New Jersey lawmakers have enacted legislation authorizing the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) to evaluate competitive proposals for new nuclear energy generation projects.
The measure received unanimous bipartisan approval in both legislative chambers and includes safeguards intended to prevent development costs from being passed on to ratepayers.
Lawmakers said the legislation responds to growing electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence data centers and broader increases in power consumption. To protect customers, ratepayers will not begin paying project costs until a facility is generating electricity and will not be responsible for construction delays or cost overruns. Projects also must secure federal financing to reduce financial risk to ratepayers and demonstrate benefits to customers throughout planning, construction and operation.
Developers must hold two public comment periods and a public hearing in any proposed host municipality before construction can begin.
During legislative debate, some advocates argued that expanding solar and wind generation could add capacity sooner than constructing a new nuclear facility. Dave Pringle of Empower New Jersey told a special Assembly committee two years ago that, even under a best-case scenario, a new nuclear plant would take 10 to 20 years to begin operating. The new law, however, establishes a procurement timeline that calls for the state to begin soliciting proposals within 180 days and complete negotiations with qualified developers within about two years.
Lawmakers ultimately moved forward with the procurement process. Nuclear power already supplies more than 40% of New Jersey’s electricity and about 80% of its clean energy, according to state officials.
The law authorizes the NJBPU to issue and sell nuclear power certificates to electric distribution companies to help finance eligible projects. The procurement process is intended to support development of approximately 1,100 megawatts of new nuclear generating capacity.
Photo by Wolfgang Weiser from Pexels
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