Agricultural Land Use
The Solar Act of 2021 directed the Board to establish Siting Criteria for all grid supply solar installations, as well as non-residential net metered solar installations with a capacity greater than 5 MW. The directive implies that the Siting Criteria will be applicable to all solar installations that are eligible to participate in the CSI Program.
2.5% Statewide Threshold: CSI-eligible facilities are not allowed to register with the Board and pursue development if the aggregate solar development on covered agricultural lands exceeds 2.5% of such lands Statewide. For the February – April 2025 solicitation, this limit is 7,237 acres, shown in the first table below.
5% County-by-County Development Limit: CSI-eligible facilities are not allowed to pursue development if the aggregate solar development on unpreserved agricultural land within a specific county exceeds 5% of such lands in the county. County-specific limits for the February – April 2025 solicitation are shown in the second table below.
Please see Appendix C of the December 2022 Board Order Establishing the CSI Program for further information on the GIS analysis procedure performed.
|
Approximate 2.5% Statewide Threshold |
|
|
Designations |
Approximate Area Calculations1 |
| Land Use–Land Cover areas designated as Agriculture that are co-located with Prime Farmland Soils and Soils of Statewide Importance within ADAs |
324,507 acres |
|
(0.025*324,507) – 8762 |
7,237 |
| Calculations performed using Esri ArcGIS Pro version 3.0, as of February 2025 | |
|
County-By-County 5% Development Limit |
|
|
County |
Approximate Area Calculations |
|
SALEM |
1,319 |
|
HUNTERDON |
1,320 |
|
CUMBERLAND |
868 |
|
WARREN |
463 |
|
GLOUCESTER |
778 |
|
BURLINGTON |
561 |
|
MONMOUTH |
494 |
|
SOMERSET |
474 |
|
ATLANTIC |
397 |
|
MERCER |
252 |
|
SUSSEX |
252 |
|
CAMDEN |
185 |
|
MIDDLESEX |
98 |
|
CAPE MAY |
50 |
|
OCEAN |
55 |
|
MORRIS |
69 |
|
BERGEN |
3 |
|
PASSAIC |
1 |
|
UNION |
0 |
|
HUDSON |
0 |
|
ESSEX |
0 |
|
Calculations performed using Esri ArcGIS Pro version 3.0, as of February 2025 1Includes results from the November – February 2024 Solicitation 2876 is the total acres of CSI awarded and registered projects on covered agricultural land |
|