New Jersey must invite proposals for new nuclear plants by January 9 under new law
The Power NJ Act sets a staged state approval for advanced reactors, paid through certificates electricity suppliers must buy, with no payment until a plant delivers power.
Developers of advanced nuclear reactors, and owners of sites that could host them, now have a state procurement path in New Jersey with fixed filing windows. On July 13, 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the Power NJ Act, P.L. 2026, c. 42, which directs the Board of Public Utilities (the “Board”), the state utility regulator, to run with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (the “Authority”) a program for advanced nuclear projects, and requires the Board to issue a request for expressions of interest within 180 days of the act's effective date, P.L. 2026, c. 42, § 4(b). The Governor's office gives that date as January 9, 2027.
Power NJ Act, P.L. 2026, c. 42, §§ 4-7 (approved July 13, 2026)