76-24.6 - Evaluation criteria
Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 2:76-24.6
Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) When reviewing an application, the Committee shall determine whether the application meets the following criteria:
1. Factors for determining if
the solar energy facilities, structures, and equipment interfere significantly with
the use of the land for agricultural or horticultural production are as follows:
i. The facilities do not conflict with the deed of
easement, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) There is no detrimental impact to drainage,
flood control, water conservation, erosion control, or soil conservation on the
premises;
(2) During construction and
installation of the solar energy facilities, appropriate measures are taken to
control soil erosion from wind and water on the premises, including, but not limited
to, the following:
(A) The temporary stabilization
of exposed areas using vegetative cover or mulch; and
(B) The application of nonpotable water to exposed
areas and the utilization of barriers to control air current and minimize soil
blowing;
(3) During operation
and maintenance of solar energy facilities, appropriate measures are taken to
address soil and water conservation resource concerns on the premises;
(4) Solar energy facilities with an occupied area
of more than one acre on the premises shall be constructed, installed, operated, and
maintained in accordance with a farm conservation plan that addresses soil and water
resource concerns outlined in the National and State Resources Concerns and Quality
Criteria (Section III) and Practice Standards (Section IV) of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) New Jersey Field Office
Technical Guide (NJ-FOTG), which is incorporated herein by reference, as amended and
supplemented, customized for the State of New Jersey, prescribing practices and
standards for the conservation and management of soil, water, and related natural
resources, which is available at
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/fotg .
The conservation plan filed must include a completed and NRCS-approved CPA-52
Environmental Evaluation Worksheet;
(5)
The types of agricultural use or production that can occur on the premises shall not
be restricted.
(A) The presence of the solar
energy facilities shall not negatively impact the ability to utilize any portion of
the premises outside the occupied area for a variety of agricultural or
horticultural purposes;
(6)
The solar energy facilities shall not interfere with the ability to access the
premises for agricultural or horticultural purposes or uses, and to ensure
compliance with the deed of easement and the provisions of this
subchapter;
(7) Solar energy facilities
shall not supply power or heat to an off-farm source of energy demand.
(A) Solar energy facilities shall not be
interconnected to any off-farm energy consumer or off-farm source of energy
demand.
(B) Solar energy facilities
shall not be interconnected in a series to other energy generation facilities
located off the farm.
(C) Solar energy
facilities may be directly connected to the electric distribution system for the
primary purpose of producing wholesale power, provided the facilities do not occupy
more than one percent of the farm and are otherwise consistent with
4:1C-32.4 and the provisions of this
subchapter;
(8) Easements
shall not be provided through the farm for the purpose of transmitting power
generated by an off-farm source, or to provide for roadways to service solar energy
facilities not located on the farm.
(A) The
prohibition on easements through the farm in this sub-subparagraph shall not apply
to severable exception areas;
(9) Facilities servicing a use in a severable
exception area shall be located entirely within the severable exception
area;
(10) Facilities primarily
servicing nonagricultural and/or nonresidential uses in a nonseverable exception
area shall be located entirely in the nonseverable exception area to the maximum
extent practicable or financially feasible.
(A)
Where it is not possible to locate such facilities entirely in the nonseverable
exception area, priority shall be given to mounting facilities on existing buildings
and structures, and the portion of the occupied area outside the nonseverable
exception area shall not exceed one acre or one percent of the farm, whichever is
less, and the SADC may require from the facilities installer an itemization of all
energy consuming devices connected to the electric revenue meter(s) to be serviced
by the facilities, by energy demand and type of use, to determine whether the
facilities will primarily service nonagricultural and/or nonresidential uses in the
nonseverable exception area.
(B)
Facilities located outside nonseverable exception areas to service energy demand
within the nonseverable exception areas, may not be permitted or may be subject to
more stringent Federal limitations than described in this sub-subparagraph, if the
farm was preserved with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural
Resources Conservation Service's Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program;
and
(11) The facilities shall
be located and configured in a manner that maximizes the use of the premises for
agricultural or horticultural purposes.
(A)
Facilities shall not be constructed or installed on prime farmland to the maximum
extent practicable and financially feasible.
(B) Facilities shall be located along field edges
and in nonproduction areas to the maximum extent practicable and financially
feasible.
