The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities today selected a package of onshore transmission solutions that, in conjunction with prior action, will enable the achievement of injecting 7,500 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2035.
The Oct. 26 order issued by the NJBPU was informed by technical analysis performed by PJM staff under PJM’s State Agreement Approach, through which states can access PJM’s expertise and existing planning process to cost-effectively develop and optimize the transmission improvements necessary to support the reliable interconnection of public policy resources.
In its role as a regional transmission operator and system planner, over a two-year period, PJM provided the NJBPU with assistance as it analyzed 80 proposals submitted by 13 developers through PJM’s competitive planning process.
“Today’s action by the NJBPU represents an important milestone in the development of offshore wind in the U.S.,” said PJM President and CEO Manu Asthana. “We see the State Agreement Approach as a model for how states can leverage PJM’s processes to advance their policy goals.”
New Jersey is the first PJM jurisdiction to use the State Agreement Approach (PDF), a provision incorporated into PJM’s Operating Agreement during implementation of FERC Order 1000. , approved by FERC on March 22, 2013. New Jersey is leveraging the process and tapping into PJM’s expertise to advance its offshore wind objectives.
In Order 1000, FERC required regional grid operators to “provide for the consideration of transmission needs driven by public policy requirements in the regional transmission planning processes.”
The State Agreement Approach enables a state or group of states to propose a state-initiated project that could potentially realize state public policy requirements as long as the state (or states) agrees to pay all costs of the state-selected buildout included in the Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP). PJM looks forward to continuing to work with New Jersey and our other states as they advance their offshore wind goals and other energy policies.
