BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITIES

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Posted By	Posted Date	Comments	Attachments(s)
Ethan Winter	6/24/2024 5:09:47 PM	Additional Comment RE: Docket No. QO23090679 In the Matter of the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program	AFT comment on Dual Use Pilot Program_Docket No QO23090679_6.24.24
Lucy Bullock-Sieger	6/24/2024 4:54:45 PM	June 24, 2024 VIA ELECTRONIC FILING New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Attn.: Sherri L. Golden, Secretary of the Board 44 South Clinton Avenue, 1st Floor PO Box 350 Trenton, NJ 08625-0350 Re: In the Matter of the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program, Docket No. QO23090679, Comments on draft regulations Dear Secretary Golden: Thank you for the opportunity to provide written comments in the above referenced proceeding, Docket No. QO23090679. We, the Agrivoltaics Stakeholders (Stakeholders), applaud the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (the Board) for the release of the dual-use solar energy pilot program draft regulations, and we look forward to the implementation of the pilot program. In New Jersey, most agrivoltaics developers have project sites with a variety of proposed crops and in a variety of geographic regions. These sites are typically under 5 megawatts (MWs) due to small parcel sizes and the limited agricultural opportunity for large scale farms in New Jersey. The Stakeholders are diligently working with New Jersey’s Farm Bureau, the American Farmland Trust, and entities such as the Pinelands Commission to communicate the benefits of preferred siting methods like agrivoltaics to both New Jersey’s clean energy goals and farmers. We are some of the first developers in the country actively offering this model of community solar development and we are eager to provide the following input to the Board regarding the dual-use solar energy pilot program draft regulations. While we are glad to see the Board is near to ending a 2-and-a-half-year delay in implementing the dual-use pilot program, the Stakeholders have two primary and serious concerns with the draft regulations as currently written. First, and as stated in previous comments, the proposed control area unnecessarily limits and restricts farmers and presents significant threats to the viability of mature dual-use projects based on land constraints. The Stakeholders believe that requiring a 3-acre control area is inconsistent with current Rutgers and National Renewable Energy Lab research practices for dual-use sites. Requiring such a large control plot does not aid in scientific validity and will severely limit the number and the diversity of farmers who will be able to accommodate such a large control plot and restriction on their farming practices outside of the array. Hamstringing farmers should not be the intent of these regulations. The Stakeholders would also like to reiterate that the sites with available interconnection capacity (both distributed and transmission) are smaller sites, as the majority of family farms in New Jersey are on small acreage farms. More holistically, the Stakeholders would like to highlight for the Board that finding willing landowners and/or tenant farmers and a site with feasible interconnection logistics presents an enormous challenge to the dual-use pilot program. Requiring a large, 3-acre control area for all sites will force developers to focus on larger parcels of land and will reduce the positive benefits of dual-use sites. It will also discourage the participation of smaller family farmers, who arguably need farm viability tools like agrivoltaics the most. Farmers simply cannot financially forfeit the use of that acreage for a control site for research purposes. Our farmers must be able to remain flexible as the market changes. Additionally, the Stakeholders urge the Board to consider more flexible requirements for fencing control plots, as this may hinder a farmer’s ability to farm areas adjacent to the control plot. From the Stakeholder’s perspective, we respectfully suggest that it would be more appropriate to require a minimum control plot size based on the total project site of the farmer’s land in question. We propose that the rules be amended to require control plots to be 15% of the total project site acreage, but not less than a .5 acre and maximum of 3 acres. Other commenters will be providing input on their first-hand experience of control sites on dual-use sites and how it does not impact the statistical significance of the data. As currently proposed, the Board seemingly allows for dual-use projects to participate in both the ADI and CSI programs. But, according to stakeholders that have been in touch with the BPU, it is still the intention of BPU Staff to limit dual-use projects from participating in the CSEP program. If this is the case, the Stakeholders are confused as to why the Board would insist that dual-use projects must use the CSI program, which currently is only open “… to qualifying grid supply solar facilities, non-residential net metered solar installations with a capacity greater than five (5) megawatts (“MW”), and to eligible grid supply solar facilities installed in combination with energy storage.” Most developers interested and engaged in