New Jersey Sets Clean Energy Goals; All New Cars and Light-Duty Truck Sales to Be EVs by 2035
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed three executive orders to accelerate the state’s adoption of 100% clean energy by 2035.
Speaking at Rutgers University, the governor announced the six pillars that would form the foundation of the state’s strategy. These include accelerating the adoption of clean energy, electrifying the building sector, planning for the future of natural gas utilities, promoting heavy-duty electric vehicle adoption, enhancing flood protection, and adopting Advanced Clean Cars II.
The measures aim for zero-carbon-emission space heating and cooling systems to be installed in 400,000 homes and 20,000 commercial buildings, and for 100% of electricity sold in the state to come from clean sources by 2035. Rules will also be enacted to improve flood protection in riverine and coastal areas.
The initiatives build on the state’s nation-leading climate action record and the federal partnerships reinforced through the Inflation Reduction Act. New Jersey is now one of only two states, along with the District of Columbia, to have a 100% clean energy goal in the 2030s.
Adopting the Advanced Clean Cars II measure in New Jersey would require all new cars and light-duty truck sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The state will also offer funding for heavy-duty electric vehicles.
But some observers warn that this could lead to the same situation as California where the accelerated electric vehicle transition has put pressure on its power grid and gas prices. California has the highest EV adoption rate in the country — 16% of new vehicle sales in the state in 2022 were EVs. It also has the highest gas prices, which Governor Gavin Newsom has continued to blame on big oil.
In late August last year, just a week after announcing that the state would stop selling internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2035, the state’s grid operator warned citizens to conserve energy and refrain from charging their EVs to reduce strain on the power grid during a forecasted heatwave.
The state also had rolling blackouts in September to help manage the energy grid’s capacity strain.
But New Jersey can learn from California’s template. Joseph L. Fiordaliso, Board of Public Utilities President, called Murphy’s goal an “important and sensible policy initiative.”
He said the state would work prudently to achieve the governor’s vision for a cleaner and healthier New Jersey, which would have a robust and equitable clean energy economy comprised of good, union, family-sustaining, and community-building jobs.
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