Solar energy is the most abundant source of energy on the planet. Every day, the sunlight that reaches the earth's surface is more than "10,000 times the world's total energy use."  (The first solar cells were developed in the 1800's, leading to the pivotal technical  breakthrough 70 years ago - the invention of silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell at New Jersey's Bell Laboratories.) In a similar vein, the electricity that could be generated by wind across the United State far exceeds daily electricity demand.

 

Today, more than 40 countries meet 75% or more of their electricity demand with renewable energy - including Brazil, Denmark, Austria and New Zealand. Depending on the time of year, California meets all its electricity needs with renewables.  As we move into the 2nd quarter of the 21st century, the fact that only 8% of New Jersey's electricity is generated by renewables is astonishing. That needs to change. 

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As a state, we need to commit to a smart, comprehensive, equitable and achievable plan that spurs job growth and invests in environmental justice communities. We applauded Governor Phil Murphy's 2023  Executive Order for New Jersey to transition to 100% clean energy generation by 2035.   Similarly, we were highly encouraged by the recent announcement that the Administration has raised the offshore wind goal to 11,000 MW by 2040. These announcements place New Jersey in the forefront of states pushing for clean energy generation. However, unless the Legislature follows suit and adopts the same goals, a future Administration can undo this progress. Without clear commitment and direction from all branches of government, New Jersey's power, business and financial sectors will not fully commit to clean generation of electricity.

We hope that more and more New Jerseyans will come to recognize that moving to clean generation creates a host of additional benefits - including dramatic growth in employment, and equity in the power sector. This transition is creating new businesses, strong job growth while at the same time reducuing the health conditions CCANJ is most concerned about.

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Within the effort to move to clean generation, there are  important debates on key topics like investing in the creation of in New Jersey's under-served communities, upgrading our power transmission infrastructure, and supporting a combination of grid-connected residential and community solar. At the same time, we must ensure the rapid retirement of all fossil fuel-based energy generation – including natural gas. (As numerous studies have shown, the collection and transmission of natural gas is fraught with massive environmental and health harms. And the notion that the natural gas supply will move to become anywhere close to “100 % renewable” has no merit whatsoever.) And finally, where possible, we must leverage federal dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act and similar federal programs.