NJBPU awards 16 agrivoltaics projects, including sites in Warren, Hunterdon counties
TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has awarded 16 projects totaling 52.06 megawatts in the first round of a pilot program designed to generate solar energy while keeping farmland in agricultural production.
The projects were selected through the first solicitation of the state’s Dual-Use Pilot Agrivoltaics Program, established under the Dual-Use Solar Energy Act of 2021.
“This pilot dual-use program will enable us to support New Jersey farmers in making their operations more profitable while adding capacity to the grid,” said NJBPU President Ben Hertz-Shargel. “It ensures farmland remains in active agricultural or horticultural production while enhancing the value of established farming practices. Combining that with new clean electric supply for the grid represents a true win-win for the Garden State.”
Often referred to as agrivoltaics, dual-use solar involves placing photovoltaic panels above or among crops, grazing areas or other agricultural operations instead of removing farmland from production entirely.
The 16 projects will be located on farms in Atlantic, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Salem and Warren counties. They will combine solar generation with agricultural uses including soybeans, hay, grains, vegetables, fruits, specialty crops and livestock production, according to the NJBPU.
“The BPU dual use pilot program is a great opportunity to see grid scale projects working with and around active agriculture production,” said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Ed Wengryn. “This Pilot can help agriculture and the solar energy industry learn if active agriculture use can be a renewable energy partner in shaping New Jersey’s future. Getting these projects operating is the best real-life laboratory to learn the challenges the two industries face.”
The program is being implemented by the NJBPU in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Department of Environmental Protection, State Agriculture Development Committee and Rutgers University’s Agrivoltaics Program.
“When we passed the Dual-Use Solar Energy Act, this is exactly the progress we hoped to see: New Jersey farmers producing food and clean power on the same acre of land,” said Senator Bob Smith. “These 16 projects prove we don’t have to choose between keeping farmland in active production and building the generation capacity our state needs – we can have both. Farmers have always been stewards of the land, and now they can help power New Jersey’s clean-energy future while strengthening their own bottom line.”
Senator Andrew Zwicker said: “Agrivoltaics is the kind of evidence-based innovation New Jersey should be leading on – pairing solar generation with active farming so neither has to give ground to the other. As demand for electricity keeps climbing, we need solutions that add supply without asking ratepayers or farmers to bear the cost, and these 16 projects do exactly that. This pilot shows what’s possible when good science and good policy work the same land together, and I’m eager to see those lessons scaled statewide.”
The pilot program may support up to 200 megawatts over three years, with individual projects generally limited to a maximum of 10 megawatts.
Projects must be located on unpreserved farmland already being actively used for agriculture or horticulture. Eligible project teams must include a landowner, farmer and solar operator, with farmers participating in project planning and operation.
The NJBPU received 33 preliminary proposals totaling approximately 140 megawatts during the first solicitation. State officials said lessons learned through the pilot will help guide the development of a permanent agrivoltaics program.
The 16 projects awarded in the first solicitation are:
- FFP Origination LLC — Salem County
- FFP Origination LLC — Warren County
- NJ Solar 2000 LLC — Cumberland County
- NJ Solar 2000 LLC — Monmouth County
- FFP Origination LLC — Gloucester County
- FFP Origination LLC — Mercer County
- NJ Solar 2000 LLC — Salem County
- NJ Solar 2000 LLC — Cumberland County
- NJ Solar 2000 LLC — Cumberland County
- NJ Solar 2000 LLC — Warren County
- NJ Solar 2000 LLC — Cumberland County
- FFP Origination LLC — Salem County
- NJ Solar 2000 LLC — Cumberland County
- FFP Origination LLC — Cumberland County
- AETS Development Holdings LLC — Atlantic County
- FFP Origination LLC — Hunterdon County
More information about the Dual-Use Solar Energy Pilot Program is available through New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program.
