New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 14 - PUBLIC UTILITIES › Chapter 8 - RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY › Subchapter 9 - COMMUNITY SOLAR ENERGY PILOT PROGRAM RULES › Section 14:8-9.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
For the purposes of this subchapter, the following words and
				  terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise.
"Advertising" shall have the same meaning as set forth in
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:4-1.2.
"Affordable housing," shall have the same meaning as
				  "affordable," as set forth in
				  N.J.A.C.
				  5:80-26.2.
"Affordable housing provider" refers to any person or entity
				  that owns, operates, or manages affordable housing units. Affordable housing
				  providers may qualify as LMI participants in an LMI community solar pilot
				  project, under the condition that they demonstrate in their application to the
				  Board that they are passing along specific, identifiable, and quantifiable
				  long-term benefits to their tenants/residents (see
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:8-9.8(a)).
"Annual net energy" means the total amount of net energy
				  produced by the community solar facility on an annual basis, measured at the
				  EDCs' meter.
"Annualized period" means a period of 12 consecutive monthly
				  billing periods.
"Avoided cost of wholesale power," shall have the same
				  meaning as set forth in
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:8-4.2.
"Basic generation service" or "BGS" shall have the same
				  meaning as set forth in
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:4-1.2.
"Bill credit" refers to the credit placed on community solar
				  subscribers' utility bills by their EDC, calculated according to the bill
				  credit value as established in this subchapter.
"Board" or "BPU" shall have the same meaning as set forth in
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:3-1.1.
"Capacity" shall mean the nameplate capacity, measured as
				  the sum of the nameplate capacities in DC rating of all individual photovoltaic
				  panels physically interconnected to make up a community solar facility.
"Clean Energy Act" shall mean
				  P.L.
				  2018, c. 17, signed
				  into law on May 23, 2018.
"Co-location" is defined as having two or more independent
				  community solar facilities providing subscriptions to two separate and distinct
				  subscriber groups that are sited on the same parcel or contiguous
				  parcels.
"Community solar developer" or "developer" means an entity
				  that is duly authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey and
				  constructs or contracts for the construction of a community solar facility
				  within the State of New Jersey.
"Community Solar Energy Pilot Program" or "Pilot Program"
				  refers to the program being established in this subchapter.
"Community Solar Energy Program" refers to the full-scale
				  community solar program for which the Board shall adopt rules no later than
				  January 1, 2022.
"Community solar facility" refers to the physical equipment,
				  including, but not limited to, panels, inverters, racking, and balance of
				  systems, which constitutes a solar facility used for community solar, with a
				  nameplate capacity in DC rating not to exceed five MW.
"Community solar operator" means the entity in charge of the
				  day-to-day oversight, safety, and control of the community solar project. The
				  community solar operator may or may not have an ownership stake in the
				  community solar project.
"Community solar owner" means the entity that legally and
				  financially controls the community solar project. The "community solar owner"
				  can be distinguished from the "community solar site owner."
"Community solar pilot project," "community solar project,"
				  or "project" refers to a community solar project approved by the Board for
				  participation in the Pilot Program, including, but not limited to, the
				  community solar facility, project participants, and subscribers.
"Community solar site owner" or "site owner" means the entity
				  that legally and financially owns the real property on which the community
				  solar facility exists.
"Community solar subscriber organization" or "subscriber
				  organization" means the entity, duly registered with the Board that works to
				  acquire original subscribers for the community solar project and/or acquires
				  replacement subscribers over the lifetime of the community solar project and/or
				  manages subscriptions for a community solar project. The community solar
				  subscriber organization may or may not be, in whole, in part, or not at all,
				  organized by the community solar developer, community solar owner, or community
				  solar operator.
"Community solar subscriber" or "subscriber" refers to any
				  person or entity who participates in a community solar project by means of the
				  purchase or payment for a portion of the capacity and/or energy produced by a
				  community solar facility. One electric meter denotes one subscriber.
"Community solar subscription" or "subscription" refers to an
				  agreement to participate in a community solar project, by which the subscriber
				  receives a bill credit for a portion of the community solar capacity and/or
				  energy produced by a community solar facility. A subscription may be measured
				  as capacity in kW and/or energy in kWh, ownership of a panel or panels in a
				  community solar facility, ownership of a share of a community solar project, or
				  a fixed and/or variable monthly payment to the project operator.
"Days" means calendar days, unless otherwise
				  specified.
"DEP" means the New Jersey Department of Environmental
				  Protection.
"EDC area" means the geographic area over which an electric
				  distribution company has a privilege or franchise granted by the State or by
				  any political subdivision of the State, in accordance with the provisions of
				  N.J.S.A.
				  48:2-13 and 14.
"Electric distribution company" or "EDC" shall have the same
				  meaning as an "electric public utility" provided in
				  N.J.S.A.
				  48:3-51.
"Electric distribution system," shall have the same meaning
				  as set forth in
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:5-1.2.
"Electronic Data Interchange" or "EDI" refers to the direct
				  computer-to-computer exchange and processing of standard business forms from
				  one business application to another, as defined and administered by the Board's
				  Division of Energy.
"Entity" is defined as a natural person or persons or a legal
				  person or persons.
"Existing solar project," for the purposes of the Community
				  Solar Energy Pilot Program, refers to a solar project having begun operation
				  and/or been approved by the Board for connection to the distribution system
				  prior to February 19, 2019.
"Farmland," shall have the same meaning as set forth in
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:8-1.2.
"Government entity," shall have the same meaning as set forth
				  in
				  N.J.S.A.
				  48:3-51.
