NEW JERSEY — The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is seeking public input on how the state should evaluate proposed advanced nuclear energy projects, including their potential effects on electricity bills, public safety, local communities and the environment.
The NJBPU has opened a public comment period on its draft Expression of Interest Guidance Document, which outlines the information developers would be required to provide when proposing advanced nuclear energy projects in New Jersey. Residents, businesses, community organizations and other stakeholders have until Friday, Dec. 4, to submit comments.
The public feedback will help shape the final guidance before developers begin submitting proposals to the state.
“We recognize that New Jerseyans have important questions about what new nuclear energy could mean for their bills, their communities, and the reliability of their electric service,” said NJBPU President Ben Hertz-Shargel. “Those questions deserve a place in this process from the beginning. We are asking the public to help us identify the information advanced nuclear energy developers should provide and the standards their proposals should meet so that the Board can make informed decisions grounded in the public interest.”
According to the NJBPU, nuclear power accounted for 44% of New Jersey’s in-state electricity generation in 2024 and more than 80% of the state’s clean energy supply.
The public comment process follows the passage of the Power NJ Act, signed into law during the summer of 2026, which directs the state to seek at least 1,100 megawatts of new advanced nuclear energy capacity.
The law requires potential projects to provide a net benefit to ratepayers and establishes safeguards throughout the evaluation process to protect electricity customers.
Under the legislation, the NJBPU, New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Department of Environmental Protection are developing a five-step competitive review process for advanced nuclear energy proposals.
The first step involves gathering public comments on the draft guidance document and holding a virtual stakeholder meeting. Once the guidance is finalized, developers would be invited to submit expressions of interest detailing their proposed reactor designs, licensing requirements, costs, effects on ratepayers, workforce needs, community benefits and environmental impacts.
The third step would involve provisional qualification, during which the NJBPU would determine which proposals, if any, should advance. To qualify, a project must be reasonably likely to benefit ratepayers.
Developers whose projects receive provisional qualification would then negotiate the terms governing their proposals before any agreement is submitted to the board for final approval.
As part of the public engagement process, the NJBPU will host a virtual stakeholder session Monday, Nov. 16, to discuss the draft guidance and gather feedback.
Residents, ratepayers, community and faith-based organizations, labor groups, businesses and industry representatives are encouraged to participate and submit comments before the Dec. 4 deadline.
The draft guidance document and instructions for submitting comments are available at cleanenergy.nj.gov/programs/advanced-nuclear.
Two additional initiatives will take place alongside the state’s advanced nuclear energy procurement process.
The NJBPU, DEP and EDA are conducting a statewide planning study examining the development of advanced nuclear reactors in New Jersey. Public engagement opportunities and stakeholder meetings related to the study are expected to begin in 2027.
A Nuclear Task Force, co-chaired by the Governor’s Office and Hertz-Shargel, will also review assumptions and findings from the study and provide recommendations on policy, technical, workforce, financial and public engagement issues.
According to the NJBPU, the board is expected to consider whether to release the final Expression of Interest Guidance Document in January 2027. If approved, the document would allow developers to begin submitting advanced nuclear energy project proposals.
A bidders’ conference for prospective developers is anticipated in January or February 2027, followed by an expected proposal submission deadline in March.
The NJBPU anticipates making provisional qualification decisions in June 2027, determining which proposed projects, if any, may advance to negotiations.
Additional information about the statewide planning study and Nuclear Task Force is available at nj.gov/nuclear.
