Salem County, NJ — Solar Development Risk Assessment

No Moratorium

Salem County municipal setbacks vary by each municipality. Dalessio v. Upper Deerfield (Salem County): Challenged ordinance required 100 ft from property line, setbacks between 100–1,000 ft, 15 ft height limit, 50% max lot coverage — court found this on edge of reasonableness. 1,000 ft setback challenged as unreasonable. Typical Salem County municipality: ≥100 ft from property line; ≥200 ft from dwellings; ≤15 ft height. CAFRA: southern Salem County coastal zone requires DEP CAFRA permit.

Salem County: 15 municipal planning boards govern. No Pinelands in Salem County. ACE (Exelon/Atlantic City Electric) serves Salem. Upper Deerfield Township has active solar ordinance per Dalessio case.

Receptive — agricultural revenue interest; economic development focus; limited development pressure vs. other NJ counties

Most agricultural NJ county; flattest terrain; Salem/Hope Creek nuclear plant (PSE&G); most viable for utility-scale solar in NJ; active solar development; NJ Pinelands boundary nearby

Improving

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 utility-scale and community solar arrays — Salem County is ACE territory and has agricultural land favorable for solar | SuSI and CSEP programs active | Salem County among most active NJ counties for utility-scale solar (rural/agricultural)

No confirmed denial on record for Salem 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