A bill that would establish a “Neighborhood Solar Energy Investment Program” is moving forward in New Jersey. The new program would allow residential and non-residential customers to invest in off-site solar PV projects and receive bill credits based on their share of generation from the system. Credits are limited to 100% of a customer’s annual energy needs during the prior year and may be provided on a monthly or annual basis.

The bill (A. 1672) directs the Board of Public Utilities to develop implementation rules, and to publish on its website information on neighborhood solar projects seeking customer investments. Participating customers must be located in the same utility’s service territory as the solar PV project, and a participating customer’s credit from a shared solar PV system may not exceed the customer’s annual electric usage during the previous year.