Gov. Jon S. Corzine, D-N.J., has unveiled New Jersey's Energy Master Plan, a roadmap to guide the state toward a responsible energy future with adequate, reliable energy supplies that are both environmentally responsible and competitively priced.
The plan lays out a series of action steps and strategies to achieve the following five goals:
– maximize the state's energy conservation and energy efficiency to achieve reductions in energy consumption of at least 20% by 2020;
– reduce peak demand for electricity by 5,700 MW by 2020;
– strive to surpass the current renewable portfolio standard goals with a new goal of achieving 30% of the state's electricity needs from renewable sources by 2020;
– develop a 21st century energy infrastructure that supports the goals and action items of the Energy Master Plan, ensures the reliability of the system, and makes available additional tools to consumers to manage their energy consumption; and
– invest in innovative clean-energy technologies and businesses to stimulate the industry's growth in New Jersey.
‘With one of the strongest solar programs in the nation, potentially [having] the country's first offshore wind project in the works, our participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and [having] the most aggressive greenhouse-gas emission reduction targets in the nation, New Jersey has already taken the lead,’ says Corzine.
To develop the energy picture of the future through projections for the year 2020, the state worked with the Center for Energy, Economic and Environmental Policy and the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service of the Center for Urban Policy Research in the Bloustein School at Rutgers University.
SOURCE: Office of Gov. Corzine
