Authorizes EDA to provide grants from "Global Warming Solutions Fund" to finance replacement of inefficient agricultural irrigation equipment.

A4460

ASSEMBLY, No. 4460

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Authorizes EDA to provide grants from "Global
Warming Solutions Fund" to finance replacement of inefficient agricultural
irrigation equipment.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning the use of funds from the "Global Warming Solutions Fund"
and amending P.L.2007, c.340.

����
Be It Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New
Jersey:

���� 1.��� Section 7 of P.L.2007,
c.340 (C.26:2C-51) is amended to read as follows:

���� 7.� a.� The agencies
administering programs established pursuant to this section shall maximize
coordination in the administration of the programs to avoid overlap between the
uses of the fund prescribed in this section.

���� b.��� Moneys in the fund,
after appropriation annually for payment of administrative costs authorized
pursuant to subsection c. of this section, shall be annually appropriated and
used for the following purposes:

���� (1)�� Sixty percent shall be
allocated to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to provide grants
and other forms of financial assistance to
agricultural,
commercial,
institutional, and industrial entities
:
to� support end-use energy
efficiency projects and new, efficient electric generation facilities that are
state of the art, as determined by the department, including but not limited to
energy efficiency and renewable energy applications
[
,
]

;
to develop combined
heat and power production and other high efficiency electric generation
facilities
[
,
]

;
to
stimulate or reward investment in the development of innovative carbon
emissions abatement technologies with significant carbon emissions reduction or
avoidance potential
[
,
]

;
to
develop qualified offshore wind projects pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2010,
c.57 (C.48:3-87.1)
[
,
and
]

;

to provide financial assistance to manufacturers of equipment associated with
qualified offshore wind projects
; and to provide grants to farmers to
finance the replacement of inefficient irrigation equipment with more energy
efficient, water conservation equipment, including, but not limited to, drip
irrigation systems, irrigation controllers, soil moisture sensors, rain
sensors, rainfall shutoff devices, pump automation systems and sensors, drones,
efficient sprinkler heads, such as rotary spray heads, and efficient pumps and
pipes
.� The authority, in consultation with the board and the department,
shall determine:� (a) the appropriate level of grants or other forms of
financial assistance to be awarded to individual
agricultural,

commercial, institutional, and industrial sectors and to individual projects
within each of these sectors; (b) the evaluation criteria for selecting
projects to be awarded grants or other forms of financial assistance, which
criteria shall include the ability of the project to result in a measurable
reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases or a measurable reduction in
energy demand, provided, however, that neither the development of a new
combined heat and power production facility, nor an increase in the electrical and
thermal output of an existing combined heat and power production facility,
shall be subject to the requirement to demonstrate such a measurable reduction;
and (c) the process by which grants or other forms of financial assistance can
be applied for and awarded including, if applicable, the payment terms and
conditions for authority investments in certain projects with commercial
viability
, provided that the application process for a grant to finance the replacement
of inefficient irrigation equipment shall require the applicant to demonstrate at
the completion of the project that the old equipment has been dismantled or
otherwise permanently decommissioned
;

���� (2)�� Twenty percent shall be
allocated to the board to support programs that are designed to reduce
electricity demand or costs to electricity customers in the low-income and
moderate-income residential sector with a focus on urban areas, including
efforts to address heat island effect and reduce impacts on ratepayers
attributable to the implementation of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.) or to
support the light duty plug-in electric vehicle incentive program and the
incentive program for in-home electric vehicle service equipment established
pursuant to sections 4 and 6 of P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-4 and C.48:25-6).� For
the purposes of this paragraph, the board, in consultation with the authority
and the department, shall determine the types of programs to be supported and
the mechanism by which to quantify benefits to ensure that the supported
programs result in a measurable reduction in energy demand or accomplishment of
the plug-in electric vehicle goals established pursuant to section 3 of
P.L.2019, c.362 (C.48:25-3);

