New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced last week his administration’s approval of new energy efficiency programs, the next step in his aggressive Energy Master Plan that is designed to move the state away from its reliance on supposed climate change-causing fossil fuels.
The energy program sets goals and incentives that will be offered by the utilities to “maximize energy efficiency and energy conservation in buildings while also reducing emissions from the building sector, in line with the State’s new clean energy and electrification goals.”
“We are also taking a step forward in implementing our building decarbonization program, which will ultimately reduce energy use and lower emissions emanating from a major source of greenhouse gases, and advance the Governor’s goal of electrifying hundreds of thousands of New Jersey homes and businesses by 2030. We must take this step as we continue to combat climate change,” declared New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) President Joseph L. Fiordaliso in the press release.
The building decarbonization programs are part of New Jersey’s Clean Energy Act outlined in Governor Murphy’s executive order issued in 2018 that set goals of “installing zero-carbon-emission space heating and cooling systems in 400,000 homes and 20,000 commercial properties and making 10 percent of all low-to-moderate income (LMI) properties electrification-ready by 2030.”
Adding to the clean energy programs, Gov. Murphy announced this month the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII) proposal, which requires vehicle manufacturers to “make zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) an increasing percentage of their new light-duty vehicle sales, ramping up to 100% ZEVs by 2035.” Murphy also shared that he signed on to the international Accelerating to Zero Coalition’s Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) Declaration.
“Our commitment to bringing the ACCII proposal to fruition is a commitment to every New Jersey family and the air they breathe, air that will be cleaner and healthier tomorrow thanks to the steps we’re taking to reduce emissions today. That commitment is underscored by our signing of the ZEV Declaration, which recognizes that New Jersey is just one crucial piece of our global response to climate change,” said Murphy in a press release.
According to The Washington Times, “once the rule is implemented, New Jersey’s EV market share of new vehicles sold would have to jump from 9% to 35% by 2027 and increase steadily until it reaches 100% in 2035.”
The announced energy efficiency and ZEV programs appear to be Murphy’s attempt at mimicking California’s “roadmap to a clean energy future.” Both states face an uphill battle to achieve their “pie in the sky” clean energy goals, according to critics.
The Times reported:
“The Murphy administration doesn’t seem to care that people don’t want to replace their gas stoves or undertake expensive conversions to electric furnaces and water heaters,” said state Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco. “It’s disturbing that Gov. Murphy is trying to circumvent the Legislature by having the BPU rubber-stamp his plan to transform how millions of New Jersey homes are powered.”
Affordable Energy for New Jersey (AENJ), a grassroots coalition that advocates for “actionable, fact-driven energy policy,” has questioned the Murphy administration’s Energy Master Plan (EMP) since its inception.
AENJ published an article, Trenton’s Dirty Little Secret, accusing Murphy’s administration of failing to be completely transparent about the EMP, stating:
Not only will the EMP require scaling up new technologies, some of which have yet to be proven, the cost impacts on businesses, families, and local governments will be significant. Moreover, the EMP’s calls for massive subsidies and mandates will place the burden of those costs most heavily on the economically disadvantaged, while showering the most benefits on the wealthy.
Ironically, the EMP’s climate benefits will be negligible: even if New Jersey reduced its carbon emissions to zero tomorrow; it would have no measurable impact on world climate.
One thing the Murphy Administration has been silent on is the EMP’s cost.
Working with an energy policy expert, AENJ found that the EMP strategies, if implemented, would involve significant costs for New Jersey residents, with a total cost of $525 billion.
Public media station WHYY shared that Murphy pushed back at those criticizing his new energy programs, stating, “No one is coming for anyone’s gas stove. No one is walking into anyone’s kitchen. No one is going to be forced to do anything, in any way.”
However, as we all know, the truth is that if states such as New Jersey and California get their way in successfully implementing their extreme green energy plans, the citizens will ultimately suffer the consequences, with the loss of affordable and reliable energy in the name of saving the planet from the effects of supposed climate change.