the dual-use pilot program thus far develop projects at the community scale (1 to 5 MWs). Frankly, utility scale developers are not prepared to pivot their existing projects to dual-use and will not be able to participate in the next 3 years either due to already being past the point of 5% design or because of interconnection restrictions, it is very rare to find a 5MW+ interconnection capacity at the distributed generation level and PJM transmission studies have been on a pause for the last two years. The Stakeholders are disappointed to see an arbitrary minimum size imposed on dual-use projects and cautions the Board that this requirement to use the CSI program is not in line with the legislative intent which established this program. The Stakeholders are also concerned that the next CSI bid selection process is not due to occur until next year, which would create additional and unnecessary delay in implementing this program. If we were to submit projects into the application process for the dual-use program without a confirmed CSI award, then the submitted financials would be an estimate that would account for the risk of not receiving an award through the CSI program. While net metering presents an alternative to the CSI program, the Stakeholders are unaware of any project or developer that would be able to qualify for that program with a dual-use project due to lack of on-site usage for the type of parcels that farmers are willing to use for agrivoltaics. Since the majority of known potential agrivoltaics sites would not be eligible for net metering and the CSI program due to size, the Stakeholders strongly urge the Board to allow dual-use pilot projects to be eligible for the Community Solar Energy Program (CSEP) up to their full allowable size of 10 MWs. The pilot program draft regulations propose a strong pre-qualification process (Expression of Interest) and other metrics specific to dual-use projects to gather information. Community solar offers a variety of additional benefits, including guaranteed energy bill savings and a focus on serving low- and moderate-income people. The developers with the most mature potential projects and skills in agrivoltaics reside primarily within the community solar space. Allowing dual-use projects to participate in the CSEP would allow the pilot program to move forward expeditiously. Furthermore, if no change occurs, developers whose projects are 5MW+ will eventually be forced to accommodate for the extremely competitive bids for the CSI program in their adder requests, which will be an unnecessary expense for the pilot program and would not serve to demonstrate the scalability and commercial viability of agrivoltaics in New Jersey. Again, we want to reiterate that as the proposed rule is currently written that there is no pathway for smaller projects to participate. The Stakeholders seek clarification of how the process for CSI award and dual-use application would coincide. If our projects were large enough to compete in the CSI program, then there is a risk that our projects would not be able to compete with the non-agPV utility scale bids. Additionally, if we were to be awarded under the CSI program, the projects would be taking up capacity under CSI and not the dual-use program. The legislation is clear that the dual-use program is to be additional MW capacity for New Jersey solar goals. For ease of administration, the BPU should set an ADI for dual-use projects for the pilot program and allow for additional adder if needed. For reference, in Europe developers are designing and installing agrivoltaic arrays for 100 Euro/MWh all in. As additional points of feedback, the Stakeholders encourage the Board: • to provide additional guidance on how research should be coordinated amongst parties or centralized at the BPU. Lack of guidance on necessary roles and responsibilities will create a high risk of incompatibility of research data and a poor comparison of outcomes, despite strong minimum research standards. Costs associated with research will be hard to estimate in project applications without more clarity. • to direct the utilities to process interconnection applications for dual use projects now so that developers have the necessary information about project viability when applying to this program. • to clarify the definition of “farmer”, which may exclude nonprofits from participating as written. • to change the application requirements to allow any form of site control, not solely a lease, to meet program entry requirements before having the guarantee of incentive qualification. • to provide clarity on how projects will operate past the 3-year research commitment. Specifically, what standard of reporting is required? Is continued farmland tax assessment qualification sufficient? • to change the reporting requirements, which as written, require that the landowner is responsible for notifying the Board of certain changes. All COMPR updates about owner/operator changes should just be the responsibility of the project team. • To provide a clearer definition of application review criteria, especially the term “robustness”, so that developers may better understand how these projects will be selected in a transparent manner. To conclude, the Stakeholders believe that the Board has the authority under subsection (r) of the Solar Act of 2012 to allow for dual-use projects to be eligible for the CSEP program as stated: “ ...the approval of the designation of the proposed facility would not significantly impact the preservation of open space in this State.” Per the Dual-Use Act of 2021, agrivoltaics may not be sited on preserved agricultural land, projects will be in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and would qualify for farmland tax assessment just as a non-agrivoltaics farm would based on their agricultural production activities. Agrivoltaics, by definition, would be preserving agricultural production for the life of the solar project. Thank you for the opportunity to provide these comments in relation to Docket No. QO23090679. The Stakeholders strongly urge the Board to act expeditiously to incorporate stakeholder comments and to move forward with a 2024 dual-use pilot program application process. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact us. Sincerely, Lucy Bullock-Sieger Vice President of Strategy, Lightstar Kelly Buchanan Policy & Strategy Manger, Lightstar Kaitlin Hollinger Policy Manager, BlueWave Rebecca Peichel Sales Director, ForeFront Power Kelly Roache Director of Policy & Community Solar, Renewable Properties Ed Brolin VP, Policy Development & Distributed Government Relations RWE Clean Energy	Agrivoltaics Stakeholders Comments 62424
Jake Marley	6/24/2024 4:51:52 PM	Hyperion Systems Dual Use Comments	Hyperion Systems_Docket No. QO23090679_Dual Use Comments
Charles Schliep	6/24/2024 4:49:25 PM	Attached are the comments of Solar Landscape in the matter of Docket No. QO23090679, the Dual Use Energy Pilot Program.	2024.06.24 Solar Landscape Dual Use Straw Proposal Comments FINAL
William Yen	6/24/2024 4:49:02 PM	We would like to thank the Board for this opportunity to comment on the Draft Rules for the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program. Please find our full comments in the attached PDF.	HY-VEP COMMENTS NJ DUAL USE SOLAR PILOT PROGRAM DRAFT RULES DOCKET NO QO23090679
Margaret Comes	6/24/2024 3:54:24 PM	Attached are Comments of Rockland Electric Company	BPU Docket No. QO23090679 RECO Comments
Scott Elias	6/24/2024 3:24:58 PM	Please see attached CleanCapital's comments on the Draft Rules of the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program.	CleanCapital Comments_ Docket No. QO23090679 Dual Use
Ian McCoy	6/24/2024 1:50:25 PM	Please see attached CS Energy's comments on the Draft Rules of the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program.	CS Energy - Dual Use Draft Rules Comments 6.24 Executed
Charlie Coggeshall	6/24/2024 1:40:11 PM	CCSA SEIA NJSEC Comments on Draft Rule for Dual-Use Pilot Program	CCSA SEIA NJSEC Comments on Draft Rule for Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program_QO23090679_v2
Joseph Z. Cortes	6/20/2024 7:17:32 PM	Mid-Atlantic States Career and Education Center (MASCEC)-Tatleaux Solar Group (Tatleaux) partnership to develop, construct and operate New Options Farms® Agrivoltaic Centers The U.S. and N.J. Farm Industries have been declining. Meanwhile, for 20 years, the vast majority of solar has been placed on farmland, thus solar has grown at the expense of farming. We believe proper implementation of the BPU's Dual Use-Agrivoltaic Program is crucial to solving these problems and it is important to the entire country because it’s the first program that incentivizes solar growth with carve-outs of SREC subsidies for solar on farmland but requires no diminishment in crop growth and income for farms and farmowners. MASCEC (co-founder Benjamin Wood taught agriculture at Cornell University for 30 years prior to co-founding with Glen Donelson MASCEC) formulated the New Options Farm Agrivoltaic Program concept in 2013 to address the above macro problems; MASCEC is also a BPU partner for workforce development programs). The Program combines extremely high yielding greenhouse crop farming (more than 100 times per acre than traditional farming) with low-cost solar energy (provided by Tatleaux’s adjacent agrivoltaic solar project at zero cost to the farming operation) and hydroponics to deliver substantially greater farm income with year-round farming, and significantly discounted clean solar electricity to local farms and communities. The numbers show the concept will solve the above problems. In addition, New Options Farms® Centers achieves another important macro goal: job training and jobs in both farming and solar construction at all New Options Farms® Agrivoltaic Center. The primary obstacle to greenhouse farming in the U.S. and the world is the large up-front investment required to build the greenhouses and greenhouse infrastructure. In the MASCEC-Tatleaux’s partnership, Tatleaux shares its solar project profits with MASCEC greenhouse farming in the form of large grants for MASCEC discretionary use to fund the greenhouses manufacturing, infrastructure construction, farming operation and greenhouse farming and solar installation training. MASCEC-Tatleaux comments below reflect our proposals that some of the Dual Use Solar Energy straw proposal rules and requirements are not necessarily applicable to the MASCEC-Tatleaux New Options Farms® Agrivoltaic concept and program as these are mostly applicable to traditional farming agrivoltaics. Thank you.
