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Toward a Clean Energy Future

The Vision, the Track Record, and the Challenge Ahead for NJ's Leaders

Trenton - Environment New Jersey, joined by clean energy businesses and advocates, today released a report titled Toward A Clean Energy Future: The Vision, the Track Record, and the Challenge Ahead for New Jersey's Leaders. It detailed New Jersey's clean energy progress to date, and laid out a practical, forward-looking blueprint for Governor Christie and the New Jersey Legislature to follow.

The report recommended specific actions which, if embraced by State leaders, would reduce state-wide energy demand by more than 20% by 2020, generate enough clean solar and wind power to meet the needs of 1.3 million New Jersey households, and eliminate the need to build any new polluting power plants in New Jersey.

"Energy is one of the most pressing issues facing New Jersey," said Matt Elliott, Global Warming and Clean Energy Advocate at Environment New Jersey. "Governor Christie's actions over the next four years will determine our energy future for decades to come. We can significantly reduce energy use in our homes and businesses, and be the nation's leader on solar and wind power. But only with real leadership from Governor Christie. This report charts a path forward that we urge him to follow."

Environment New Jersey's report stressed the importance of reducing energy demand by retrofitting existing homes and businesses to save energy, and by requiring more efficient building construction in New Jersey. The report noted the success of New Jersey's existing energy efficiency initiatives - programs that have reduced state-wide energy demand despite earlier predictions that demand would consistently rise. And it called on Governor Christie to adopt more aggressive energy efficiency initiatives that would realize significant, long-term savings for residents and businesses, and eliminate the need to build dozens of new, expensive power plants.

The multi-state non-profit Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) underscored the importance of energy efficiency measures as the fastest, cheapest way to save money, clear the air, and help fight global warming.

"New Jersey is making great strides toward building robust, integrated and customer-focused energy efficiency programs," said Natalie Hildt, Manager of Public Policy Outreach for NEEP. "NEEP seeks to emphasize the tremendous potential that efficiency holds in creating power system reliability and good-paying jobs, driving down costs for consumers so they'll have more money to spend on other goods and services, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cleaning up the environment. We urge Governor Christie to continue on the path of valuing efficiency as a first order resource."

Environment New Jersey's report also highlighted the state's vast, and largely untapped, renewable energy resources. By harnessing the power of the wind and the sun, the state could generate enough electricity to power roughly 1.3 million households by the year 2020, with even greater potential beyond the next decade. Solar, wind, and other renewable technologies generate electricity without harmful emissions, and hold the potential to create thousands of new ‘green jobs' in New Jersey

"Building the much needed home grown energy generation that uses the sun as fuel yields benefits beyond just clean air," said Pamela Frank, VP, Sun Farm Network, a New Jersey-based solar installer. "It is an economic stimulus for the Garden State, allowing us to build the generation we need quickly and create green jobs for the people of New Jersey -- jobs that will stay in New Jersey!"

The report noted that, because of reduced energy demand and the potential for new generation from renewable sources, the future looks bright over the coming decade. It called for a transition to "21st century clean energy technology," and a steady move away from traditional power sources that pollute the environment, endanger public health, and undermine efforts to fight global warming.

"We are experiencing a sea change in the energy policy arena: demand is down, states and consumers are thinking big and making changes, and we are seeing stunning results," said Julia LeMense, Executive Director of the Eastern Environmental Law Clinic. "Toward a Clean Energy Future charts a course for continued progress and change that New Jersey's leaders would be wise to follow."

Days after Governor Christie's inauguration, his Energy and Utilities Subcommittee - a committee of the Governor's official transition team - produced a report full of energy-related recommendations for the Christie. The subcommittee included a number of utility companies, including PSE&G and Exelon, but no clean energy companies, environmental groups, or consumer watchdogs. The subcommittee recommended many new projects on the utilities' wish list, but ignored the economic costs, public health impacts, environmental degradation, and global warming pollution that would result. The report also hinted at re-writing the state's Energy Master Plan - a ten-year clean energy blueprint developed with diverse stakeholder input over a number of years.

"Instead of embracing a clean energy future and green jobs, the Christie Energy Transition Report relies too much on the failed policies of the past .The report embraces fossil fuels, nuclear power and power lines bringing dirty coal power from Pennsylvania." said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "Governor Christie's energy transmission report was written by the utilities, for the utilities, and at the expense of the environment and consumer."

As one example, PSE&G, the state's largest utility, hopes to build a new power line from coal plants in Pennsylvania into New Jersey. The added pollution - New Jersey is downwind from Pennsylvania - would make New Jersey's poor air quality even worse, and swamp any progress made to date on clean energy. Advocates contend that by investing in New Jersey - through better efficiency programs and renewable generation - the utilities could alleviate any future need for imported coal power.

"New Jersey's energy future does not need to include more coal fired energy coming in through the Susquehanna-Roseland lines. We need to continue to promote the smart use of energy," said David Slaperud, a trustee with Stop the Lines! "Demand response can be incorporated by large energy users now to reduce peak demand while at the same time continuing to grow the economy. It's a win for both business and our environment, and alleviates the need for expensive and dirty new power lines."

Environment New Jersey's report, complete with specific clean energy policy recommendations, will be delivered to Governor Christie and to state lawmakers this week. The report is available online at www.environmentnewjersey.org.

"Governor Christie and our legislative leaders face a choice," concluded Elliott. "Follow through on building a 21st century clean energy future for New Jersey, or slide back into the dirty energy patterns of the past. The right choice - for the people, the economy, and the environment - is clean energy. We're working hard to show them the way forward."