"Green Acres preserved open space" means land classified as
				  either "funded parkland" or "unfunded parkland" under N.J.A.C. 7:36, or land
				  purchased by the State with "Green Acres funding" (as defined at N.J.A.C.
				  7:36).
"Green Button" is the energy industry-led effort initiated by
				  the U.S. Department of Energy to provide utility customers with easy and secure
				  access to their energy usage information in a standardized, consumer-friendly,
				  and computer-friendly format.
"Historic annual usage" means the average amount of
				  electricity supplied by an electric power supplier or basic generation service
				  provider to the customer over the most recent 12-month period.
"Housing Choice Voucher Program Section 8" or "Section 8
				  Housing Assistance" is a Federal program to provide housing assistance to very
				  low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled.
"HUD" means the United States Department of Housing and Urban
				  Development.
" In-State retail electric sales" means the electricity sold
				  by third party suppliers or BGS providers directly to end-use consumers within
				  EDC service territories in the State of New Jersey.
"Interconnection agreement" means an agreement between a
				  generator and an EDC, which governs the connection of the generator facility to
				  the electric distribution system, as well as the ongoing operation of the
				  generator facility after it is connected to the system. An interconnection
				  agreement shall follow the standard form agreement developed by the Board and
				  available from each EDC.
"kW" means kilowatts, a unit of power representing 1,000
				  watts. A kW equals 1/1000 of a MW.
"kWh" means kilowatt-hours, a unit of energy representing
				  1,000 watt-hours. A kWh equals 1/1000 of a MWh.
"Low- and Moderate-Income subscriber" or "LMI subscriber"
				  means a community solar subscriber that meets the definition of a low-income
				  household or a moderate-income household pursuant to this chapter. It may also
				  mean an entity that qualifies as an affordable housing provider, pursuant to
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:8-9.8(a)2.
" Low-income household" means a household with adjusted gross
				  income at or below 200 percent of the Federal poverty level.
"Moderate-income household" means a household with a total
				  gross annual household income in excess of 200 percent of the Federal Poverty
				  Level, but less than 80 percent of the median income, as determined by annual
				  HUD income limits.
"Multi- family buildings" or "multiple dwellings" are defined
				  as having three or more independent resident housing units, as per
				  N.J.S.A. 55:13A-3(k)
				   and the 2015 New Jersey International
				  Building Code definition for Residential Group R-2.
"MW" means megawatts, a unit of power representing 1,000,000
				  watts. A MW equals 1,000 kW.
"Nameplate capacity" means the maximum rated output of an
				  electric power generator under specific conditions designated by the
				  manufacturer and usually indicated on a nameplate physically attached to the
				  power production equipment.
"Open space" refers to land designated as "open" or a
				  synonymous term in a municipal or county master plan or easement.
"Payment Assistance for Gas and Electric Program" or "PAGE"
				  is an annual utility assistance program that helps low- and moderate-income
				  families experiencing economic hardship pay their utility bills. The PAGE
				  Program is funded by the Board.
"Preserved farmland" means land from which a permanent
				  development easement was conveyed and a deed of easement was recorded with the
				  county clerk's office pursuant to
				  N.J.S.A. 4:1C-11et
				  seq., land subject to a farmland preservation program agreement recorded with
				  the county clerk's office pursuant to
				  N.J.S.A.
				  4:1C-24, land from which development
				  potential has been transferred pursuant to
				  N.J.S.A.
				  40:55D-113et seq. or 40:55D-137 et seq., or
				  land conveyed or dedicated by agricultural restriction pursuant to
				  N.J.S.A.
				  40:55D-39.1.
"Program year" or "PY" means the period from the official
				  launch of the Community Solar Energy Pilot Program, as set forth at
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:8-9.3(a). Each of the
				  three program years for the Pilot Program shall be numbered PY1, PY2, and PY3,
				  respectively.
"Residential customer" shall have the same meaning as set
				  forth in
				  N.J.A.C.
				  14:3-1.1.
"Societal benefits charge" shall have the same meaning as set
				  forth in
				  N.J.S.A.
				  48:3-51.
"Solar panel" or "PV panel" shall have the same meaning as
				  set forth in
				  P.L.
				  2018, c. 17.
"Solar renewable energy certificate" or "SREC" shall have the
				  same meaning as set forth in
				  N.J.S.A.
				  48:3-51.
"Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" or "SNAP" is the
				  program providing food assistance to needy families, as administered by the New
				  Jersey Department of Human Services, codified at N.J.A.C. 10:87.
"Telemarketing sales call" or "Telemarketing" means a
				  telephone call made by a community solar subscriber organization to a potential
				  subscriber as part of a plan, program, or campaign to encourage them to sign a
				  community solar subscription. A telephone call made to an existing subscriber
				  for the sole purpose of collecting on accounts or following up on contractual
				  obligations shall not be deemed a telemarketing sales call. A telephone call
				  made in response to an express written, electronic, or telephonic request of a
				  customer shall not be deemed a telemarketing sales call
"Unallocated/reallocated capacity" is defined as program
				  capacity that is either not allocated to a community solar project approved
				  within a given program year, or which was allocated to a community solar
				  project approved within a given program year that has been deemed by the Board
				  or Board staff, in its sole reasonable discretion, as no longer able to be
				  completed.
"Universal Service Administrative Company" or "USAC" is an
				  independent not-for-profit company designated by the Federal Communications
				  Commission to administer four universal service programs. In particular, USAC
				  administers Lifeline, a program that provides financial assistance to
				  low-income consumers for phone and Internet services.
"Unsolicited advertisement" means any advertising claims of
				  the commercial availability or quality of services provided by a community
				  solar subscriber organization, which is transmitted to a potential subscriber
				  without that customer's prior express invitation or
				  permission.