���� (3)�� Ten percent shall be
allocated to the department to support programs designed to promote local
government efforts to plan, develop and implement measures to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, including but not limited to technical assistance to local governments,
and the awarding of grants and other forms of assistance to local governments
to conduct and implement energy efficiency, renewable energy, and distributed
energy programs and land use planning where the grant or assistance results in
a measurable reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases or a measurable
reduction in energy demand. For the purpose of conducting any program pursuant
to this paragraph, the department, in consultation with the authority and the
board, shall determine:� (a) the appropriate level of grants or other forms of
financial assistance to be awarded to local governments; (b) the evaluation
criteria for selecting projects to be awarded grants or other forms of
financial assistance; (c) the process by which grants or other forms of
financial assistance can be applied for and awarded; and (d) a mechanism by
which to quantify benefits; and

���� (4)�� Ten percent shall be
allocated to the department to support programs that enhance the stewardship
and restoration of the State's forests and tidal marshes that provide important
opportunities to sequester or reduce greenhouse gases.

���� c.� (1)� The department may
use up to four percent of the total amount in the fund each year to pay for
administrative costs justifiable and approved in the annual budget process,
incurred by the department in administering the provisions of P.L.2007, c.340
(C.26:2C-45 et al.) and in administering programs to reduce the emissions of
greenhouse gases including any obligations that may arise under subsection a.
of section 11 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-55).

���� (2)�� The board may use up to
two percent of the total amount in the fund each year to pay for administrative
costs justifiable and approved in the annual budget process, incurred by the
board in administering the provisions of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.)
and in administering programs to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases
including any obligations that may arise under subsection a. of section 11 of
P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-55).

���� (3)�� The New Jersey Economic
Development Authority may use up to two percent of the total amount in the fund
each year to pay for administrative costs justifiable and approved in the
annual budget process, incurred by the authority in administering the provisions
of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-45 et al.) and in administering programs to reduce
the emissions of greenhouse gases.

���� d.��� The State Comptroller
shall conduct or supervise independent audit and fiscal oversight functions of
the fund and its uses.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.362, s.12)

���� 2.��� This
act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would authorize the
New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) to provide grants to farmers,
using moneys from the "Global Warming Solutions Fund," established
pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2007, c.340 (C.26:2C-50), to finance the
replacement of inefficient irrigation equipment with more energy efficient,
water conservation equipment, including, but not limited to, drip irrigation
systems, irrigation controllers, soil moisture sensors, rain sensors, rainfall
shutoff devices, pump automation systems and sensors, drones, efficient
sprinkler heads, such as rotary spray heads, and efficient pumps and pipes.

���� Under current law, the EDA is
authorized to use moneys in the "Global Warming Solutions Fund" to
provide grants and other forms of financial assistance to commercial,
institutional, and industrial entities to:

���� (1)� support end-use energy
efficiency projects and new, efficient electric generation facilities that are
state of the art;

���� (2)� develop combined heat and
power production and other high efficiency electric generation facilities;

���� (3)� stimulate or reward
investment in the development of innovative carbon emissions abatement
technologies with significant carbon emissions reduction or avoidance potential

���� (4)� develop qualified
offshore wind projects; and

���� (5)� provide financial
assistance to manufacturers of equipment associated with qualified offshore
wind projects.

���� This bill would add
agricultural entities to the types of entities eligible to receive funding, and
would add the replacement of inefficient irrigation equipment with more energy efficient,
water conservation equipment to the list of the types of projects authorized to
receive funding.

���� As provided under current law,
the EDA, in consultation with the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) and the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), would be authorized to determine
the process by which the grants would be applied for and awarded.� However, the
bill would require the application process for a grant to finance the
replacement of agricultural equipment to require the applicant to demonstrate at
the completion of the project, that the old equipment has been dismantled or
otherwise permanently decommissioned.

���� The "Global Warming
Solutions Fund" serves as the repository for funds generated from the sale
of greenhouse gas emissions allowances under the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative (RGGI).� The EDA receives 60 percent of moneys appropriated by the
Legislature from the fund each year, while the BPU and the DEP each receive 20
percent.