NJBPU opens third solicitation of Competitive Solar Incentive (CSI) Program

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has approved the opening of the third solicitation of the Competitive Solar Incentive (CSI) Program, an existing program designed to reduce the costs of solar development and encourage grid-scale and other qualifying solar projects in New Jersey. The Board set the third solicitation of the CSI Program to open for pre-qualification on May 14, 2025, and close to bids on July 23, 2025. CSI has helped to significantly increase the amount of solar in New Jersey — which is now over 5 GW of installed capacity — at a lower cost for ratepayers.

“Today’s board action proves the future of solar is strong in New Jersey and builds upon years of action expanding the reach of solar in our great state,” said NJBPU president Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “In the last seven years, through our robust solar programming including CSI and community solar, we’ve doubled the amount of solar energy on our grid. This growth in solar in New Jersey and across our region has helped save hundreds of millions in avoided electricity costs for ratepayers. I’m excited to see where the next round of CSI takes us.”

Clean energy growth in New Jersey and throughout PJM has saved New Jersey ratepayers billions in avoided costs. Without the PJM-wide (onshore) wind and solar resources that bid into PJM’s 2024 capacity auction, clearing prices would have been about 60% higher, which would have cost New Jersey ratepayers roughly an additional $1.1 billion in the coming year.

In the last CSI solicitation in 2024, the Board awarded over 310 MW of solar capacity and 80 MWh of energy storage. Together, the projects awarded are capable of generating enough electricity to power 42,000 homes annually. This solicitation underscored the major policy achievement that large-scale solar projects can be developed competitively, bringing down costs for New Jersey ratepayers. This was the cheapest solar the Board has ever incentivized. Since 2017, New Jersey has helped reduce the cost of solar to ratepayers by over 50%.

In the third solicitation, to boost competition, the Board approved recommendations to adjust capacity targets in the tranche for grid supply projects sited on the built environment, allowing projects on industrial land and floating solar. Tranche 4’s capacity target for net-metered non-residential projects greater than 5 MW was reduced from 40 MW to 15 MW to encourage more robust participation in the other tranches. The Board set a consistent solicitation schedule and highlighted improvements in the interconnection process to support project development, ultimately approving targets of 300 MW solar generation and 160 MWh energy storage. In addition, the Board has a longstanding policy prioritizing solar generation sited on land uses that are not optimal for other development, such as warehouse rooftops or remediated contaminated sites, and away from New Jersey’s important open spaces.

On December 7, 2022, the NJBPU established the CSI Program as a result of the Solar Act of 2021. The CSI Program is open to qualifying grid supply solar facilities and non-residential net metered solar facilities with a capacity greater than 5 MW, as well as to eligible grid supply solar facilities in combination with storage.

News item from the NJBPU