(C) Facilities shall be sited
and configured to avoid dividing larger fields into smaller fields and isolating
areas of the farm such that they are no longer viable or efficient for agricultural
production, including, but not limited to, restricting the movement of agricultural
vehicles/equipment for planting, cultivation, and harvesting of crops, and creating
negative impacts on support infrastructure such as irrigation systems;
ii. The mounting of solar
panels, collectors, or films constructed, installed, and operated on the premises
shall be done in the following manner:
(1) The
preferred installation shall be on buildings or facilities to minimize adverse
impacts on the productivity of the soil.
(2) In the event that the method in paragraph
(a)1ii(1) above is not practicable or financially feasible, the method of
installation shall be as follows:
(A) On the
ground by a screw, piling, or similar system that does not require a footing,
concrete, or other permanent mounting; or
(B) Where the occupied area does not exceed one
acre, using gravel within contained structures, concrete block, or similar materials
for the purpose of providing ballast for mounting the solar energy
facilities.
(3) In the event
that the methods in (a)1ii(2) above, for mounting the solar panels, collectors, or
films, are not practicable or financially feasible, then written justification shall
be provided by a licensed professional engineer responsible for designing the
installation of the solar panels, collectors, or films that a permanent ground
mounting is necessary to conform with Federal or State laws, rules, or regulations,
and that the permanent mounting requires footings, concrete, or other permanent
methods;
iii. The treatment
of the premises for purposes of constructing, installing, operating, or maintaining
the solar energy facilities within the occupied area shall be in accordance with the
following standards to ensure the land can readily be returned to active
agricultural or horticultural production after the removal of the solar energy
facilities.
(1) Site disturbance associated with
the solar energy facilities, including, but not limited to, grading, topsoil, and
subsoil removal, excavation and soil compaction, shall not exceed one acre on the
premises.
(A) If wind or biomass energy generation
facilities are located on the premises, the one-acre limit in (a)1iii(1) above shall
apply to the cumulative total site disturbance resulting from all of the solar,
wind, or biomass energy systems on the premises.
(B) Land smoothing in accordance with Practice
Standards (Code 466) of the Natural Resources Conservation Service New Jersey-Field
Office Technical Guide (NRCS NJFOTG) shall not be considered site
disturbance.
(2) Excess
topsoil shall not be removed from the premises, but shall be distributed or
stockpiled elsewhere on the premises.
(A) For
farms with an occupied area of more than one acre, topsoil shall be distributed or
stockpiled on the premises in accordance with the farm conservation plan.
(3) The use of geotextile fabrics on
the premises is permitted only for the purpose of conducting agricultural or
horticultural production within the occupied area, unless otherwise permitted in
this section.
(4) The use of concrete or
asphalt on the premises is prohibited within the occupied area, except as follows:
(A) The mounting of inverters, transformers, power
conditioning units, control boxes, pumps, and other such system
components;
(B) The mounting of solar
panels, films, and arrays when used as ballast, as described in (a)1ii(2)(B) above;
and
(C) The mounting of the solar
panels, films, and arrays, if determined necessary by a licensed professional
engineer as described in (a)1ii(3) above.
(5) The placement of gravel or stone on the
premises is prohibited for the purpose of preventing vegetative growth unless
recommended as part of an approved NRCS soil and water conservation
practice.
(6) New roadways within the
occupied area shall be designed as grassed roadways to minimize the extent of soil
disturbance, water runoff, and soil compaction on the premises.
(A) The use of geotextile fabrics and gravel
placed on the surface of the existing soil for the construction of temporary
roadways during the construction of the solar energy facilities is permitted
provided that the geotextile fabrics and gravel are removed once the solar energy
facilities are in operation.
(7) Where it is not practicable to utilize the
occupied area on the premises for agricultural or horticultural production in
accordance with
54:4-23.1 et seq.:
(A) The occupied area for ground-mounted
facilities shall be maintained in vegetative cover to prevent soil erosion, mowed on
a regular basis, and managed to prevent weeds or other invasive species from growing
or spreading to other areas of the farm; or
(B) The occupied area beneath facilities mounted
on buildings or other structures permitted pursuant to the deed of easement,
including, but not limited to, carports or equipment shelters, shall be maintained
in a manner consistent with the use of the buildings or structures; and
iv. The solar energy
facilities shall be deemed abandoned and the facilities shall be decommissioned in
those instances when they are no longer being utilized to produce solar energy for a
period of 18 consecutive months.