Jeanne	6/18/2024 6:47:57 PM	We lease. I fell behind on the lease they are working with me but told me we are not allowed to get the new program. I am disabled I ask foe help their is none. I also still have an electric bill I have full sun panels on house and garage the back. We had to go after the company who installed them flooded our house I believe some are broke from m them walking on them my daughters room they broke my attic steps the man who I spoke to yelled at me I have ptsd. I am just done with this. It's all a lie
Helmi Saud	6/12/2024 9:38:56 AM	https://www.energysun.org More than a simple solar installation, insolagrin is a new tool for farmers. It enables dynamic adjustment of light, optimizing crops’ growth over seasons and variable climatic conditions. The excess sunlight is harvested into electricity, enabling a dual use of land – without tradeoffs. Insolagrin solution addresses the 3 pillars of the European Green Deal at once. Achieving Climate Co2 Neutrality Clean, Reliable and Affordable Energy Farm to ForkHigh Electricity Generation, Insolagrin solar cells: While providing shades, insolagrin solar cells turns the excess of light into electricity. They produce 30-50% more than other translucent solar modules. Writer's Economic Benefits Since Insolagrin is both a solar installation and an agronomic tool, it creates multi-channel revenues. Energy and Agroscope: It is possible to feed citizens and the grid at the same time. The construction of insolagrin, a highly innovative solar power plant. This is the first time – worldwide – that this new agrivoltaic technology has been deployed on a large-scale pilot. The first raspberries Plant developed to replace and improve the protection used over crops against weather conditions, while producing energy at the same time. It allows Agroscope to study the impact of light conditions on crop development. The aim is to use this agronomic data to adjust the control algorithm of the photovoltaic modules, irrigation, and nutrient supply according to the plant species, stage of development and solar irradiance.	20230627_insolagrin_EnergySun_Feasability_1.83MW
Kathleen Shea	6/12/2024 8:19:48 AM	Before we begin compromising good agricultural land we should be pursuing BPU programs on already-developed properties, ie parking lots, highways, and rooftops. It should be our priority to preserve as much land as possible to grow life-sustaining vegetables and fruits Respectfully submitted, Kathleen Shea
William Yen	12/13/2023 5:31:03 PM	Please see attached PDF	HY COMMENTS NJ DUAL USE SOLAR PILOT PROGRAM DOCKET NO QO23090679
Kelly Buchanan	12/13/2023 4:53:56 PM	Please see the attached PDF.	Lightstar Dual use straw proposal comments 12.13.23
Ethan Winter	12/13/2023 4:50:49 PM	December 13, 2023 Sherri L. Golden 44 South Clinton Avenue Trenton, NJ 08625-0350 American Farmland Trust Recommendations RE: Docket No. QO23090679 In the Matter of the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program Dear Secretary Golden, American Farmland Trust (AFT) appreciates the opportunity to provide comment on the straw proposal for the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program. This program reflects a nationally significant step in creating space for applied research, industry innovation, standard setting and replication in the rapidly emerging area of agricultural dual-use solar (referred by AFT as agrivoltaics). Founded in 1980, American Farmland Trust’s (AFT) mission is to save the land that sustains us by protecting farmland, promoting sound farming practices, and keeping farmers on the land. AFT recognizes that fulfilling this mission depends on America’s farmers and ranchers, and their ability to operate viable farm businesses. In addition to being a leader in federal agricultural policy, AFT works across the nation at the state and local level to advance policies to achieve its mission. AFT is actively engaged in regional and national work to develop best practices, standards, and policies related to the development of solar energy facilities on agricultural lands. According to the Department of Energy’s 2022 Solar Futures Study, the U.S. is projected to need 10 million acres of solar to achieve the goal of decarbonizing the electric grid by 2050 with 90% of this installed capacity constructed in rural areas. AFT estimates that, without policy changes, 83% of expected future solar development will take place on farmland – with nearly half of that on our country’s most productive, versatile, and resilient farmland. New Jersey anticipates approximately 30,000 MW of solar capacity to meet state clean energy targets, likely requiring 150,000 – 300,000 acres (based on industry estimate of 5-10 acres per MW). Anticipating this challenge, AFT’s New York/New Jersey Regional program has established a formal collaboration with Rutgers University to develop an agrivoltaics training program for New Jersey farmers. Funding for this partnership comes from the US Department of Energy’s Foundational Agrivoltaics Research at Megawatt Scale (FARMS) program. This training program is premised upon the development of a robust dual-use solar program that will require significant education, engagement and technical assistance and involvement of extension professionals, farmers, service providers and solar experts across New Jersey in coming years. With this context in mind, AFT applauds New Jersey for being a trail blazer in passing the Dual-Use Solar Energy Act of 2021 (P.L. 2021, c. 170, “Dual-Use Act” or “Act”) which directed