Time is now for NJ to reclaim its status as a leader in clean energy | Opinion

By Jeff Tittel

Never has our energy future been clearer than it is today between clean energy and dirty fossil fuels. The upcoming Energy Master Plan update is important not only for New Jersey’s environment but also New Jersey’s economy. We have a choice between more dirty fossil fuels, pipelines, oil trains and pollution or renewable energy, energy efficiency and a green economy.

The Board of Public Utilities is going to be taking input into updating the 2011 Energy Master Plan. The plan is the guiding document on energy policy in New Jersey. The 2011 plan rolled back important energy goals from the 2008 plan. Now is our chance to reverse these rollbacks and make sure that 30 percent of our energy comes from renewable sources by 2020 rather than the current 22.5 percent. Currently the state does not have an energy efficiency standard. We need to push for a 30 percent reduction in energy use through energy efficiency by 2030. We need to look at the long-term to get rid of dirty fossil fuel sources like closing the state’s three coal power plants. We should have a goal of 80 percent of our energy to come from renewable sources by 2050.

New Jersey was a leader in clean energy and energy efficiency before Gov. Chris Christie took office. We were second in the nation and we’re now seventh. We had 10,000 jobs in solar energy; now 5,500. We were seventh in energy efficiency and are now 21st. We were supposed to be the first state in the nation to have offshore wind. Even though five years ago Gov. Christie signed the Offshore Economic Development Act and the EMP calls for 3,000 megawatts of wind power, the Christie administration has blocked financing rules for offshore wind.

This week Gov. Christie officially pulled us out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI is a ten-state regional compact to reduce climate change, air pollution and fund clean energy projects. RGGI worked; New Jersey received over $40 million a year and it created over 1,800 jobs. It reduced carbon pollution by 18 million tons. By pulling out of RGGI, The governor was invited to have lunch with the Koch brothers while New Jersey saw a loss in funding and jobs. The New Jersey Sierra Club believes the governor violated the Global Warming Response Act by pulling out of RGGI. The governor has also used over $1.1 billion from the Clean Energy Fund, which helps people save money on their energy bills through weatherization and energy efficiency, to plug holes in the state budget.

While Gov. Christie was pulling us out of RGGI, President Obama released his Clean Power Plan. The EPA’s CPP requires reductions in greenhouse gasses and encourages states to participate in regional compacts like RGGI. The CPP is important because this is the first significant attempt by the United States to reduce greenhouse gasses and combat climate change. The plan sets targets for each state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promote renewable energy. This will help move our economy into the future, providing green energy jobs. While the CPP calls for a 32 percent reduction in greenhouse gasses nationally, it’s only a modest 23 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 in New Jersey. New Jersey should and could be able to do a lot more than that but Gov. Christie and his administration oppose even those modest goals.

States have two years to comply and if they do not then the federal government will write the plan for them. New Jersey can easily comply because we have the programs and rules in place to meet the CPP’s goals and go beyond. The only thing that’s holding us back is Gov. Christie. Updating the EMP could easily help New Jersey implement President Obama’s CPP. The governor cares more about his national political ambition than he does about the people or environment of New Jersey.

We need to demand action on climate change and these EMP hearings are the first real step to moving us forward on doing so. New Jersey’s energy future should be built on increased solar and wind generation and more energy efficiency. We must demand response programs, green job creation, and a commitment to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. We need to take a page from the president’s Clean Power Plan and tell the BPU to stop promoting dirty fuels and work towards clean energy and reducing climate change by ramping up their Energy Master Plan. These three upcoming EMP hearings are important because we need an EMP with stronger energy goals. This is our chance to go in the right direction and work with the Clean Power Plan to reduce our dependence on dirty fuels and fight climate change.

Jeff Tittel is director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook.

Time is now for NJ to reclaim its status as a leader in clean energy | Opinion