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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Phil Murphy became New Jersey's governor January 16, and he wasted no time putting his imprint on the state's energy policy. Within two weeks of his inauguration, Murphy, a Democrat, laid out his clean energy vision for the Garden State, which included a goal of having 3,500 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind energy operating by 2030. He also withdrew New Jersey from the litigation over the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, had the state rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) (New York, New York), and signaled his support for legislation providing up to $300 million per year in financial support to keep two nuclear plants in the state operating if they become uneconomic.
In supporting offshore windpower, Murphy is revisiting and expanding unfulfilled plans made in 2010 by the state's previous governor, Chris Christie, a Republican. The 3,500 MW of offshore wind Murphy wants operating by 2030 would place New Jersey at the top of the list of states trying to generate electricity from offshore wind turbines. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking to have at least 2,400 MW of offshore wind turbines operating by 2030. For more on this, see February 13, 2018, article - Will New York be the Place Where Offshore Wind Generation Finally Takes Off? Massachusetts has set a goal of procuring up to 1,600 MW of offshore wind by 2027.
As a down payment on his commitment to offshore windpower, Murphy instructed the state's utility-regulatory panel, the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) (Trenton, New Jersey), to prepare a request for proposal (RFP) for up to 1,000 MW of offshore wind generation.
A unit of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) (Newark, New Jersey), the state's largest utility, has been developing three windfarms off the Jersey coast valued at $4.5 billion. These three projects, which have been delayed for years, have combined generating capacity of 1,000 MW. According to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Platform, five other windfarm projects off the Jersey coast, valued at about $5 billion and with combined generating capacity of about 1,850 MW, have been placed on hold. Two other proposed offshore New Jersey windfarms, with combined generating capacity of 375 MW and valued at about $1.1 billion, have been cancelled.
Two days before his January 31 offshore wind order, Murphy instructed state agencies to begin the process to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which would help lower power-plant emissions and create a funding mechanism for energy-efficiency upgrades as well as greenhouse-gas mitigation efforts.
On January 29, Murphy said the state's decision to leave RGGI in 2012 deprived it of about $279 million in funds that could have been raised in quarterly auctions of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions allowances that could have been invested in a variety of measures to lower electric bills or fund climate change abatement efforts. For more on RGGI, see January 29, 2018, article - Costs May Rise for Fossil-Fueled Power Plants in New Jersey and Virginia.
The governor also lent his support to a controversial legislative measure to ensure two nuclear plants owned and operated by a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group would stay open if they became uneconomic. The company would be eligible for up to about $300 million in annual support payments if its in-state nuclear plants, Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station and Salem Nuclear Power Station, fell into the red. Those two plants have combined generating capacity of about 3,500 MW and they support an estimated 6,000 jobs, a PSEG source told Industrial Info Resources. For more on this, see September 18, 2017, article - Will Nuclear Nor'easter Roil New Jersey's Electric Market?
Nuclear plants around the country have sought financial support to remain open as power prices, driven by low-cost natural gas, have plummeted, rendering some higher-cost nuclear generation uneconomic. For more on that, see July 27, 2017, article - Fate of Millstone Hangs Over Connecticut and New England. New Jersey's third nuclear plant, Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station, will close later this year under a separate agreement negotiated between then-Gov. Christie and the plant's owner and operator, a unit of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) (Chicago, Illinois).
Critics attacked the financial support for nuclear power in the New Jersey bill as a taxpayer-funded bailout and a subsidy where one was not needed. But supporters of the legislation said the financial aid would only be extended if PSEG's nuclear plants became unprofitable and only after the company shared detailed financial information with the state's regulators.
Speaking with reporters after an unrelated January 26 event, Murphy said this about the draft legislation supporting nuclear power: "Our position has not changed. We are completely committed to keeping those nukes open as long as they are run safely. Too many jobs at stake. It's the biggest bridge to a 100% clean-energy future--again, as long as they are run properly."
About 40% of New Jersey's electricity is generated by in-state nuclear power. The state closed its coal-fired generators, and gas-fired generation accounts for nearly all the rest of the state's electricity.
