New Jersey is rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), permitting offshore wind facilities and promoting the use of electric vehicles to “address the challenges of climate change,” said state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe during a breakfast roundtable on Sept. 17 presented by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the NJBIA.
"The times they are-a-changin'," McCabe said.
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Gov. Murphy is steering the state back into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cooperative effort among some northeastern states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, McCabe said.
New Jersey’s re-entry into RGGI would require the participating states to agree on a reasonable cap to carbon emissions, so it does not result in a spike in energy rates, she has said.
Offshore Wind
McCabe referenced Ørsted, the owner of Ocean Wind, which won approval from the New Jersey Board of Utilities in June to build a 1,100-megawatt, $1.6 billion offshore-wind facility about 15 miles from the coast of Atlantic city. It is expected to be online in 2024.
It is the first offshore-wind project approved by the state, although New Jersey intends to hold further solicitations next year and 2022 to help achieve Gov. Phil Murphy’s goal of 3,500 megawatts of offshore-wind capacity by 2030.
"The idea is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a new industry," McCabe said. "Other states are vying for this and we are right in the middle of it."
Electric Vehicles
New Jersey now has about 25,000 electric cars and 300 electric vehicle charger stations, but plans are moving forward to increase that number over the next several years.
"We want to put this initiative on steroids," McCabe said. "We would like to more than double the number of charging stations and we are buying electric vehicles for the state fleet." She is promoting electric buses and electric-powered trucks that replace diesel-powered trucks.
"The cost of electrical vehicles is coming down," McCabe said. "They provide a smooth ride, they are quiet," McCabe said, "and they have better pick-up than my car."