Specifies that prior SADC approval is not required in order to authorize construction, installation, or operation of biomass, solar, or wind energy generating facilities, structures, or equipment on farmland preservation exception areas.

A4859

ASSEMBLY, No. 4859

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 4, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� ALEX SAUICKIE

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger

SYNOPSIS

���� Specifies that prior SADC approval is not required in
order to authorize construction, installation, or operation of biomass, solar,
or wind energy generating facilities, structures, or equipment on farmland
preservation exception areas.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning the
construction, installation, and
operation of biomass, solar, and wind energy generating facilities on preserved
farms, and amending P.L.2009, c.213.

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

���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.2009,
c.213 (C.4:1C-32.4) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� a.� Notwithstanding any
law, rule
,
or regulation to the contrary, a person who owns preserved
farmland may construct, install, and operate biomass, solar, or wind energy
generation facilities, structures, and equipment on the farm, whether on the
preserved portion of the farm or on any portion excluded from preservation, for
the purpose of generating power or heat, and may make improvements to any
agricultural, horticultural, residential, or other building or structure on the
land for that purpose, provided that the biomass, solar, or wind energy
generation facilities, structures, and equipment:

���� (1)�� do not interfere
significantly with the use of the land for agricultural or horticultural
production, as determined by the committee;

���� (2)�� are owned by the
landowner, or will be owned by the landowner upon the conclusion of the term of
an agreement with the installer of the biomass, solar, or wind energy
generation facilities, structures, or equipment by which the landowner uses the
income or credits realized from the biomass, solar, or wind energy generation
to purchase the facilities, structures, or equipment;

���� (3)�� are used to provide
power or heat to the farm, either directly or indirectly, or to reduce, through
net metering or similar programs and systems, energy costs on the farm; and

���� (4) are limited (a) in annual
energy generation capacity
,
to the previous calendar year's energy
demand plus 10 percent, in addition to what is allowed under subsection b. of
this section, or alternatively at the option of the landowner (b) to occupying
no more than one percent of the area of the entire farm
,
including both
the preserved portion and any portion excluded from preservation.

���� The person who owns the farm
and the energy generation facilities, structures, and equipment may only sell
energy through net metering or as otherwise permitted under an agreement
allowed pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.

���� b.��� The limit on the annual
energy generation capacity established pursuant to subparagraph (a) of
paragraph (4) of subsection a. of this section shall not include energy
generated from facilities, structures, or equipment existing on the roofs of
buildings or other structures on the farm as of the date of enactment of
P.L.2009, c.213 (C.4:1C-32.4 et al.).

���� c.���� A landowner shall seek
and obtain the approval of the committee
, in a form and manner prescribed
thereby,
before constructing, installing, and operating biomass, solar, or
wind energy generation facilities, structures, and equipment on
any
preserved portion of
the farm
,
as allowed pursuant to subsection a.
of this section.�
[
The
]

Before
making a determination on an application, submitted pursuant to this
subsection, which seeks the committee�s approval to construct, install, or
operate biomass, solar, or wind energy generating facilities on a preserved
portion of the farm for the purposes of subsection a. of this section, the

committee shall provide the holder of any development easement on the farm with
a copy of the application
[
submitted
for the purposes of subsection a. of this section
]
, and the holder of the
development easement shall have 30 days within which to provide comments to the
committee on the application
, concerning the merits of, and any objections
to, the construction, installation, or operation of the proposed energy
generating facilities, structures, or equipment on the preserved portion of the
farm
.�
[
The
committee shall, within
]

Within
90 days
[
of
]

after the
committee�s
receipt
, pursuant to this subsection, of an application
seeking its approval to construct, install, or operate biomass, solar, or wind
energy generation facilities on a preserved portion of a farm
,
the
committee shall
approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions
[
an
]
, the

application
[
submitted
]

and the
associated construction, installation, or operation of the relevant biomass,
solar, or wind energy generation facilities on a preserved portion of the farm,
as proposed in the application,
for the purposes of subsection a. of this
section.� The decision of the committee on the application shall be based
solely upon the criteria listed in subsection a. of this section and
the

comments received
, pursuant to this subsection,
from the holder of the
development easement.