the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU), in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to adopt rules establishing a Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program. AFT is invested in helping BPU and stakeholders develop a successful Pilot Program. In our view, such a program should encourage a portfolio of commercially viable dual-use solar projects representing a diversity of designs, nameplate capacities, farmer backgrounds, and agricultural plans. Ideally, the dual-use projects will be distributed in different regions of the state and on a variety of soil types to demonstrate a range of project configurations and farm plans reflective of farmer interests and agricultural markets. Importantly, the pilot program should initiate opportunities for producers, agrivoltaics specialists and service providers to serve across New Jersey’s farm-energy-water nexus. AFT has developed a comprehensive set of policy recommendations for Smart Solar, released on December 13th. (https://farmland.org/aft-releases-smart-solar-recommendations-to-help-policymakers-advance-solar-and-strengthen-farm-viability/). We invite BPU and other Pilot Program participants and stakeholders to review AFT’s recommendations. The following includes general and specific recommendations related to the Pilot Program and straw proposal. General Recommendations AFT defines agricultural dual-use solar (agrivoltaics) as the integration of agricultural production and solar energy generation on the same piece of land throughout the life of the solar array. The outcome of the Pilot Program should be to keep land in farming as solar deployment expands to meet the New Jersey’s Renewable Portfolio Standard and implement the state Energy Master Plan. Advancements in applied research and policy will enable application of dual-use production systems beyond sheep grazing, currently the most common option. With regard to the state Pilot Programs, our general recommendations include the following: Invest in Market Relevant Research and Demonstration. • The Pilot Program should cover added costs of research and demonstration projects to determine the economic viability of agrivoltaics for different crop and livestock systems (and associated conservation management) in different climates with varying scales of arrays as well as farmer interest in agrivoltaics. • Research should explore how agrivoltaic projects can improve water usage, soil health, and land access—especially for historically marginalized and limited-resource producers. In addition, research should assess what is needed to scale up agrivoltaic arrays in different communities and for various production systems (e.g., workforce development, market access, supply chain investments). • The Pilot Program should encourage and facilitate standardized data collection (including from third party qualified contractors or research institutions) in order to aggregate and share data from current agrivoltaic arrays with state and federal agencies, researchers, and other stakeholders. The goal should be to inform and advance the viability of future agrivoltaic projects, not merely data collection. Importantly, data collection, including costs of sensors and other research related equipment, should not create undue burden on farmers without compensation. Incentivize Agrivoltaic Projects. State and local governments have a key role in supporting incentives for development of agrivoltaic solar arrays. For an effective financial incentive, government agencies and permitting authorities need the authority to require periodic verification to ensure that farming continues throughout the life of the array. The straw proposal includes several provisions that AFT also recommends for state programs including: • A clear but not overly prescriptive definition for array heights and types of projects that qualify for the dual-use incentive(s). However, in the absence of a defined adder it is impossible to weigh the relative costs and benefits of different dual-use design options. AFT’s understanding is that BPU is planning to have a customized, project-specific incentive adder. This may create a lot of additional complexity across the portfolio of different projects with different adders. AFT recommends a verifiable performance standard and a standardized adder incentive structure. • Consideration of a control area to support analysis of different project designs, applications and practices. AFT recommends that BPU carefully consider the pros and cons of a fixed or pre-determined control area requirement. The goal of the Pilot Program should be to demonstrate how on farm practices can improve and optimize production across a diverse set of agrivoltaics applications and project designs. If a control area is deemed necessary for data analysis and scientific rigor, it should be sized for the proposed research so as to not overburden the farmer or undermine ongoing farming operations. • Periodic verification and field visits to ensure farming activities continue and to assess changes in agricultural practices as circumstances may be warranted over the 20-30 year project life. AFT supports BPU’s recommendation that a preferred project would enable access to the site and provide data and documentation about the design as to enable replicability and applicability to support a robust permanent dual-use program. AFT also agrees that farmers should be allowed to change their agricultural or horticultural practices (e.g., crop rotation, switching from grazing animals to hay production, or switching to a different production system). • Provisions