4. a. The board shall develop and administer, as part of the SREC-II program, a transparent, fair, and competitive solicitation process for awarding SREC-II contracts to promote the construction of solar electric power generation facilities.

(1) In order to be eligible to participate in the solicitation process, a solar electric power generation facility shall be:

(a) a grid supply solar facility or net metered solar facility greater than five megawatts in size, as measured in direct current, or another size specified by the board;

(b) constructed after the effective date of P.L.2021, c.169 (C. 48:3-114 et al.);

(c) interconnected to a distribution or transmission system operated by a New Jersey electric public utility or local government unit; and

(d) sited in conformance with the siting criteria established by the board pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2021, c.169 (C. 48:3-119).

(2) The board shall develop additional eligibility criteria and application processes for participation in the solicitation process.

b. The board may establish a system of distinct bidding categories within the competitive solicitation process set forth in this section, such that only bids from the same category compete with one another. The category system may take into account the size of the facility, location of the facility on a contaminated site or landfill, as determined by the board in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, or any other feature of a facility, provided that the category system enhances the continued diversification of the energy resources used to meet consumer demand in this State and results in environmental and public health benefits to New Jersey residents, as determined by the board. The board may revise the category system as it deems appropriate after each solicitation round.

c. Solicitation rounds shall occur at least as frequently as once every 18 months, beginning on the effective date of P.L.2021, c.169 (C. 48:3-114 et al.) and ending no earlier than January 1, 2026. The solicitation process shall:

(1) be open on a non-discriminatory basis to any entity seeking to construct a solar electric power generation facility that complies with the provisions of subsection a. of this section;

(2) be carried out in accordance with criteria developed by the board and applied equally to all responses to the solicitation;

(3) award contracts for SREC-IIs to promote the construction of solar electric power generation facilities for no less than an average of 300 megawatts per year, for five years, with the first awards made no later than 18 months after the effective date of P.L.2021, c.169 (C. 48:3-114 et al.);

(4) award projects selected as part of the competitive solicitation process the right to receive a renewable energy incentive payment, in the form of an SREC-II value per megawatt-hour established by the board, for the environmental attribute produced by the solar electric power generation facility, for a duration to be established by the board. The SREC-II value per megawatt-hour may include the value of the environmental and other benefits to the State provided by the facility, as determined by the board;

(5) ensure that the length of any award is sufficient to encourage low financing rates, reasonable risks to ratepayers, and to enable the development of affordable renewable energy resources;

(6) mitigate price and delivery risks for consumers;

(7) include requirements designed to ensure successful completion of projects, including, but not limited to, the imposition of appropriate escrow fees, bid maturity requirements, required interconnection milestones, and conditions on when a project must achieve commercial operation; and

(8) ensure that the environmental and public health benefits of solar electric power generation facilities on contaminated sites or landfills are recognized, including accommodating the long development timescale for these projects.

d. The board may establish confidential high and low bid thresholds prior to conducting a competitive solicitation pursuant to this section, provided that the thresholds promote fiscal responsibility for the State and the likelihood of successful bids, as determined by the board. The thresholds may include a cap on the renewable energy incentive payments required pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection c. of this section. The board may also procure more than the minimum quantity of solar power required by this section if bids are below the predetermined bid threshold.

e. The board shall determine, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, if a solar electric power generation facility may be sited on a contaminated site or landfill for the purposes of this section. If the board authorizes a facility to be sited on a contaminated site or landfill, the facility shall be afforded the protections provided in paragraph (2) of subsection t. of section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C. 48:3-87).

f. At the end of each bidding round, the board shall:

(1) rank all bids received based on the bid price, or, pursuant to subsection b. of this section, based on the bid price within each category;

(2) select bids in ranked order, up to the procurement budget set by the board, or, pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the procurement budget of each category; and

(3) adjust quantities awarded if prices are above or below any confidential pre-determined thresholds established pursuant to subsection d. of this section.

g. Any moneys placed in escrow by an applicant as part of the competitive solicitation process shall be reimbursed to the applicant in full or in part upon meeting the conditions set forth by the board when the board established the escrow requirement, including, but not limited to, selection in the competitive solicitation or commencement of commercial operation of the solar electric power generation facility. The escrow amount shall be forfeited to the General Fund if the facility does not meet the conditions set forth by the board when the board established the escrow requirement, including, but not limited to, commencing commercial operation within the term specified by the board’s requirements established pursuant to paragraph (7) of subsection c. of this section, including any extensions as may be granted pursuant to procedures established by the board.

h. The costs of the competitive solicitation process, including the issuance of renewable energy incentive payments pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection c. of this section, shall not be subject to the Class I renewable energy requirement cost cap established by paragraph (2) of subsection d. of section 38 of P.L.1999, c.23 (C. 48:3-87).

L.2021, c.169, s.4.