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Legislative & Regulatory Update 
New Jersey
Introduced and referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee, 6/13/2011:
S-2942: The bill, if adopted, provides that solar facilities that are directly connected to the electric grid at 69 kilovolts or less shall be considered "connected to the distribution system" and thus eligible for the issuance of solar renewable energy certificates ("SRECs"). The bill directs the Board of Public Utilities ("BPU") to act on a completed application for designation of such a facility as "connected to the distribution system" within 120 days of receiving that application; if the BPU does not act within the 120-day period, the application would be deemed approved. The bill further provides that if a proposed solar facility does not commence commercial operations within two years following the BPU's designation of the facility as "connected to the distribution system," then that designation shall be deemed null and void and the facility shall thereafter be considered as not "connected to the distribution system."
Text of Bill
A continuation of the August 3 Public Hearing on the 2011 Draft Energy Master Plan is scheduled for August 24, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. and will be held in Committee Room 11 at the State House Annex, Trenton, New Jersey, in order to allow commenters the opportunity to speak who were not able to do so on August 3rd.
Text of Bill
Federal
Introduced in U.S. Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, 7/21/2011:
S.1397: The Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act would provide financial incentives for investment in offshore wind energy by extending investment tax credits for the first 3,000 MW of offshore wind facilities placed into service - an estimated 600 wind turbines.
Text of Bill
News release from Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, sponsor
The following four bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources on 6/14/2011, then reported from Committee on 7/13/2011: H.R. 2170: The Cutting Federal Red Tape to Facilitate Renewable Energy Act would streamline federal review of renewable energy projects by limiting the scope of environmental assessments associated with offshore wind projects to the impacts of either completing or not completing the development, and excluding alternative location analysis. In addition, the bill would shorten the public comment period from the statutory minimum of 45 days to 30 days.
Text of Bill
Committee Legislation Page
H.R. 2171: The Exploring Geothermal Energy on Federal Lands Act streamlines review and regulation of exploration and development of geothermal energy projects, where naturally occurring steam or hot water is moved through turbines to generate electricity. The bill would allow for a single environmental review and approval process to cover drilling of multiple test holes (drilled to discover concentrated, naturally occurring steam or hot water) as long as certain requirements are met. Current law requires each geothermal exploration hole to go through an individual environmental review and approval process.
Text of Bill
Committee Legislation Page
H.R. 2172: The Utilizing America's Federal Lands for Wind Energy Act sets a firm timeline for issuing permits on federal land and streamlines the regulatory requirements for installing temporary infrastructures to test and monitor weather. Specifically, the bill sets a 30-day timeline for the Secretary of the Interior to act on permits for all weather testing and monitoring projects on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service leased land.
Text of Bill
Committee Legislation Page
H.R. 2173: The Advancing Offshore Wind Production Act would allow offshore wind developers to install meteorological site testing and monitoring projects without preparing the otherwise mandatory environmental assessments and/or impact statements. The bill sets a firm timeline for issuing permits and streamlines regulatory requirements for installing temporary infrastructure, such as towers or buoys, to test and monitor weather.
Text of Bill
Committee Legislation Page
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