In response to NJ Gov. Murphy’s clean energy agenda, this month Ørsted, “the global leader in offshore wind [energy],” submitted a bid to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to build an offshore wind energy farm 15 miles off of the Atlantic City coast. The bid claims the project will, among other things, “[p]rovide more than half a million New Jersey homes with clean, reliable and stable-priced power.” If the project is approved, Ørsted intends to work with PSEG’s “non-utility affiliates, which would provide energy management services and potential lease of land for use in project development… [.]” PSEG has had a “decade-long partnership with Ørsted, [and] will have the option to become
In furtherance of affirmative steps taken to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program, NJDEP announced its intention to propose regulations in accordance with the program and to “participate in the regional RGGI auctions, starting in early 2020 for carbon pollution credits…[.]” Although NJ was one of the first states to join the RGGI program, which is aimed at reducing the impact of climate change, former NJ Governor Chris Christie unilaterally pulled NJ out of the program. Despite a successful lawsuit initiated by Environment New Jersey, challenging Christie’s decision to pull out of RGGI without a regulatory hearing, NJ still remained detached from the program until cur
This month, Gov. Cuomo announced the “2019 Justice Agenda” which Cuomo labeled as NY’s “Declaration of Independence… from the federal government’s policies” and urged the NJ legislature to act on identified issues in the first 100 days of the next legislative session. Amongst these issues, the Agenda identified the “Green New Deal,” which seeks to transition NY electricity to “100% carbon neutral by 2040 and put the state on the path to eliminating its carbon footprint.” The Governor’s plan is strongly supported by the Solar Energy Industries Association, environmental groups, and, seemingly, the public-at-large (a recent survey showed 81% of registered voters support the plan). https://www.