Rebecca C. Lubot, Ph.D. M.Sc, Executive Director, New Jersey Sustainable Business Network. – courtesy Lubot Strategies
Despite current federal policies, the benefits of continuing the upward clean energy trajectory are clear
In the face of growing global climate risks, and a recession coupled with an energy affordability crisis in New Jersey, all barriers that might slow the transition to a clean energy economy must be removed.
While it is true that the transition to a clean energy economy will require more initial investment, it will reduce operating costs as compared to the current policy trajectory, according to the International Energy Agency, and will result in an affordable and fairer energy system for businesses and working families. In addition, switching to clean energy helps mitigate climate change, decrease air pollution, and improve public health. For every dollar invested, renewable energy creates three times as many jobs as the fossil fuel industry.
The good news is that we are well on our way: solar, wind, and battery storage together accounted for 93 percent of power capacity added to the US grid last year. Just before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January, US Department of Energy records revealed that nearly three-quarters of clean energy investments under the Inflation Reduction Act — $217 billion of clean energy investments or $1,091 per person — were slated for red states. In addition, $79 billion or $559 per person, was earmarked for blue states.
Approximately two-thirds of those investment dollars were from private companies — companies that were building new factories, investing in clean energy infrastructure, or focused on training and workforce development. In fact, Department of Energy data showed nearly 1,000 new or expanded energy manufacturing plants and 210,000 new jobs had been announced since the IRA went into effect in 2022.
The bad news is that after the inauguration, Trump swiftly signed executive orders promoting domestic fossil fuel production, rolling back regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, and slowing the permitting process for clean energy projects. The president instead went all in on keeping fossil fuel plants open that are long past their prime and opened federal land up to mining. But policies such as investing $625 million to upgrade coal plants, announced at the end of September, will not reverse the economic and technical decline of the industry, which is going the way of steam in the 1840s.
The current federal government shutdown, the first in six years, has given the Department of Energy an excuse to terminate 223 clean energy projects cutting $7.56 billion that was earmarked by Congress for 16 Democratic-led states. The exact total that NJ stands to lose is still emerging. Rutgers Agrivoltaics Program — a model of dual use solar that can increase the profitability of the land and maintain its agricultural productivity while contributing to NJ’s renewable energy goals — saw its federal grant reduced by over $600,000, for example.
Growing Demand and Cheaper Costs Compel NJ to Make the Transition
The Trump administration’s efforts to stall the clean energy transition through executive orders, limit federal tax credits, and cause bottlenecks in the permitting process are short-sighted.
Not only are the public health and environmental benefits of renewables more obvious than ever before, but there is also the economic imperative.
More than 90 percent of new renewable projects are now cheaper than fossil fuels alternatives. At the same time, solar and wind, which have no fuel cost to generate, are now respectively 41 percent and 53 percent cheaper than fossil fuels. Improved technology has lowered the cost of solar panels 99 percent since 1980. And innovations in battery storage literally allow us to harness the sun’s power and send it to the grid as needed, bolstering the grid’s reliability, lowering spikes in power prices, and reducing costs to ratepayers.
Yet the federal government’s initiatives run counter to the administration’s own goal of “energy dominance,” and, in fact, “will make that impossible,” argues NextEra Energy Chair and CEO John Ketchum in a recent Politico article. Ketchum points out that if we do not move forward with clean energy projects, the increase in demand over the next two decades would “make the country vulnerable to energy shortages and reliability problems.”
Expanding renewable energy resources and programs for businesses and homes sets us on a path to, if not “dominance,” then energy independence. Energy independence is critical in this period of increasing international tensions. With wars brewing in every corner of the globe, the US must rely on its own resources to combat geopolitical uncertainty. And with the rapid cuts to renewable energy by the federal government, New Jersey must step up its efforts.
New Jersey’s Leadership Potential
In January, just after Trump’s inauguration, New Jersey announced a milestone in the clean energy transition: the state achieved 5 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar capacity, more than doubling its solar energy output since 2017. The Murphy Administration cheered this significant accomplishment stating that it “underscores New Jersey’s role as a national leader in climate action and clean energy innovation.”
In August, Governor Phil Murphy signed bills into law expanding both community solar and battery storage. In September, during Climate Week, the Murphy administration announced another milestone: New Jersey reached more than 250,000 electric vehicle registrations. On the heels of that announcement, the Murphy administration released a report showing that, since 2021, the state’s green workforce has increased by 12 percent, or 6,000 jobs, with over 100 new clean energy projects built. These green jobs all pay wages higher than the national average.
It is time now, before Governor Murphy leaves office in January 2026, for the State Legislature to codify Executive Order 315, which calls for 100 percent clean energy by 2035. Then the next governor should speed up the clean energy transition, addressing affordability by taking the following steps:
During the first 100 days:
- Implement a Clean Energy Standard to maximize in-state job growth and create jobs in the clean-energy economy. Ensure an equitable transition to clean energy through the creation of an Office of Just Transition.
- Move forward with a grid modernization plan that identifies the most beneficial and cost-effective projects to modernize NJ’s electric distribution system; speeds up resource-interconnection timelines for clean-energy electric storage systems; increases the capacity of the system to interconnect with distributed energy resources; and improves the resilience of the system against hazards associated with climate change, including extreme heat and flood risk. Require long-term transmission planning, which also protects NJ consumers and ratepayers by addressing rising costs.
During the first year:
- Set standards for advanced metering infrastructure, a tool to modernize the grid by enabling electric meters to communicate wirelessly with the distribution network in real time to provide customers and utilities information on electricity usage, outages, and what parts of the grid are stressed.
- Create and implement more policies that will reduce emissions through the electrification of vehicles, the improvement of building energy efficiency, and the rapid electrification of buildings.
During the first term:
- Collaborate with electric utilities to design time-varying rates that incentivize customers to consume energy off-peak when the grid is less stressed. Use time-varying rates that would result in lower rates when there is less demand on the grid.
- Continue to support solar generation — as informed by actual costs — and responsibly developed offshore wind — including the Wind Institute for Innovation and Training at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Dedicate increased resources to workforce development and training.
Our next governor and our policy decision-makers must leverage free sources of energy, such as solar, wind, and storage; continue the quest to lower carbon emissions for the betterment of our health and our environment; and push the clean energy transition forward thereby securing our energy independence, creating more good-paying jobs, and making energy more affordable. Pardon the pun, but clean energy just makes “cents.”
Rebecca C. Lubot, Ph.D. M.Sc. is the executive director of the New Jersey Sustainable Business Network, a state affiliate of the American Sustainable Business Network. NJSBN is a member of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters’ Enviro Fix in ’26 bipartisan coalition advocating for a comprehensive and nonpartisan environmental policy agenda designed to set priorities — such as building and modernizing a clean energy future — for New Jersey’s next governor.
The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ROI-NJ.
