SPECIAL ISSUE ADVANCE & RUTGERS REPORT EXAMINES NEW JERSEY’S SOLAR ENERGY CHALLENGES
While New Jersey faces many energy challenges in the coming years, including fluctuating oil prices and the uncertain future of nuclear power, it remains one of the fastest adopters of solar energy resources. In the new special edition issue of the Advance & Rutgers Report “Solar Power in the Garden State” sponsored by leading real estate owner and developer Advance Realty, guest columnists Shankar N. Chandramowli, research staff member and Frank A. Felder, PhD, Director of the Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy and professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, examine the significant issue of solar power in New Jersey.
At present, renewable resources such as solar and wind power contribute to less than 1 percent of total electricity generation in New Jersey. Nearly half of in-state electricity generation is from nuclear power, with natural gas the next major source. In recent years, however, New Jersey has instituted some of the most aggressive solar and renewable energy policies in the nation directed at reducing emissions and preserving the environment, with an expected goal of increasing the renewable resource share of electricity generation to 22.5 percent.
As the state and the nation slowly move out of the economic recession, questions as to the costs of New Jersey’s renewable energy policies are beginning to surface. The state’s Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS), one of the most aggressive in the nation, and innovative financing options will give New Jersey a leadership role in the renewable energy arena.
The Advance & Rutgers Report is published by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, with support from Advance Realty. “Solar Power in the Garden State,” is available at .
