Legislation sponsored by Senator Jean Stanfield that requires the Board of Public Utilities to conduct a study on short-term solutions that would allow additional energy sources to connect to the electrical grid was approved by the New Jersey Senate.

Sen. Stanfield’s bill requiring the BPU to find solutions that would allow additional energy sources to connect to the electrical grid was passed by the New Jersey Senate. (Pixabay)

“These requirements for the BPU will ensure that we have the necessary infrastructure in place to efficiently meet the energy needs of all New Jerseyans,” said Stanfield (R-8). “Our legislation offers four potential solutions that could open segments of the electrical grid that are currently closed to new energy sources. We are also instructing the BPU to identify alternative solutions as well.”

State and local governments have invested billions of dollars into renewable energy while the expansion of the electrical grid has lagged. Last year, researchers at Princeton stated that to reduce carbon emissions, the pace of grid expansion in the United States must “more than double” the rate of expansion seen during the previous decade.

Senator Stanfield’s bipartisan legislation (S-3489) with Senator Bob Smith (D-17) mandates that the BPU report the findings of their study to the Governor and the Legislature within one year after the bill is signed into law.

Additionally, the BPU will launch their recommendations through a regional pilot program. If they improve the delivery of electricity regionally, the BPU will develop a plan to implement their rules and regulations statewide.

“We know that the process of building the infrastructure needed to expand our grid will take time,” added Stanfield. “It is necessary to find solutions that make our energy grid sufficient to support new energy projects in New Jersey.”