(1) The
decommissioning of facilities, structures, and equipment on the premises shall
ensure that the agricultural productivity of the soil is restored to the greatest
extent practicable, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) All solar energy facilities shall be removed
from the farm and the land shall be restored in order to achieve as much
agricultural productivity of the soil as practicable and financially feasible;
and
(B) The decommissioning of solar
energy facilities with an occupied area of greater than one acre on the premises
shall be performed in accordance with a farm conservation plan prepared pursuant to
NJ-FOTG that addresses soil and water resource concerns, as set forth at (a)1i(4)
above.
2. Factors for determining if the facilities,
structures, and equipment are owned by the landowner or will be owned by the
landowner upon the conclusion of the term of an agreement with the installer or
operator of the solar generation facilities, structures, or equipment by which the
landowner uses the income or credits realized from the solar energy to purchase the
facilities, structures, or equipment are as follows:
i. A copy of a fully executed purchase or lease
agreement for the facilities, structures, and equipment shall be provided to the
Committee that clearly identifies that the owner(s) of the farm will be the sole
owner(s) of the facilities, structures, and equipment on installation, or will be
the sole owner(s) by the end of the term of the agreement.
(1) The term of an agreement whereby a farm owner
leases the facilities and will purchase them at the end of the agreement shall not
exceed 20 years.
(2) The agreement shall
include an unconditional assignment to any subsequent owner taking title to the farm
prior to the conclusion of an agreement.
ii. No portion of the land on the premises may be
leased for the purpose of solar energy generation or production.
(1) Solar energy facilities may be leased only
pursuant to an agreement in (a)2i above.
(2) A farm owner shall not lease solar energy
facilities to another individual or party.
3. Factors for determining if the power or heat to
the farm is provided directly or indirectly, or reduces through net metering or
similar programs and systems, energy costs on the farm, are as follows:
i. For facilities that will be net metered, an
approved Part One Interconnection/Application Agreement Form approved by the EDC
pursuant to 14:8-5.4, 5.5, and 5.6, which is
available from the EDC and includes a Part 1 (Terms and Conditions) and Part 2
(Certificate of Completion) shall be provided to the Committee, and the project
shall meet the definition of net metering as set forth in this subchapter;
or
ii. For facilities that will not be
net metered, the landowner shall provide to the Committee:
(1) Documentation that the energy will be used to
provide power or heat directly to the farm outside of the meter; or
(2) Where the facilities will provide energy
directly to the electric distribution system, copies of electric utility bills
and/or other bills, receipts, or documentation demonstrating the cost to provide
power or heat to meet the farm's energy demand and a copy of either:
(A) An approved PJM Interconnection Service
Agreement, which is part of the PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff, available at
http://www.pjm.com/documents/%7e/media/documents/agreements/tariff.ashx
, completed and signed by the EDC; or
(B) An approved Part One
Interconnection/Application Agreement Form approved by the EDC pursuant to N.J.A.C.
14:8-5.4, 5.5, and 5.6, completed and signed by the EDC.
4. Factors for determining
that the annual energy generation of solar energy facilities on the farm is limited
to the farm's previous calendar year's energy demand plus 10 percent, in addition to
energy generated or collected from facilities, structures, or equipment existing on
roofs of buildings or other structures on the farm on January 16, 2010, are as
follows:
i. The annual energy generation is based
on the monthly sum of the farm's previous calendar year's energy demand and does not
exceed that amount plus 10 percent.
ii.
The landowner shall provide copies of the farm's electric utility bills and/or other
bills, receipts, or other documentation demonstrating the amount of electricity or
fuel used to meet the farm's energy demand.
iii. The farm owner shall provide documentation of
installation date(s) for energy generation facilities, structures, or equipment
already existing on roofs of buildings or other structures on the farm.
iv. If wind or biomass energy generation
facilities are located on the farm, the limit in (a)4i above applies to the
cumulative energy generated by solar, wind, and biomass facilities on the
farm.
5. Factors for
determining that the solar energy facilities on the farm are limited to an occupied
area consisting of no more than one percent of the area of the farm are as follows:
i. A copy of the site plan depicting the occupied
area shall be provided to the Committee;
ii. Solar energy facilities installed on the farm
prior to the enactment of
P.L.
