New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has released the state's final 2011 Energy Master Plan, which emphasizes renewables, energy efficiency and cost reductions.
One of the components of the plan amends the state's percentage obligation for solar energy requirements established under New Jersey's Solar Advancement Act from a fixed amount to a percentage of total energy consumed in order to promote the development of other renewable energy sources and reward energy efficiency and conservation through further reductions in energy costs.
Christie says he remains committed to supporting the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 22.5% by 2021, which will focus mainly on solar and offshore wind.
The plan also sets a goal to accelerate the state's RPS, mainly as a mechanism to provide some "interim relief" for the current market for solar renewable energy credits and give the industry an opportunity to adjust.
Increasing the RPS, reducing the outlier years of the RPS schedule and reducing the solar alternative compliance payment will provide the foundation for the solar industry to continue to develop and will minimize the impact on ratepayers, according to Christie.
The plan also says the state should capitalize on emerging technologies for power production and that New Jersey should continue to encourage the creation and expansion of clean energy solutions while taking full advantage of New Jersey's energy and intellectual infrastructure to support these technologies.
The full Energy Master Plan is available here.
