New Jersey has committed to ambitious energy goals under the 2019 Energy Master Plan, and the Senate today approved Senator Kip Bateman’s bill codifying those targets.
Sen. Kip Batemen’s legislation advanced by the Senate codifies New Jersey commitment to ambitious renewable energy goals to help the environment. (Pixabay)
“The numbers reflect a very aggressive approach, but technological advancements make them attainable,” said Bateman (R-16). “With the support of Garden State residents, we are already making strides in the right direction. These are the goals we are aiming for, and these are the goals we will reach.”
As detailed in the bill (S-3667), in the fiscal year following the rollout of appropriate charging infrastructure, at least half of the light duty passenger vehicles purchased by the Department of the Treasury are to be electric vehicles.
By 2025, the goals are: as least 330,000 light-duty electric vehicles registered in the state; New Jersey Transit shall operate at least one battery electric train; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) shall emit 35 percent less greenhouse gases than the authority did in 2006; a minimum of 50 percent of the light duty vehicles owned by PANYNJ shall be electric powered; and at least 35 percent of the electricity used in the state shall be produced by renewable sources.
“This will be one of the most environmentally transformative eras since the industrial revolution, and this time we will be clearing the air,” Bateman said. “We are at the starting line of a complete transition of the way New Jersey is powered.”
Also codified by the bill: by 2030, half the electricity used in New Jersey shall be from renewable sources, and offshore wind facilities in the state shall generate at least 3.5 gigawatts of power; those offshore facilities shall be producing 7.5 gigawatts by 2035, and the same year electric power utilities in the state shall possess energy storage systems capable of discharging to the grid two gigawatts of power for at least 24 hours; and beginning in 2023.
