Credit: (richie rocket via Creative Commons; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)The state Energy Master Plan has drawn its share of praise and criticism since being unveiled two years ago, but it is moving closer to being enshrined in law.
Legislation (A-5720/S-3667) to make that happen won approval from the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Thursday in a 4-2 vote along partisan lines. Opponents argued it could lock the state into ineffective policies if codified into law.
Making the energy plan — in effect — into a law could make it more difficult to adjust its aggressive targets, such as electrifying the transportation system and establishing a new goal to develop a clean energy standard, opponents said. Such a policy requires a minimum share of electricity to be generated from eligible “clean’’ sources, including renewable energy.
“It sets unattainable goals,’’ said Raymond Cantor, vice president of governmental affairs for the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. “When that happens, regulators make bad decisions.’’
Why is it that some of the most vocal proponents of the governor’s EMP fall silent when the talk turns to how much the initiative will cost?
Cantor urged the committee to focus on how to make the plan more affordable and reliable to consumers as the state transitions to a goal of 100% clean energy by midcentury. Critics of the plan argue the shift to renewables will spike energy bills in a state long saddled with some of the highest electric rates in the country.
“I can assume the Legislature doesn’t care about whether energy is affordable,’’ he said.
But environmental groups applauded the bill. Tom Gilbert, campaign director for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, noted the establishment of a clean-energy standard is a very important tool in reducing emissions contributing to climate change. New Jersey, with its long coastline, wetlands and river networks is very vulnerable to climate change.
Eric Benson of Clean Water Watch endorsed the bills but said the 2019 EMP does not go far enough in reducing global-warming pollution. “We need to say “no” to new fossil-fuel infrastructure,’’ he said.
For the most part, the bills retain ambitious goals to promote offshore wind along the Jersey coast. So far, the Murphy administration has approved projects that will result in more than 3,500 megawatts of power from wind turbines by 2030, well in excess of its target. The bill also retains a goal of 7,500 megawatts by 2035.
The bills also would revamp the state’s goals to establish energy storage systems. Under the EMP, the state would promote the development of 600 megawatts of energy storage by the end of this year, a target it has woefully failed to achieve. The EMP also called for 2,000 megawatts of energy- storage systems by 2030.
In the new legislation, the state would need to create 2.5 megawatts of new energy storage by 2035 and 8.7 gigawatts by 2050.
Surprisingly, the legislation fails to mention targets for solar energy, which according to the EMP is supposed to provide 34% of the state’s electricity by 2050.
That omission might suggest some policy makers believe the goal is unrealistic and may be too hard and expensive to achieve.
Both bills are now headed to the Assembly. If approved, they would go back to the Senate to concur with amendments made in the lower house. All of it would have to be approved before the legislative session ends on Jan. 11. If not, lawmakers would need to start the process over.
