STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JOHN J. BURZICHELLI
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
SYNOPSIS
Exempts small-scale renewable energy projects from State land-use permit requirements, under certain conditions.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning permitting requirements for small-scale renewable energy projects and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this act:
“Applicant” means the owner and operator of a small-scale renewable energy system who makes an application to obtain permitting for a small-scale renewable energy project.
“Renewable energy” means (1) electric energy produced from solar technologies, photovoltaic technologies, wind energy, fuel cells, geothermal technologies, wave or tidal action, methane gas from landfills, a hydropower facility or a biomass facility, provided that the biomass is cultivated and harvested in a sustainable manner, and provided further that the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or the appointed local government unit has determined that the hydropower facility or biomass facility, as appropriate, meets the highest environmental standards and minimizes any impacts to the environment and local communities; and (2) energy produced from solar thermal or geothermal technologies.
“Small-scale renewable energy project” or “project” means a renewable energy system with a generation capacity of less than 20 megawatts.
b. In lieu of any permit requirements established by any State agency, any person who seeks to develop a small-scale renewable energy project shall have the option of applying only to local units of government that have jurisdiction over the location of the small-scale renewable energy project for approval to build the project. If the local approval is granted, the project shall be exempt from all State land-use permit requirements, including, but not limited to, "The Wetlands Act of 1970," P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-1 et seq.), the "Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act," P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-1 et al.), the "Coastal Area Facility Review Act," P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.), the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.), the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et al.), the “Flood Hazard Area Control Act,” P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), and P.L.2020, c.92 (C.13:1D-157 et seq.), provided that the project shall be inspected and approved by a representative of the local government unit and by the utility that holds the applicant’s interconnection agreement. The Department of Environmental Protection shall select the appropriate local unit of government to be the responsible governmental unit to conduct environmental review of the project, if required by any State rule or regulation for the applicant’s project.
c. If an applicant files a permit application with a State agency, the applicant is deemed to have waived its right to seek only local approval of the project.
d. All small-scale renewable energy projects shall be constructed in compliance with the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill grants any person who seeks to develop a small-scale renewable energy project the option of applying only to local units of government that have jurisdiction over the location of the small-scale renewable energy project for approval to build the project, in lieu of any other permitting requirements issued by State agencies. The bill exempts small-scale renewable energy projects from all State land-use permit requirements provided that the project shall be inspected and approved by a representative of the local government unit and by the utility that holds the applicant’s interconnection agreement. Under the bill, if the person files a permit application with a State agency for the small-scale renewable energy project, the applicant is deemed to have waived its right to seek only local approval of the project. The bill requires all small-scale renewable energy projects to be built in accordance with the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217.