for auditing compliance and, if necessary, enforceable financial mechanisms for noncompliance if active agricultural or horticultural use of the land is impaired or discontinued beyond a reasonable probation and cure period. • AFT also recommends transparency in how data will be shared to increase knowledge of agricultural and energy production and overall project performance during the Pilot Program and beyond. AFT recommends that BPU explore partnerships with DOE and other state energy offices to share research findings, lessons learned and case studies to increase understanding of agrivoltaic viability and scalability. BPU may be interested in the recent agrivoltaics RFI and report on agrivoltaics in New York from NYSERDA, which AFT also provided comment on. • The stated intention of the Pilot Program is to demonstrate and study the compatibility of active agricultural or horticultural production and solar photovoltaic infrastructure on the same land. The Pilot Program should explicitly encourage experimentation and incorporation of regenerative practices, and allow for iteration. The Pilot Program should anticipate good-faith errors and make space for remedies and onsite corrections. Insights will come from failures as much as from managed success. In this way, the Pilot Program can truly inform, shape and provide a foundation for a robust permanent dual-use program that supports resilience and ensures the viability of New Jersey’s diversified agriculture sector. This will be important in gaining farmer interest and building acceptance of agrivoltaics in the face of shifting weather patterns, conventional land conversion pressures, high costs and barriers for new and beginning farmers and aging demographic of producers and farm owners. Based on input from other agricultural and solar sector stakeholders, AFT also offers these additional recommendations specific to the straw proposal: Prioritize farmer centered dual-use Pilot Program applicants should be able to demonstrate that they are actively engaging with a farmer who has a viable farm business plan that considers soils, infrastructure, support services, water access, farm succession, and market access/customer segments for the farm product(s) that will be produced following installation. Developers should demonstrate how the specific solar array is designed to meet the farmer’s needs in supporting a viable farm operation (e.g. water wells for grazing animals, water supply and infrastructure for irrigation, and panel height and row spacing to accommodate farm machinery). Critically, the Pilot Program should favor projects designed for flexibility in order to respond to changes in market demand over the 20-30 year life of the project. AFT also encourages BPU to make it explicitly clear that “force majeure” such as crop loss or failure, extreme weather, or other similar events beyond the control of farmer, landowner, or project developer are exceptions to the non-compliance recourse. Clarity on force majeure, remedy terms and non-compliance requirements is essential for the developer to secure financing and insurance for agrivoltaic projects. Define a feasible control area appropriate to the research Requiring a 1:1 control to field trial area is likely to render many potential Pilot Program projects economically and practically infeasible – from both the energy generation perspective, and the viability of the farming activities. We urge the Board to consider other methods for evidence-based comparative analysis. While the research intention in the Pilot Program is laudable, this is not primarily a research program. Rather, the real innovation in this Pilot Program is that projects are commercial scale on real farms committed to maintaining active agricultural or horticultural use. Projects of a more experimental, research purpose have a place in the Pilot Program and may deserve separate consideration. Certain research may benefit from a large control area. It should be noted that a 1:2 control to field trial area is employed by the Rutgers University Agrivoltaics Program for its new state-funded test arrays. In any event, the practical impact of control requirements should be carefully considered with a farm viability lens. A 3-year research project that compares dual-use array vs. non-array conditions is operationally difficult, potentially expensive to implement, with little practical research value. For example, the proposed control areas would need to isolate the array variables in the early years due to the impacts of construction which is unlikely to be possible in a 3-5 year research project. AFT appreciates the legislative intent of research, particularly for any dual-use project sited on prime farmland in an Agricultural Development Area (ADA). Rather than onerous control requirements, the research should focus on determining which practices and applications are most likely to work for farmers under different array designs and using different equipment. A successful Pilot Program will be seen as attractive and feasible to both farmers and developers, generating crop yield data that can be normalized and extrapolated to other locations and soil types. With the need for solar deployment at a massive scale, AFT and many other stakeholders are more interested in understanding how to design agrivoltaic arrays to best support farms, and the farm viability, soil health, and farmland access benefits of agrivoltaics over traditional ground mount arrays. In sum, control areas have their place for certain experimental applications such as a direct on-farm