2009, c. 213 on January 16,
2010, shall not be considered part of the occupied area in applications for new
solar energy facilities unless the applications involve the expansion of
pre-existing facilities; and
iii. If
wind or biomass energy generation facilities are located on the farm, the limit in
this paragraph shall apply to the total cumulative area occupied by all the solar,
wind, and biomass energy generation facilities on the farm.
6. Factors for determining that the person who
owns the farm and the solar energy facilities may only sell energy through net
metering or as otherwise permitted under an agreement allowed pursuant to (a)2
above, and/or directly to the electric distribution system provided that the
occupied area of the solar energy facilities does not exceed one percent of the
farm.
i. For facilities that will be net metered,
an approved Part One Interconnection/Application Agreement Form approved by the EDC
pursuant to N.J.A.C. 14:8-5.4, 5.5, and 5.6, which is available from the EDC and
includes a Part 1 (Terms and Conditions) and a Part 2 (Certificate of Completion),
shall be provided to the Committee, and the project shall meet the definition of net
metering;
ii. For facilities that will
be connected directly to the electric distribution system, the following shall be
provided:
(1) An approved PJM Interconnection
Service Agreement, which is part of the PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff,
available at
http://www.pjm.com/documents/%7e/media/documents/agreements/tariff.ashx
, completed and signed by the EDC; or
(2) An approved Part One
Interconnection/Application Agreement Form approved by the EDC pursuant to N.J.A.C.
14:8-5.4, 5.5, and 5.6, completed and signed by the EDC;
iii. A copy of a fully executed purchase or lease
agreement for the solar energy facilities that clearly identifies that the owner of
the farm owns or will purchase and own the solar energy facilities, structures, and
equipment at the end of the term of the agreement and the end date of the agreement
shall be provided to the Committee.
iv.
For solar energy facilities that will connect directly to the electric distribution
system, the Committee shall determine from a review of the site plan that the
occupied area of the proposed facilities does not exceed one percent of the farm.
(1) If wind or biomass energy generation
facilities are located on the farm, the limit in this subparagraph shall apply to
the total cumulative area occupied by all of the solar, wind and biomass energy
facilities on the farm.
7. Factors for determining that the land occupied
by the solar energy facilities is eligible for valuation, assessment, and taxation
pursuant to P.L. 1964, c. 48 (54:4-23.1 et seq.) and continues to be
eligible for such valuation pursuant to
54:4-23 are as follows:
i. A copy of the farmland assessment form approved
by the local tax assessor shall be provided for the most recent tax year.
ii. The SADC shall confirm, in consultation with
the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Taxation, that the solar
energy facilities as proposed will not disqualify any portion of the farm from
farmland assessment eligibility.
8. The impervious cover associated with the solar
energy facilities shall not exceed one acre on the premises.
i. If wind or biomass energy generation facilities
are located on the premises, the one-acre limit in (a)8 above shall apply to the
cumulative total of impervious cover resulting from all of the solar, wind, and
biomass energy facilities on the premises.
9. Factors for determining that a solar energy
facility located in the Pinelands Area, as defined and regulated by the Pinelands
Protection Act, P.L. 1979, c. 111 (13:18A-1 et seq.),
complies with the standards of P.L. 1979, c. 111 and the comprehensive management
plan for the Pinelands Area adopted pursuant to P.L. 1979, c. 111, are as follows:
i. A copy of written correspondence from the
Pinelands Commission shall be provided confirming that the solar energy facilities
comply with the standards of P.L. 1979, c. 111 and the comprehensive management plan
for the Pinelands Area adopted pursuant to P.L. 1979, c. 111.
10. The construction of solar energy facilities on
farms preserved with any funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) through the Farm and Ranch Lands
Protection Program (FRPP), or any successor NRCS grant program protecting land for
agricultural uses, shall require the advanced, written approval of the
NRCS.
11. Compliance with the criteria
in this section shall be in addition to any other applicable State or Federal laws
or regulations, including, but not limited to:
i.
13:19-1 et seq., Coastal Area Facility
Review Act;
ii. N.J.A.C. 7:38, Highlands
Water Protection and Planning Act Rules; and
iii. N.J.A.C. 7:8, Stormwater
Management.
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