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Garden State Energy Storage Program (GSESP) Phase 1: Transmission-Scale – Tranche 2 Instructions Update
The New Jersey BPU issues a notice informing stakeholders of a minor update to the Final Phase 1 Tranche 2 Pre-qualification Request and Final Application Instructions.
NJBPU Staff will evaluate project maturity based on the proposed Guaranteed Commercial Operation Date (COD), as well as other relevant documentation submitted as part of the application. Accordingly, Section 4.3 (pp. 9–10) has been revised to clarify the evaluation criteria. The previous language stated:
“Provide a planned COD and a guaranteed COD no later than 150 calendar days after the planned COD. Planned CODs scheduled within 42 months of the solicitation Page 9 application closing date (August 7, 2026) will receive preferential consideration from the Board. Project may propose planned CODs beyond this 42-month window.”
The relevant text in Section 4.3 was intended to reference “guaranteed COD,” not “planned COD,” as the Board’s March 4, 2026, Order launching Tranche 2 provides that preferential consideration can only be given to projects that “have guaranteed CODs within 42 months of the solicitation application closing date.” More specifically, the Board retains the discretion to issue awards to more expensive projects on the basis of greater maturity if they have guaranteed CODs within 42 months of the solicitation application closing date and the Board determines that the additional benefits the projects provide, including but not necessarily limited to greater capacity savings, outweigh the additional cost of any higher incentive awards such projects may request. In addition to using guaranteed COD as a basis for evaluating project maturity during application review, during program administration, failure to meet the guaranteed COD starts the clock that will lead to full incentive award revocation if a project fails to COD within the following 36 months. Note that a project that achieves commercial operation within that 36-month window will still be subject to delay penalties and loss of incentive payments for the period during which it failed to operate.
