The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved on June 20 the first phase of the Garden State Energy Storage Program. This effort, formerly known as the New Jersey Storage Incentive Program, is designed to expand the amount of grid-scale energy storage capacity in New Jersey. This program intends to address demand growth and limited supply, the causes of recent rate increases, while simultaneously building a major part of the state’s clean energy future.

“This is a pivotal moment for New Jersey’s energy landscape,” said NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “The Garden State Energy Storage Program is part of our commitment to addressing the causes of rising electric rates, ultimately putting more money back into the pockets of New Jersey families. This isn’t just about meeting our climate goals, it’s about making sure every family can afford to keep their lights on and their home comfortable,” she said.

The Energy Storage Program is a multi-phase initiative designed to deploy 2,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030, a mandate established by the Clean Energy Act of 2018. Energy storage systems are crucial for integrating intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar, strengthening grid resilience against outages, and reducing carbon emissions.  

Energy storage programs can be built and connected to the power grid faster than other types of power that can turn on when needed. This speed is critical because supply-chain problems mean New Jersey can’t build traditional power plants (like natural gas or nuclear plants) within five years.

Phase 1 of the program will help New Jersey quickly add these new energy storage systems to the grid. This extra capacity will help bring down the high costs that have been driving up electricity bills, thus supporting state efforts to keep rates affordable for consumers.

By bringing more energy storage online, especially during times of high electricity demand, the energy storage program will help increase the overall supply of power that can be dispatched when needed. This increased supply is expected to mitigate wholesale electricity costs, which are a significant component of electric bills.

Moreover, the NJBPU plans to use existing funds for Phase 1 of the program without increasing rates for consumers, meaning there will be no new or increased charges added to ratepayers’ current electric bills for this program’s initial phase. Specifically, Phase 1 of the initiative will be funded primarily through the New Jersey Clean Energy Program budget.