Newark, NJ, USA: New Jersey Approves Increase to Renewable Energy Standards

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) has approved modifications to the existing Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) rules at its Wednesday, September 14th meeting.

The proposed amendments will increase the state's RPS percentage of Class 1 (solar, wind, sustainable biomass) to 20 percent by 2020 from the current requirement of 4 percent by 2008.

The proposal would further require that 2 percent of this amount come from solar electric systems.

The economic impact of this increase was evaluated by the Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy at Rutgers' Bloustein School who determined it would have "a negligible impact on the growth of our economy and will result in a less than 2 percent increase in electric rates over 20 years."

They further reported that "This proposal would keep New Jersey as a national leader in the development of renewable energy."

The RPS proposal is part of the readoption of Chapter 4 (Energy) of the NJBPU's regulations. Following Board approval, the proposal will appear in the New Jersey Register on October 17. A 60-day public comment period will follow.

Utilities have the option of meeting the new standard by investing in the construction of solar, wind or alternative technologies or buying credits from other companies that produce excess energy for a 13-state power grid.

The New Jersey Clean Energy Program is a signature initiative of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Developed to help residents and businesses save energy, reduce utility costs and protect the environment, this statewide Program provides education, information and financial incentives for renewable energy systems and a wide array of energy-efficiency measures.

The Program dedicates approximately $125 million each year to support technologies that save electricity and natural gas and that increase the amount of electricity generated from clean, renewable resources.

The Program was created as part of the New Jersey Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act, with the objective of transforming the energy marketplace in New Jersey for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in a deregulated environment.