New Jersey Land Use and Environmental Law

By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

The New Jersey Legislature is set to introduce a bill that aims to stablize the state’s solar industry, which has been in free fall since early summer. Assemblyman Upendra Chivakula (D-Middlesex) expects to introduce a bill in the lame duck session that would halt the precipitous drop of prices for solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs), which is a major mechanism for financing photovoltaic (PV) systems in New Jersey.

Continue reading "Legislature Poised to Boost Struggling Solar Industry" »

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By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

On May 16, 2011, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) opened a 29-day window for companies to file applications to build offshore wind projects along the New Jersey coast. The application process represents New Jersey's latest effort to spur the development of the nation's first offshore wind project.

Continue reading "Offshore Wind Project Application Deadline is June 14" »

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By: Michael J. Lipari, Esq.

Princeton Borough, Princeton Township and Princeton Regional Schools have contracted with the New Jersey consulting firm Gabel Associates to provide a feasibility study to explore the potential for solar installations throughout the municipalities. If all goes well, the entities will enter into a power purchase agreement (“PPA”) with a solar developer to implement the plan.

Continue reading "Princeton to Explore Solar Project via Power Purchase Agreement" »

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By: Michael J. Lipari, Esq.

Renewable energy projects continue their emergence throughout New Jersey as the beneficial aspects of these projects are being realized by property owners. New Jersey is currently ranked second in the United States for solar installations largely in part to the emergence of solar fields being constructed on farms and otherwise vacant land. Recent state and federal legislative initiatives have made these types of projects economically feasible.

Continue reading "Princeton University to Develop Solar Field" »

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By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

The Pinelands Commission has approved a solar farm project on top of a closed landfill in Stafford Township. Recognizing the benefits of the solar farm and its consistency with the goals of the Pinelands Master Plan, the Commission granted a waiver from the conservation easement requiring the former landfill to be maintained as open space.

Continue reading "Pinelands Commission Approves Solar Farm on Former Landfill in Stafford" »

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By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

On October 20, 2010, a partnership of Dallas-based Panda Power Funds and New York-based Con Edison Development began construction on one of the nation's largest solar farms in Pilesgrove, New Jersey, a rural community in Salem County, approximately 20 miles from Wilmington, Delaware.

Continue reading "Construction Begins on Nation's Second Largest Solar Farm" »

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By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

After a four-month break, the New Jersey Office of Clean Energy resumed its solar rebate program on September 1, 2010. In May 2010, four months of rebates were abruptly depleted in one day due to the lack of limitations on the number of applications that may be filed. The new program aims to correct those distribution problems and has $6.65 million in rebates available for residential, non-profit and public solar projects.

Continue reading "New Jersey Restarts New and Improved Solar Energy Program" »

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By: Michael J. Lipari, Esq.

In yet another move to ease the burden on environmentally friendly development in New Jersey, the legislature passed the bill known as S-921, which exempts solar panels from surfaces classified as impervious. One of the most fundamental land use restrictions in New Jersey concerns the amount of impervious coverage (e.g. buildings, pavement, decks and patios) permitted on any single project or property. It was previously unknown whether solar panels were pervious or impervious because the panels usually sit on brackets and are typically not flush on the ground or a building and therefore do not necessarily reduce or prevent absorption of stormwater into the land.

Continue reading "Solar Panels No longer Considered in Calculating Impervious Coverage" »

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By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

The State's goal of transitioning the public's reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy sources came one step closer to reality when Governor Corzine signed Bill A1558/S2265 into law on March 31, 2009. The bill requires developers of 25 or more homes to offer new home buyers the option of installing solar panel systems. It also requires the Board of Public Utilities to adopt minimum standards of efficiency for solar panel systems installed by developers.

Continue reading "Governor Corzine Signs Bill to Encourage Solar Panel Use" »

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By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

As you drive by the industrial warehouse district in your town, imagine for a minute that the large, drab buildings have been replaced with solar panel fields and windmills. As improbable as that may sound, the New Jersey Legislature has envisioned such a result for the State's suburban and urban areas.

Continue reading "Legislature Approves Bill Permitting Wind and Solar Facilities in Industrial Zones" »

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Published in December 2008 Issue of Builder/Architect Magazine, Greater New Jersey Edition

By: Thomas F. Carroll, III, Esq. and Michael J. Lipari, Esq.

Builders, architects, planners and designers see the increasing need to explore environmentally friendly or “green” elements of construction. But these efforts are sometimes halted by the cost of implementing green systems, the time required to keep up with new technologies, and the time and cost associated with learning about the new technologies. The dilemma of whether to invest in green building in New Jersey may soon be resolved, at least with regard to the use of solar power to generate electricity into new projects. Several initiatives have been introduced in the Legislature that, if passed, will require builders and developers to incorporate solar energy systems into their projects as a prerequisite to governmental approval. At first glance this may appear to be yet another barrier to achieving an economically feasible building project in New Jersey, but certain initiatives such as roof warranty funds and state and federal tax credits are also on the horizon, which may provide enough incentive for building professionals and property owners to “go green.“

Continue reading "New Legislation Governs "Green" Construction" »

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