Community solar trade group urges BPU to ease interconnection bottlenecks, clarifies program anxieties

Charlie Coggeshall, Mid‑Atlantic Regional Director of the Coalition for Community Solar Offsets, used his public comment time to both thank the Board of Public Utilities for the state's permanent community solar program and to raise member concerns about implementation.

Coggeshall said the board's August order allowing extensions of project construction deadlines and the board's work to improve interconnection transparency were positive steps. He recommended that requiring site control to accompany interconnection applications would further improve interconnection efficiency and reduce bottlenecks.

He also said his member companies are anxious about the release of capacity that he tied to recently enacted state bills, quoting the transcript text "senate bill 44 45 30 and assembly bill, 57 68" without additional detail in the meeting. Coggeshall expressed concern that changes to economic assumptions in the recently released dual‑use program application had unsettled industry and agricultural partners and could threaten project viability.

The comments were recorded as public testimony; the board did not take formal action during the meeting. Coggeshall said he expects continued engagement with BPU staff on these issues.