In April, Governor Sherrill signed legislation to remove the permitting hurdle that has created what has effectively been a 50-year moratorium on new nuclear development in New Jersey and announced the launch of the state’s new Nuclear Task Force.
On Monday, she signed the Power NJ Act, launching the state’s procurement process for new nuclear energy. The bill will establish a transparent, competitive process by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to evaluate proposals and ensure any project is the best investment for New Jersey ratepayers. The bill passed both houses of the legislature unanimously last month with strong bipartisan support.
Under the legislation, within 180 days (by 9 January 2027), the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities will open a request for expressions of interest. Developers will then have 60 days to submit proposals with regulatory, environmental, financial, and workforce information. New Jersey Board of Public Utilities then has 90 days (until 9 April 2027) to qualify projects to enter the negotiation period or deny them. Over the following 12 months (until 9 April 2028), the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority will negotiate with project entities, including setting accurate cost estimates, price of electricity, and other terms. Over the following 90 days (before 8 July 2028), the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities will issue a Final Board Order if a project provides a net benefit to ratepayers, costs are not unreasonable or excessive in light of customers’ overall bills, and the developer has secured federal financing.
Additionally, the bill sets strong safeguards for ratepayers – including ensuring that they will not bear any costs until a project is built and supplying energy, nor be responsible for cost overruns. Other safeguards include: requiring projects to secure federal financing, shifting the risk away from New Jersey ratepayers; requiring any project provide a net benefit to ratepayers; requiring at least two separate public comment periods and a public hearing in any proposed municipality; and requiring the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to take into account independent assessments by the Division of Rate Counsel to ensure ratepayers’ interests remain central at every step.
“The decisions we make today will determine the future we leave our kids, so we are putting New Jersey on a path to an affordable and secure energy future,” said Governor Sherrill. “I am excited to launch our state’s process to procure new, advanced nuclear power that will provide clean, reliable energy at scale for generations to come and meet our growing energy demands – from powering our small businesses, schools, and hospitals, to strengthening grid capacity and reliability for extreme weather that is becoming unfortunately all too frequent.”
The newly formed Nuclear Task Force, co-chaired by Elizabeth Noll, Senior Strategist for Energy at the Office of the Governor, and Christine Guhl-Sadovy, President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, is organised across five focus areas – Financing, Supply Chains and Technology Development, Workforce Growth and Training, Regulatory and Permitting Framework, and Public Trust and Confidence – with the goal of ensuring that New Jersey is “ready to capture the benefits of new nuclear power, while maintaining the highest standards of public safety and transparency”.
Two nuclear power plants – the two-unit Salem and the single-unit Hope Creek, both owned by PSEG – currently provide more than 40% of New Jersey’s electricity and represent more than 80% of the state’s clean energy supply.
In April 2024, PSEG notified US regulators of its intent to seek subsequent licence renewal for the Salem and Hope Creek plants. It formally informed the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that it expects to submit the application in the second quarter of 2027. This would mark the start of a comprehensive NRC review and approval process taking about two years to complete. If approved, the licences for Salem unit 1 and unit 2 would be extended from 2036 and 2040 to 2056 and 2060, respectively, while the single-unit Hope Creek’s licence would be extended from its current 2046 expiration to 2066.
