STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires owners or operators of certain solar energy facilities to inspect facility's infrastructure for presence of remote-access devices.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning solar energy infrastructure and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No later than six months after the effective date of this section, the owner or operator of each solar energy facility one megawatt or larger in size shall inspect, or cause to be inspected, the power inverters and other relevant infrastructure at the facility for the presence of remote-access devices, which could allow the operation of the solar energy facility to be disrupted by an unauthorized person. Any affected components shall be replaced with secure components.
b. Commencing on the effective date of this section, no solar energy facility greater than one megawatt in size shall commence operations unless the facility has been inspected pursuant to the provisions of subsection a. of this section, and any affected components replaced with secure components.
c. The Board of Public Utilities may adopt, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the owner or operator of each solar energy facility one megawatt or larger in size to inspect the power inverters and other relevant infrastructure at the facility for the presence of remote-access devices, which could allow the operation of the solar energy facility to be disrupted by an unauthorized person.
The inspections would be required to be conducted within six months after the bill’s enactment. The bill would also prohibit the operation of new solar energy facilities one megawatt or larger in size unless the facility has been similarly inspected.
The sponsor’s intent in introducing the bill is to respond to reports that rogue communication devices not listed in product documents have been found in some solar power inverters by U.S experts who strip down equipment hooked up to grids to check for security issues. The devices could potentially allow domestic terrorists or hostile nations to destabilize power grids or damage energy infrastructure.