Bill Text: NJ S585 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires solar technology on certain State buildings where feasible.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [S585 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S585-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Requires solar technology on certain State buildings where feasible.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning solar technology on certain State buildings and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Division of Property Management and Construction, in the Department of the Treasury, shall install and operate solar technology on the rooftop of each State building, where feasible, within five years after the date of enactment of this act. If a State building has received historic designation, solar technology may be installed and operated only if all alterations to be made are compatible with acceptable historic preservation practices.
b. Within one year after the date of enactment of this act, the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Board of Public Utilities, shall develop a list of State buildings for which it is feasible to install and operate solar technology.
c. The Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Board of Public Utilities, may contract for the purchase of solar technology or may otherwise enter into an agreement for the installation and operation or lease of solar technology. If solar technology is purchased, any revenue generated from the sale or use of net excess energy shall be dedicated to the Clean Energy Fund managed by the Board of Public Utilities. The State shall be eligible to net meter, notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or board order to the contrary. If the department, in consultation with the board, contracts for the installation and operation of solar technology by a public utility, and the State intends to use the solar technology to directly fulfill energy needs, the contract may further provide for the exchange of net excess energy to the public utility.
d. As used in this section:
"Solar technology" means technology which uses solar energy to support the general energy needs of a building, including but not limited to photovoltaic solar cells and solar hot water systems.
"State building" means a building owned and operated by the State.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require installation and operation of solar technology on all State buildings, where feasible, within five years after the date of enactment of this bill into law.
Under the bill, solar technology would be installed and operated on a State building with historic designation only if all alterations to be made are compatible with acceptable historic preservation practices. The bill defines solar technology as technology which uses solar energy to support the general energy needs of a building, including but not limited to photovoltaic solar cells and solar hot water systems.
The bill would allow the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), to contract for the purchase of solar technology or otherwise enter into an agreement for the installation and operation or lease of solar technology. If solar technology is purchased, revenue generated from the sale or use of net excess energy would be dedicated to the Clean Energy Fund managed by the Board of Public Utilities. The State would also be eligible to net meter. If the department, in consultation with the BPU, contracts for the installation and operation of solar technology by a public utility, and the State intends to use the solar technology to directly fulfill energy needs, the contract may further provide for the exchange of net excess energy to the public utility.
New Jersey is the fastest growing market for solar photovoltaics in the United States, and one of the largest in terms of installations, second only to California, which has four times the population and energy usage. The State's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS), as established by the BPU, requires renewable energy sources to generate 22.5% of the State's electricity consumption by the year 2020, with 20% supplied from Class I renewable energy sources, including solar and photovoltaic technologies, and 2.5% from Class II renewable energy sources. In October 2008, the New Jersey Energy Master Plan was released, which calls for increasing the State's RPS to a goal of 30% by 2020 and changing the State's solar energy goal from 2.12% to a goal of 2,120 GWh (approximately 1,800 MW) by 2020. Solar technology on top of State owned and operated buildings dually increases the State's use of and reliance on clean renewable solar energy and uses existing buildings to generate energy to meet or exceed the State's energy needs.
