Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program
The Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program is designed to encourage the development of dual-use solar facilities and the creation of a new segment of the solar industry in New Jersey that is compatible with the State’s rich agricultural heritage.
Status
Applications are closed
Schedule
- February 26, 2026 Program Year 2 begins
- March 6, 2026 Deadline for public comment on proposed rule changes
- TBD 2026 Next Expression of Interest (EOI) Period will begin
- TBD 2026 Program Year 1 Board determinations / awards will be announced (no later than 180 days from the close of the application period per the Dual-Use Act)
Program Contacts
Relevant Audiences
On this Page
Notice
On November 21, 2025, the Board approved a Notice of Adoption and Notice of Proposed Substantial Changes Upon Adoption to amend its existing solar energy rules to include the Pilot Program. The deadline for written comments on the Notice of Proposed Substantial Changes Upon Adoption is 5:00 PM EST on Friday, March 6, 2026.
Please submit comments directly by using the Board of Public Utilities’ (Board) Public Document Search Tool, search for this specific docket number: QX24080597, and post by utilizing the “Post Comments” button.
Written comments may also be submitted. Please include subject matter and docket number and submit to:
Secretary of the Board
Attn: BPU Docket No.: QX24080597
44 South Clinton Avenue, 1st Floor
PO Box 350
Trenton, NJ 08625-0350
Email: board.secretary@bpu.nj.gov
About the Program
The Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program is designed to encourage the development of dual-use solar facilities and the creation of a new segment of the solar industry in New Jersey that is compatible with the State’s rich agricultural heritage. Dual-use or "agrivoltaics" refers to the use of the same land for both farming and solar energy production. Specifically, the Pilot Program seeks to demonstrate and study the compatibility of active agricultural or horticultural production and solar photovoltaic infrastructure on the same land/property.
The Pilot Program will facilitate the installation and operation of up to 200 megawatts of solar over three years. The SuSI Program provides solar incentives to qualified solar electric generation facilities and the Pilot Program is designed to provide incentives to agrivoltaics solar facilities as an adder, or additional financial incentive, to incentives available under the SuSI Program.
For more information, view the help topics below:
Guidance for Farmers/Landowners in Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program
Solicitation Round 1 (PY1)
Capacity Target
The Board has approved 200 MW (dc) of solar capacity with three Program Years (PY) in the Pilot Program. Program Year 1 has a capacity block of 65 MW (dc). The remaining 135 MW (dc) capacity will be available during PY2 and PY3.
| Dual-Use Pilot Program: Program Year (PY) | Capacity Block kW (dc) | Capacity Subscribed kW (dc) | Capacity Available kW (dc) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PY1, Application Period 1 | 65,000 | 0 | 65,000 |
Note: The 65 MW is a capacity target and there is no requirement by the Board for this capacity block to be fully subscribed in the First Solicitation Round 1 of this Application Period for PY1.
First Application Period - Solicitation Round 1
The First Application Period is intended only for entities submitting a Dual-Use Pilot Program project for consideration by the NJBPU. Applicants that received a Pre-Qualification Approval letter from Board staff are eligible to participate in the First Application Period - Solicitation Round 1.
Projects selected by the Board will be approved for participation in the Pilot Program. At the close of the First Application Period, each Application packet will be evaluated and scored based on the evaluation criteria described in Tables 1 and 2 of the November 2025 Dual-Use Pilot Order, for determining eligibility in the Pilot Program. These tables are provided on this webpage for convenience. All Dual-Use projects will be awarded or denied through a Board Order.
Project Eligibility Criteria
Dual-Use Solar facilities that are planned to be sited on unpreserved farmland within New Jersey are eligible provided they meet the below requirements outlined in the Notice of Incentive Availability pursuant to the October 2024 Dual-Use Pilot Order.
- Pursuant to the Dual-Use Act, the Board will not consider Dual-Use Pilot Projects sited on preserved farmland. “Preserved farmland” means the same as such term is defined in section 4 of P.L. 2009, c. 213 (N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.3c).
- Solar facilities that have not yet commenced commercial operation by having obtained permission to operate from an electric distribution company (“EDC”) are eligible to participate in the Pilot Program. Any solar facility that has obtained permission to operate by an EDC may not requalify as a Dual-Use solar facility under the Pilot Program.
- Eligible Dual-Use solar facilities: 1) qualifying grid supply projects 2) net metered non-residential projects with a capacity greater than five (5) MW 3) qualifying grid supply projects paired with a storage facility; and 4) net metered non-residential solar projects of five (5) MW or less.
- Community solar and Remote Net Metered projects are not eligible to participate in the Dual-Use Solicitation for Round 1.
- EDCs are prohibited from developing, owning, or operating Dual-Use Pilot Program Project(s).
- Dual-Use Pilot solar facilities cannot be smaller than 500 kW dc capacity in size.
- Dual-Use Pilot solar facilities cannot exceed 10 MW (dc) capacity.
- Dual-Use projects must comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations at any time during the design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of a Pilot Project including, but not limited to, regulations by other authorities such as the New Jersey Highlands Council and the New Jersey Pinelands Commission.
- CSI eligible facilities seeking to participate in the Pilot Program must submit an incentive value for the SI component of the project using 90% of the lowest awarded bid approved for the Basic Grid Supply Tranche in the CSI second solicitation. The revised reference value for the First Application Period for this group of projects will be $64.71/MWh.
