New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a revised “smart solar” law (S4100/A5264) in December. The Senate and the State Assembly previously unanimously passed the amended legislation. The legislation will have to be implemented by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) under the new administration of newly elected Governor Mikie Sherrill.
The bill will speed up the approval process for residential solar and battery systems, creating more solar installations and energy bill savings for families across the state. This legislation would require the DCA to make available an online, automated permitting platform for rooftop solar and battery installations statewide within 18 months of signing the bill. Households with code-compliant projects will be able to avoid costly and burdensome red tape and almost immediately obtain the permits they need to move forward.
“After PJM’s latest regional grid auction, it is clear that we cannot rely on outside help to lower energy bills. Governor Murphy’s decision to sign the smart solar bill into law will provide our electric grid with more clean energy and deliver greater savings for ratepayers. Smart solar permitting can bring permitting into the 21st century and reduce costs and burdens on towns and cities,” said Senator John McKeon (D-27), lead sponsor of the legislation in the Senate. “We need to let people do the paperwork so we can get more solar on our roofs and more savings for taxpayers in our pockets. I look forward to working with the Sherrill Administration and DCA to implement this win for the environment, the grid and for all of us.”
Hundreds of cities across the country are already using smart solar permits to accelerate solar and battery deployments, helping them quickly and safely achieve energy independence and lower bills for their residents. Smart permits are also widely accessible under state law in California, Maryland, Texas and Florida. In June 2024, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimated that in communities where SolarApp+, the smart permitting platform designed by the federal government, is used, the software saved 15,400 hours of local government staff time by 2023 and accelerated the permitting process by an average of 14.5 days.
The Association for the Regional Plan has released a publication report earlier this year, research was conducted into local barriers to home solar and battery installation in New Jersey. It found that New Jersey has the third-slowest permit times for residential solar projects in the country. Families looking to switch to solar energy typically must navigate a confusing network of local government hurdles, including multi-departmental reviews, inconsistent or outdated requirements, and outdated sign-off procedures. The process is so difficult in some municipalities that many installers avoid it, leaving consumers in those cities with limited options to choose from if they want to go solar.
Allowing inefficiencies not only creates administrative headaches, but also increases costs for consumers. You can allow add $3,800 to $4,500 at the expense of a typical rooftop solar system in New Jersey. Nearly one in five residential solar projects are canceled before the installations are installed, with installers citing permitting barriers as the main reason for the cancellations.
“New Jerseyans are embracing rooftop solar and battery storage as a smart way to save costs and take control of their energy use,” said Leah Meredith, Mid-Atlantic director of state affairs for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). “Smart permitting will help accelerate that transition by eliminating red tape, reducing delays and lowering costs for families and local governments. This legislation is a practical step that will benefit homeowners, small businesses and the entire New Jersey economy.”
Smart solar permits can provide tremendous benefits to New Jersey residents and our electric grid. Brown University Climate Solutions Lab estimates that implementing smart permitting statewide could result in an additional 200,000 residential solar systems installed by 2040.
The bill also allows local communities to opt out of using the DCA platform as long as they implement a comparable alternative. These jurisdictions must submit an annual report to the DCA that provides information on the number of permit applications submitted through their automated platform and demonstrates that their platform meets the necessary requirements.
News item from Vote Solar
