Environmental advocates who have been years urging state lawmakers to codify ambitious clean energy targets are making a final push to get the bill passed during this lame duck legislative session.
The New Jersey Sierra Club, the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters and other clean energy supporters rallied outside the State House on Monday morning in support of a bill to require the state to get 100% of its electricity from clean sources like solar, wind and nuclear by 2035. Such a transition has been touted for years as critical to slashing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and creating new jobs. But as the affordability crisis intensifies in New Jersey, advocates are pushing clean energy as key to keeping utility bills low in coming years.
Gov. Phil Murphy used an executive order to set a goal for New Jersey to reach 100% clean energy by 2035, and his administration has pushed for clean energy investment over the past eight years. State energy master plans released under Murphy have been written with this target in mind. Ramos-Busot said the onus is now on lawmakers in Trenton to support that effort beyond the Murphy administration.