���� d.��� No fee shall be charged
of the landowner for review of an application submitted to, or issuance of a
decision by, the committee pursuant to this section.

���� e.���� The committee may
suspend or revoke an approval issued pursuant to this section for a violation
of any term or condition of the approval or any provision of this section.

���� f.���� The committee, in
consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department
of Agriculture, shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure
Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations
necessary for the implementation of this section, including provisions
prescribing standards concerning impervious cover which may be permitted in
connection with biomass, solar, or wind energy generation facilities,
structures, and equipment authorized to be constructed, installed, and operated
on lands pursuant to this section.

���� g.���
[
In the case of
]

In
addition to any committee approval that may be required pursuant to subsection
c. of this section, whenever a landowner proposes to construct, install, or
operate
biomass energy generation facilities, structures, or equipment
on
any portion of a farm owned thereby, regardless of whether such facilities,
structures, or equipment are proposed to be constructed, installed, or operated
on a preserved portion of the farm or on a portion of the farm which is
excluded from preservation
, the landowner shall also seek and obtain the
approval of the Department of Agriculture
,
as required pursuant to
section 5 of P.L.2009, c.213 (C.4:1C-32.5)
,
if the land is valued,
assessed
,
and taxed pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of
1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.).

���� h.��� Notwithstanding any
provision of this section to the contrary, the construction, installation, or
operation of any biomass, solar, or wind energy generation facility, structure,
or equipment in the pinelands area, as defined and regulated by the "Pinelands
Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.), shall comply with
the standards of P.L.1979, c.111
(C.13:18A-1 et seq.)
and the
comprehensive management plan for the pinelands area adopted pursuant to
P.L.1979, c.111
(C.13:18A-1 et seq.)
.

���� i.���� For the purposes of
this section:

���� "Biomass" means an
agricultural crop, crop residue, or agricultural byproduct that is cultivated,
harvested, or produced on the farm and which can be used to generate energy in
a sustainable manner.

���� "Net metering" means
the same as that term is used for purposes of subsection e. of section 38 of
P.L.1999, c.23 (C.48:3-87).

���� "Preserved farmland"
means land on which a development easement was conveyed to, or retained by, the
committee, a board, or a qualifying tax exempt nonprofit organization pursuant
to the provisions of section 24 of P.L.1983, c.32 (C.4:1C-31), section 5 of
P.L.1988, c.4 (C.4:1C-31.1), section 1 of P.L.1989, c.28 (C.4:1C-38), section 1
of P.L.1999, c.180 (C.4:1C-43.1), sections 37 through 40 of P.L.1999, c.152
(C.13:8C-37 through C.13:8C-40), or any other State law enacted for farmland
preservation purposes.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.213, s.1)

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill would amend the law
pertaining to the construction, installation, and operation of biomass, solar,
and wind energy generation systems on preserved farms.� Existing law requires
the State Agriculture Development Committee (the committee) to review, and to
approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve, landowner applications seeking
to construct, install, or operate biomass, solar, or wind energy generating
facilities, structures, or equipment on farmland, regardless of whether those
facilities, structures, and equipment are proposed to be constructed,
installed, or operated on a preserved portion of the farm or on a portion of
the farm (known as a �farmland preservation exception area�) which has been
formally excluded from preservation.�

���� This bill would clarify that a
landowner is required to submit, and that the committee is required to review
and approve, disapprove, or conditionally approve, an application for the
construction, installation, or operation of a biomass, solar, or wind energy
generating facility, structure, or equipment on a preserved farm, as provided
by existing law, only when the landowner is proposing to construct, install, or
operate such facility, structure, or equipment on a preserved portion of the
farm, and not when the landowner is proposing to construct, install, or operate
such facility, structure, or equipment on a farmland preservation exception
area.�

���� The bill would additionally
clarify, however, that a landowner will still be required to obtain the prior
approval of the Department of Agriculture, as provided by existing law, in
order to construct, install, or operate any biomass facility, structure, or
equipment on any portion of a preserved farm, regardless of whether that
portion of the farm is actually preserved or is excluded from preservation.