The New Jersey Senate on February 22 passed a bill containing the nuclear-support provision as well as support for energy-efficiency programs and solar-power generation and electricity storage. The electricity storage provision of that bill establishes a goal of 600 MW of electricity storage by 2021 and 2,000 MW of storage by 2030.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
In supporting offshore windpower, Murphy is revisiting and expanding unfulfilled plans made in 2010 by the state's previous governor, Chris Christie, a Republican. The 3,500 MW of offshore wind Murphy wants operating by 2030 would place New Jersey at the top of the list of states trying to generate electricity from offshore wind turbines. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking to have at least 2,400 MW of offshore wind turbines operating by 2030. For more on this, see February 13, 2018, article - Will New York be the Place Where Offshore Wind Generation Finally Takes Off? Massachusetts has set a goal of procuring up to 1,600 MW of offshore wind by 2027.
As a down payment on his commitment to offshore windpower, Murphy instructed the state's utility-regulatory panel, the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) (Trenton, New Jersey), to prepare a request for proposal (RFP) for up to 1,000 MW of offshore wind generation.
A unit of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) (Newark, New Jersey), the state's largest utility, has been developing three windfarms off the Jersey coast valued at $4.5 billion. These three projects, which have been delayed for years, have combined generating capacity of 1,000 MW. According to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Platform, five other windfarm projects off the Jersey coast, valued at about $5 billion and with combined generating capacity of about 1,850 MW, have been placed on hold. Two other proposed offshore New Jersey windfarms, with combined generating capacity of 375 MW and valued at about $1.1 billion, have been cancelled.
Two days before his January 31 offshore wind order, Murphy instructed state agencies to begin the process to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which would help lower power-plant emissions and create a funding mechanism for energy-efficiency upgrades as well as greenhouse-gas mitigation efforts.
On January 29, Murphy said the state's decision to leave RGGI in 2012 deprived it of about $279 million in funds that could have been raised in quarterly auctions of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions allowances that could have been invested in a variety of measures to lower electric bills or fund climate change abatement efforts. For more on RGGI, see January 29, 2018, article - Costs May Rise for Fossil-Fueled Power Plants in New Jersey and Virginia.
The governor also lent his support to a controversial legislative measure to ensure two nuclear plants owned and operated by a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group would stay open if they became uneconomic. The company would be eligible for up to about $300 million in annual support payments if its in-state nuclear plants, Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station and Salem Nuclear Power Station, fell into the red. Those two plants have combined generating capacity of about 3,500 MW and they support an estimated 6,000 jobs, a PSEG source told Industrial Info Resources. For more on this, see September 18, 2017, article - Will Nuclear Nor'easter Roil New Jersey's Electric Market?
Nuclear plants around the country have sought financial support to remain open as power prices, driven by low-cost natural gas, have plummeted, rendering some higher-cost nuclear generation uneconomic. For more on that, see July 27, 2017, article - Fate of Millstone Hangs Over Connecticut and New England. New Jersey's third nuclear plant, Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station, will close later this year under a separate agreement negotiated between then-Gov. Christie and the plant's owner and operator, a unit of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) (Chicago, Illinois).
Critics attacked the financial support for nuclear power in the New Jersey bill as a taxpayer-funded bailout and a subsidy where one was not needed. But supporters of the legislation said the financial aid would only be extended if PSEG's nuclear plants became unprofitable and only after the company shared detailed financial information with the state's regulators.
Speaking with reporters after an unrelated January 26 event, Murphy said this about the draft legislation supporting nuclear power: "Our position has not changed. We are completely committed to keeping those nukes open as long as they are run safely. Too many jobs at stake. It's the biggest bridge to a 100% clean-energy future--again, as long as they are run properly."
About 40% of New Jersey's electricity is generated by in-state nuclear power. The state closed its coal-fired generators, and gas-fired generation accounts for nearly all the rest of the state's electricity.
The New Jersey Senate on February 22 passed a bill containing the nuclear-support provision as well as support for energy-efficiency programs and solar-power generation and electricity storage. The electricity storage provision of that bill establishes a goal of 600 MW of electricity storage by 2021 and 2,000 MW of storage by 2030.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
