New Jersey’s Clean Energy Act

On May 23, 2018 Governor Murphy signed the Clean Energy Act P.L.2018, c.17. The Clean Energy Act adopts several measures, including:

• Renewable Portfolio Standard: Requires 35% of the energy sold in the state come from qualifying energy sources by 2025 and 50% by 2030.
• Solar: Accelerates the solar RPS to 5.1% by 2021 and establishes a Community Solar Energy Pilot Program.
• Offshore Wind: Codifies the Governor’s goal of 3,500 MW of offshore wind by 2030 and reinstates an expired program to provide tax credits for offshore wind manufacturing activities.
• Energy Efficiency: Requires each utility to implement energy efficiency measures to reduce electricity usage by 2% and natural gas usage by 0.75%.
• Energy Storage: Codifies the Governor’s goal of achieving 600 MW of energy storage by 2021 and 2,000 MW by 2030.

In 2020, the state’s Board of Public Utilities issued an order establishing a framework of programs, including five-year targets that ramp up electric and gas savings to some of the highest levels in the nation. It also calls for specific provisions and enhanced incentives for low-income customers to ensure equitable access to programs for these communities.