comparison of crop production. However, AFT encourages BPU to be more expansive about the research that needs to be done. Encouraging different practices under and around the installations will also be important for future agricultural production. Encourage flexibility in research design and clarify research objectives An important lesson from the MA-SMART dual-use program in Massachusetts is that New Jersey’s more expansive 200-300 MW Pilot Program should avoid narrow focus on crop yield comparison between array and non-array conditions. Rather, we encourage research that focuses on real-world production outcomes that demonstrate how farmers change their practices in an agrivoltaic array, how those practices influence farm income, soil conditions, crop yields and climate resilience, and how different array designs can best support the most productive shifts. In addition to supporting a portfolio of projects having a diversity of crops, we encourage BPU to support project research on different soil types, land contours/slopes, conservation practices, and irrigation practices. AFT encourages research that assesses the benefits of regenerative soil health practices integrated into overall dual-use project design. AFT also encourages research looking at battery energy storage and beneficial electrification of on-farm practices that support and coincide with dual use agricultural or horticultural operations. AFT recommends that the 3-year Pilot Program research clock should commence once a project has achieved substantial completion milestones. Clarify dual-use permitting language The straw proposal states that approved dual-use projects will be considered a permitted use within every municipality. The final program rules should further define that dual-use projects do not require a special use or conditional use permit in accordance with statute. However, it should also be understood that these projects, especially those located in the ADA, may be subject to a higher level of community scrutiny. AFT encourages the Pilot Program to strive for a high standard of dual-use particularly for locations in the ADA. For example, strict crop production standards of 65-70% of baseline crop production are included in dual use programs in the European Union and may be a useful guide for Pilot Program adder incentives and permitted use provisions in the ADA. Allow dual-use projects to serve community solar and low-income customers New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan prioritizes access for marginalized and underserved communities. Dual-use projects up to 10 MW should be able to provide savings to residential and low-income customers through the community solar permanent program. BPU can leverage the additional capacity created for the dual-use program to expand the equity benefits of community solar, all while preserving farmland and efficiently using ratepayer funds. Larger dual-use projects could also create expanded applied research opportunities. AFT recommends that for purposes of the Pilot Program, Dual Use projects up to 10 MW be considered for both the ADI and CSI programs. Pass-through incentives for farmers Adder incentives should be a mechanism for both supporting additional capital expenses (Cap Ex) and compensating farmers who participate in the research or have additional costs to integrate the dual-use. In other words, there should be a mechanism for enabling developers to pass incentive adders to farmers instead of retaining the incentive only for project Cap Ex. Incentive sharing will build farmer interest in the Pilot Program and offset additional costs farmers may face while accommodating research required during the pilot. AFT recommends that incentive funding allow for purchase or lease of farm equipment or farm infrastructure (eg. irrigation, livestock shelters, moveable paddock fencing) as necessary to implement the dual-use farm plan if such equipment and infrastructure is not currently available or owned by the farmer. Allocate capacity quickly and efficiently It is anticipated that there will be significant pent-up market demand for the Dual Use program, given that the legislation was passed 2½ years ago. AFT recommends a more ambitious allocation than 30 MW in Program Year 1. AFT does not have a position on whether there should be two or three annual solicitations for the first tranche of 200 MW. However, it is essential that BPU and Rutgers be prepared for strong interest in the program and support as many well qualified and viable Dual-Use projects as possible in the first Program Year. It is important to build early momentum for the Pilot Program and stimulate farmer interest, particularly in consideration of the Rutgers-AFT collaboration to develop the Technical Assistance Program for Agrivoltaics Systems (TAPAS), funded under the DOE FARMS program. Factor farmer interests and farmland threat AFT recognizes that the Dual Use program could provide a financial lifeline to small and mid-sized farms. AFT recommends that BPU specifically encourage Pilot Program projects that increase the viability of, or provide new or enhanced farming opportunities for, operations owned by historically marginalized farmers. In addition, AFT recommends the BPU take into consideration the relative risk of conversion of project area to non-agricultural uses and encourages reference to AFT’s Farms Under Threat 2040 projections for county-level farmland loss. BPU and the Department of Agriculture can access AFT’s Farms Under Theat - New Jersey profile and spatial data by contacting AFT or going to