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Solar carve-out for New Jersey RPS still unclearv
Although a final report on revisions to a renewables portfolio standard (RPS) for the US state of New Jersey had not been issued by mid-April, PV supporters were still hoping that it would contain a 5 to 10 percent solar carve-out. But the outcome is far from clear.
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PowerLight Corporation |
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Site sight: If a revised RPS gets a solar carve-out, more systems like this 500 kW PowerLight system at Janssen Pharmaceutica could be in store for New Jersey. |
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In January, Gov. James E. McGreevey created a renewable energy task force that was supposed to issue a report by March 31 to revise a New Jersey RPS enacted in 2001. That RPS set a target of 4 percent of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2012. The revised RPS would move that goal up to 2008, increasing to 20 percent by 2020
– and was likewise seen as a chance for PV to get specific language in the RPS favoring solar.
»It is possible that the recommendations will not have the specific carve-out numbers we want,"« warns Tom Leyden, president of the New Jersey Solar Energy Industries Association and vice president of PV integrator PowerLight Corp. Instead, Leyden expects the task force will make general recommendations to Gov. McGreevey. Specific proposals, he says, will most likely be left to the Clean Energy Council, an advisory group set up by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in December. The BPU is expected to add the new regulations to the RPS by the end of the year, and the revised RPS should take effect at the start of 2004.
The BPU also administrates the New Jersey Clean Energy Program, which is offering $50 million in rebates for PV, small wind, and fuel cells in 2003 (see PI 3/2003, p. 24). Leyden considers the BPU administration to be
»truly pro-solar.« And due to the limited wind resources in the state, he thinks they want to push PV with a solar-friendly RPS. While the RPS could end up being a good model for the rest of the country,
»the devil is in the details,« he warns.
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