In 2024, New Jersey regulators halted a floating solar project on the 2,000-acre Wanaque Reservoir. 2 years later, a 10-MW state incentive revived plans for what could become America's largest floating solar farm

A solar farm is being planned for a place that New Jersey treats very differently from an ordinary development site: the surface of a major drinking-water reservoir. The Wanaque Reservoir in Passaic County is set to host a roughly 10-megawatt floating solar project after New Jersey regulators reversed course following an earlier rejection.

The project is being developed by the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission with Nexamp Solar, and the state approved a key siting waiver in 2025 before awarding the project a place in its Competitive Solar Incentive program in 2026. That does not mean construction is a free pass.

The project still has to satisfy environmental and permitting conditions, including protections tied to threatened and endangered species, forest disturbance and wetlands and flood-hazard rules. That matters at Wanaque because the reservoir is not simply open water. It is part of a drinking-water system and also supports bald eagles, including a nest that the water commission has monitored for years.

Why did New Jersey reject the project in 2024?

The Wanaque proposal did not fail because New Jersey suddenly decided floating solar was unacceptable. The problem was more specific: the project sits inside the Highlands Preservation Area, where large solar installations face restrictions under the state's solar siting law.

The developers first sought a waiver after entering the state's Competitive Solar Incentive process. Regulators eventually rejected the original petition on Jan. 10, 2024, saying important site-specific questions had not been adequately addressed. Among the concerns were forest removal and restoration, flood-hazard requirements, threatened and endangered species, and potential issues involving the Raymond Dam.

The rejection effectively forced the project back into the regulatory process. Instead of abandoning the idea, NJDWSC and Nexamp returned with updated information after working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Highlands Council. That second attempt changed the picture enough for regulators to reconsider the waiver.

What changed when the project came back?

The renewed proposal was more clearly documented. The planned floating installation would occupy about 20 acres of the reservoir, divided into two solar “islands” of roughly 10 acres each, with equipment on land to connect the project to the electrical system.

In May 2025, the NJDEP's Office of Permitting and Project Navigation recommended granting the project a waiver so it could participate in the state's solar incentive solicitation. But the recommendation came with an important warning: it was not a guarantee that the project would eventually satisfy all NJDEP regulations. The developers would still need the required permits and approvals.

The Board of Public Utilities approved the waiver in July 2025. It found that the project had support from NJDEP and conditional approval from the Highlands Council, allowing it to move into the next stage of the state's solar program. That distinction is important. The waiver allowed the project to compete for an incentive. It did not automatically authorize construction.

Why does the 10 MW incentive matter?

The project cleared another major hurdle in March 2026, when the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved it as one of three winners in the third round of the Competitive Solar Incentive program.

The three selected projects totaled 24.1179 MW. The Wanaque project received an award for about 10 MW and, according to the state, would become the largest floating solar facility in the nation if completed. The incentives are structured through Solar Renewable Energy Certificates, with payments tied to the project's eventual operation rather than simply approving the project on paper.

That gives the Wanaque proposal a much stronger financial path than it had after the 2024 setback. It also makes the project a test case for New Jersey's broader effort to add solar generation without consuming large areas of open land.

The state has been pushing solar toward places where development can avoid some of the conflicts associated with forests and farmland. Floating solar offers another option: put panels on water instead of using additional land. But Wanaque shows why that trade is not automatically simple.

What makes Wanaque Reservoir different?

The reservoir is part of a critical public water system. New Jersey sources describe the Wanaque system as a major source of drinking water for northern New Jersey, with the reservoir serving communities across the region. State and local water agencies have emphasized its importance to millions of residents.

The water commission has already used solar at the site, but on a much smaller scale. In 2011, it installed 1,050 photovoltaic panels on the roof of its filter building. That system can produce 240 kilowatts and has generated more than half a million kilowatt-hours since its completion, according to the commission.

Moving from a rooftop array to floating solar is a completely different proposition. The proposed project would place two large arrays directly on the reservoir surface, meaning construction methods, anchoring, shoreline work, electrical equipment and environmental safeguards all have to be considered together.

And then there are the bald eagles

One of the most striking details about the project is what already lives around the reservoir. NJDWSC says Wanaque Reservoir is home to bald eagles and that employees have monitored a nest on commission property since it was discovered in 2005. The nest has remained productive, with 16 chicks fledging since monitoring began. The commission also reports that winter can bring large numbers of visiting bald eagles to the area.

That does not mean the solar project has been rejected because of the eagles. The state has allowed it to proceed through the incentive process. But wildlife protection remains part of the conditions attached to the project.

The 2025 BPU order specifically says the developers must satisfy requirements involving threatened and endangered species protection before post-construction certification. It also requires forest replanting and monitoring, along with restoration plans for disturbed areas.

So the real environmental question is not simply whether solar panels can float. It is whether the entire installation can be built and operated without creating unacceptable problems for the reservoir, surrounding habitat or the species that depend on it.

Could floating solar become more common in New Jersey?

That is one reason the Wanaque project matters beyond Passaic County. Floating solar is attractive in a densely developed state because it can add electricity generation without requiring another large parcel of land. New Jersey's BPU has already recognized floating solar as a permissible technology within its clean-energy programs.

But Wanaque also illustrates the limits. A reservoir used for drinking water is not an empty surface waiting for development. Water quality, shoreline disturbance, wildlife, flood rules, wetlands and existing infrastructure all become part of the decision.

The project therefore represents two competing priorities that New Jersey is trying to manage at the same time: generate more renewable electricity while protecting resources that residents already depend on.

When could the Wanaque solar project be completed?

There is still no guarantee that the panels will be producing electricity soon. The BPU's approval gives the project a path through the state's incentive system, but the developers must still obtain the necessary NJDEP and Highlands approvals and satisfy environmental conditions. The state order explicitly says the waiver itself does not grant construction rights.

The project's next chapter is therefore less about whether New Jersey supports floating solar. The state has already made that position fairly clear. The harder question is whether this particular floating solar farm can meet the environmental standards required for a drinking-water reservoir where people, infrastructure and wildlife all share the same landscape.

For Wanaque, the experiment is no longer simply about putting solar panels on water. It is about finding out how much clean-energy infrastructure a sensitive public water resource can absorb without compromising the reasons the reservoir matters in the first place.