the website at https://csp-fut.appspot.com/. Research Process and Data Collection Requirements AFT understands the need for data collection on crop and animal production for approved projects located in Agricultural Development Areas. If an expanded set of data collection requirements is truly necessary for tracking performance of projects in the ADA, there should be additional consideration of any cost burdens to farmer and agricultural operations. AFT encourages a centralized approach to data collection to ensure consistent methodologies and to reduce burden on individual landowners and project managers. AFT would recommend a working group be convened to evaluate specifically what data collection will be most useful for purposes of evaluating different dual-use applications, solar array and agricultural performance, and equipment utilization. Agronomic data collected from projects both in and outside ADA research can prove valuable to farmers going forward. Community Support AFT invites and encourages participation of community stakeholders in the development of dual-use projects in the Pilot Program. Additional scoring or preference points for dual-use projects that demonstrate farmer commitment, land access benefits to tenant farmers and other evidence of community engagement should be considered. Successful dual-use projects and development processes require ongoing and more intensive relationships between developer and farmer/landowner. A farmer/landowner statement of support for the project should be included in the information collected for proposed projects. AFT would also encourage a series of virtual open houses, perhaps in coordination with Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program, to educate farmers, local officials and other interested stakeholders about the Pilot Program when it is formally announced. Relatively few constituents are familiar with the BPU and the formal process of releasing energy program details. AFT commends BPU and the Department of Agriculture for the detailed straw proposal and substantial effort in developing the Dual Use program. We look forward to working with stakeholders to make this a nation-leading program that delivers real benefits to New Jersey’s agricultural community. Thank you for considering our comments and recommendations. Ethan Winter, National Smart Solar Director ewinter@farmland.org Linda Garrett, New York/New Jersey Regional Director lgarrett@farmland.org	AFT comment on Dual Use Pilot Program_Docket No QO23090679_12.13.23
Rebecca Peichel	12/13/2023 4:44:46 PM	Please find comments in the attachment.	New Jersey Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program Straw Proposal Comments - ForeFront Power
Gerard A Weir	12/13/2023 4:34:10 PM	RIC Energy respectfully submits the attached comments in the Matter of the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program	RIC Energy - Docket No. QO23090679 Straw Proposal Comments
Ian McCoy	12/13/2023 3:29:59 PM	Please see attached comments to the NJBPU's Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program.	CS Energy - Dual Use Straw Proposal Comments 12.13.23 Executed
Allen Carter	12/13/2023 2:38:52 PM	Please see the attached document of the comments From NJ Farm Bureau. The Farm Bureau is the state's largest grass roots organization representing New Jersey's diverse agricultural commodities and businesses.	NJ Farm Bureau comments - dual use solar energy project
Dave Leonard	12/7/2023 12:19:59 PM	I am encouraged to see progress in moving dual-use forward in NJ. For projects that would be net-metered however, I believe “Net Metering Aggregation” will be critical. Most farms have multiple electric services. On my farm, I currently have two meters - one for the house, outbuildings, and one barn, and a second for a second barn that is some distance from the house on contiguous property. My current solar installation is attached to the meter for the house and the one barn. I am not able to net-meter the combined meters on my farm due to current NJ regulations. Note that this is not the case in Pennsylvania, where multiple meters on a farm property can be treated as one net-metered account. In NJ, only certain organizations qualify for aggregated net metering. From New Jersey Statutes Title 48. Public Utilities 48 § 3-87:e. (4) net metering aggregation standards to require electric public utilities to provide net metering aggregation to single electric public utility customers that operate a solar electric power generation system installed at one of the customer's facilities or on property owned by the customer, provided that any such customer is a State entity, school district, county, county agency, county authority, municipality, municipal agency, or municipal authority. This restriction impacts farm operations by inhibiting switching electric demands (lights, pumps, heaters, compressors) from one barn to the other barn, as I would increase my electric costs by increasing the load on the meter serving the 2nd barn, while “over-producing” with solar on the main meter. A potential solution to the current restriction could be to simply add “Farms”, as qualified under the current farmland assessment program, to the list in Title 48. Public Utilities 48 § 3-87 e. (4). Without this change, I believe any net-metering dual-use applications will not be practical or financially viable..
Alejandro Meseguer	11/10/2023 7:21:38 PM	Excellent project to explore value added for our farmers and citizens of the State of New Jersey. Good luck!

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