For information on siting and co-location requirements for Dual-Use eligible facilities, please view the help topics below:
Dual-Use Solar Pilot Program Siting InformationDual-Use Solar Pilot Program Co-Location RequirementsTo find additional resources related to PV Watts, solar shade analyses, soil mapping, and siting, please view the help topic below:
NJCEP Solar Siting and Design ToolsProgram Application
Application Fee and Fee Waiver
A $1000/MW non-refundable application fee must accompany each Dual-Use applicant’s submission in the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program, First Application Period - Solicitation Round 1. Applicants may request a waiver of this fee by completing and submitting a Request to Waive the Application Fee. The form provides the criteria for what “undue financial hardship” means for the purposes of this waiver and completion of the form is the only requirement to demonstrate undue financial hardship. Do not submit any additional documents.
The amount of the application fee due should be calculated based upon the size of the project (MW) listed on the application multiplied by 1000. For example, if a project is sized at 5.345 MW, then the calculation should be: 5.345 MW * $1000/MW = $5350.00.
To request an application fee waiver, an applicant must indicate their request in the application portal and email a completed Request to Waive the Application Fee form, which includes a confirmation of the project location, to dual-use@njcleanenergy.com using the subject line “Dual-Use Pilot Program Fee Waiver Request – [NAME OF BUSINESS]”
Please note that receiving approval for a waiver of the application fee does not imply that the project team meets program criteria for beneficial impact to OBMs in which their project will be located. Project teams located in or near OBMs must still describe their plan to provide beneficial impact to the community in their application for evaluation by the Board.
Application Portal
The Application window opened to applicants on January 14, 2026, at 12:01 AM EST and closed to submissions on February 25, 2026, at 11:59:59 PM EST. The application portal is now closed, and applications will no longer be accepted for Solicitation Round 1 (Program Year 1).
New Jersey’s Open Public Record Act (OPRA) and Confidentiality Claims
The Application, and all information and documentation submitted in the Dual-Use Pilot Program, will be subject to the provisions of New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”). If you wish to assert confidentiality regarding any of the information submitted, you must comply with the provisions of the Board’s procedures pertaining to the submission of information claimed to be confidential, set out at N.J.A.C. 14:1-12 et seq. No information or documentation submitted outside of the OPRA process will be entitled to consideration for confidential treatment.
- For purposes of claiming confidentiality with regard to an application submitted in response to this notice, Applicants shall submit with their application 1) a redacted public copy, conforming to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 14:1-12.3, created by printing out a copy of the completed Application Form, redacting the information claimed by the Applicant to be confidential, and scanning the resulting document, and 2) a written affidavit, conforming to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 14:1-12.8, specifically justifying why confidential treatment is claimed for all redacted information the Applicant wishes to keep confidential. The Board notes that it may elect to share confidential portions of the application materials with other New Jersey government entities, including, but not limited to, NJDEP and NJDA, during the evaluation period or post-award.
- Applicants should be aware that a confidentiality claim made in accordance with the Board’s rules will ensure only that, in the event a records request is submitted seeking the claimed confidential information or the Board is otherwise required by law to disclose the information, Applicants will receive a notice and an opportunity to be heard prior to the public release of the information claimed to be confidential. The submission of a confidentiality claim does not guarantee that the Board’s Records Custodian, if required, will ultimately determine that the information claimed to be confidential should be kept confidential. In the event the Records Custodian determines information claimed to be confidential is not entitled to confidential treatment, that information is subject to public disclosure.
Program Forms
Note: this is not a complete list of materials required for the application. See Checklist below for the full list of application requirements.
Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program Application ChecklistData Collection FormAffidavit FormPermit FormSolar Array Design Plan Instructions and GuidanceSolar Array Design FormSample Cost SheetApplication Cost Information Instructions & GuidanceNew Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Permit Readiness ChecklistDual -Use Milestone Reporting Form EDC InterconnectionDual -Use Milestone Reporting Form PJM InterconnectionFarmland Assessment form (FA-1)Application Fee FormIf Applicable: Request to Waive the Application Fee Form
Certification Forms
Please note: NJ law provides that notarizing a document in another state has the same effect under the law of this State as if performed by a notarial officer of this State, provided the notarizing official is a notary public in that other state; a judge, clerk or deputy clerk of a court that state; or an individual authorized by the law of that state to do the notarizing. After reviewing this statutory authority, BPU Staff will accept notaries from other states as long as the notarial officer falls in one of the above categories.
Certification Form (Applicant)Certification Form (Farmers)Certification Form (Landowers)Certification Form (Solar Operators)Incentive Structure
Incentives for Dual-Use Pilot Program Projects will include a “base” value and an “adder”. The base value will be that for which the project is eligible under the SuSI program structure; applicants will receive an incentive either through the Administratively Determined Incentive (“ADI”) Program or the Competitive Solar Incentive (“CSI”) Program. The adder amount is proposed by the applicant to account for the incremental cost of the agrivoltaics project related to participation in the Dual-Use Pilot Program. Applicants must identify the appropriate base incentive level for their project and the value of their proposed adder in their application package.
Refer to the November 2025 Dual-Use Pilot Order for the First Application Period, on pages 11-12, for additional information on project costs and incentives. See also: Application Cost Information Instructions and Guidance Document.
Events
Upcoming Events
There are no upcoming events.
Past Events
Program Tools and Resources
Program History
Related Resources
This page contains links to proceedings for all solar programs administered by New Jersey's Clean Energy Program.
Solar Activity ReportsNew Jersey's Clean Energy Program solar activity reports provide detailed information for all solar projects that are installed and currently under development in New Jersey. Solar activity reports and data are posted on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 2:00pm EST for the previous reporting month.