Cumberland County, NJ — Solar Development Risk Assessment

No Moratorium

Cumberland County: municipal-specific setbacks. Typical NJ South Jersey municipal solar ordinance: ≥100 ft from property line; ≥150–200 ft from non-participating dwellings; ≤15 ft height. CAFRA zone wetlands buffer: ≥300 ft from tidal wetland edge per NJDEP standards. Freshwater wetlands: DEP freshwater wetland transition area setback ≥50–300 ft (resource-dependent).

Cumberland County: 14 municipal planning boards. Coastal: DEP CAFRA permit. Wetlands: ACOE §404. No Pinelands in Cumberland County. ACE territory.

Receptive — strong economic development interest; limited suburban pressure; agricultural revenue interest

Second most agricultural NJ county; Bridgeton area; flat terrain; Bayshore tidal wetlands complicate some siting; active solar market

Stable

Local municipal zoning approval required; no statewide preemption of local ordinances. DEP Office of Permitting and Project Navigation: coordination required for large non-rooftop solar (CAFRA permits for coastal areas, Freshwater Wetlands, Flood Hazard, Stormwater). BPU SREC-II pre-construction registration required for incentive eligibility. PJM interconnection required. NJ Pinelands Commission approval required for projects in Pinelands Area. Historic districts (Cape May, Princeton) require architectural review board approval. DEP Guidance Document for Construction of Solar PV Arrays available at dep.nj.gov/cleanenergy.

NJ SuSI SREC-II (Successor Solar Incentive) Program: fixed $85/MWh payment for 15 years for net-metered systems <5 MW; grid supply solar subject to competitive TRECs/variable rate. NJ Sales Tax Exemption: solar equipment purchases fully exempt. NJ Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI) Registered Solar Program: for larger commercial arrays. NJ Community Solar: pilot program expanded to permanent program 2024 (Board of Public Utilities). NJ RPS: 35% renewable by 2025; 50% by 2030; significant solar carve-out. Utility: PSE&G serves northern NJ; JCP&L (FirstEnergy) serves central NJ; Atlantic City Electric (Exelon/ACE) serves southern NJ; Rockland Electric serves Bergen/Essex/Warren areas.

Multiple solar projects in Cumberland County — ACE territory | Agricultural/rural land available; Vineland and Millville area | SuSI and community solar (CSEP) programs active | 5 GW installed statewide Dec 2024 — Cumberland Co. has active development pipeline

No confirmed denial on record for Cumberland County. NJ solar governed at municipal level (565 municipalities) — denial data fragmented. Key NJ restriction: Pinelands Commission limits solar in 1.1M-acre Pinelands area (applies in Burlington, Ocean, Atlantic, Cumberland, Camden, Cape May, Gloucester counties). NJBPU CSEP and Community Solar programs govern incentives. Source: NJ MLUL N.J.S.A. 40A:55D; Pinelands Commission; NJBPU