Establishes thermal energy network pilot program for gas public utilities.*
What changed between versions
The program was renamed from a 'geothermal energy pilot program' to a 'thermal energy network pilot program.' The definition of thermal energy infrastructure now includes redistributed thermal waste heat, surface or underground water, wastewater, and other heat sources in addition to geothermal energy. The project definition changed from replacing aging gas pipelines to establishing thermal networks in lieu of new or existing gas infrastructure for new or existing developments.
The pilot program duration was extended from three years to four years. The board may extend the term at its discretion. The implementation deadline for the board's order changed from 60 days to 90 days after enactment. The effective date changed from the first day of the sixth month after enactment (with anticipatory action allowed) to immediately upon enactment.
The board must approve a maximum of one project in each of four defined regions: northern (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Warren), central (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, Union), southern (Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem), and coastal (Atlantic, Cape May, Monmouth, Ocean). The board may establish application periods and may approve, deny, request modifications to, or partially approve/deny plans.
Review criteria expanded from six to eleven factors. New criteria include: lifecycle cost (replacing simple 'cost'), energy capacity deferment, jobs including use of existing gas utility workforce, extent projects serve low-to-moderate-income households and overburdened communities, degree projects target highly inefficient buildings, potential for cost-effective retrofits or thermal waste heat tie-ins, non-ratepayer funding sources, and degree projects target old or leaking gas infrastructure or present an alternative to gas expansion.
A new provision states that a gas public utility providing safe, proper, and adequate thermal energy distribution via an approved pilot project shall not be deemed in violation of R.S.48:3-3 for refusing to also provide natural gas distribution services to those customers.
The board and gas public utilities may now establish a new tariff for the sale and delivery of thermal energy to participating customers. The purpose of the program changed from promoting adoption to demonstrating the benefits and cost of thermal energy networks as a means for supplying space or water conditioning.
The reporting requirement changed from annual reports during the pilot period to a single report no later than six months after expiration, which must be published on the board's website. The final determination now includes three options: extend the pilot, convert to a permanent program, or recommend that New Jersey allow distribution of geothermal energy as a regulated public utility service.
The definition of 'geothermal energy' removed the word 'renewable.' A new definition of 'thermal energy network' was added, describing a project supplying heating or cooling to multiple buildings via underground piping containing fluids that, with heat pumps, exchange geothermal or other renewable thermal energy. The R.S.48:2-13 amendment now references 'thermal energy distribution' instead of 'geothermal energy,' and new carve-outs were added so the board's existing authority over cogenerator/district heating thermal services and sewage effluent cooling exemptions do not apply to this bill's thermal energy distribution.
