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The world’s scientists have made it abundantly clear: we cannot make any new investments in fossil fuels if we want to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. We must move swiftly to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and adopt clean energy.
Adopting 100% clean electricity by 2035 is key to unlocking New Jersey’s clean energy future. By switching from fossil fuels to clean electricity, the building and transportation sectors can also slash emissions. Transportation, buildings and electric power generation account for more than 80% of New Jersey’s current greenhouse gas emissions.
Replacing fossil fuels with clean, renewable resources such as responsibly-sited wind and solar will also improve New Jersey’s air quality, which is among the worst in the country. More than 17,600 deaths annually are directly linked to air pollution in New Jersey based on recent research from the Harvard School of Public Health. Low-income households and communities of color bear a higher burden of adverse health impacts of air pollution.1
New Jersey can reach 100% clean electricity by 2035 by investing in a mix of renewable resources such as wind and solar to meet its electricity needs. As we transition our electric generation away from fossil fuels, New Jersey’s regional grid operator will continue its primary role – to ensure that the electric grid remains highly reliable. With billions of investments from recent federal legislation including the federal affordable clean energy plan (Inflation Reduction Act) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, there will never be a better time to move the clean energy economy forward in New Jersey.
The fossil fuel industry and its fake, consumer-protection-branded front groups distort and distraction with misinformation and disinformation, just as they have done at every step of New Jersey’s move away from dirty fossil fuels. But this isn’t the time to backtrack. On the contrary, the climate crisis demands that we go forward faster to achieve clean electricity.
Buildings are the second largest source of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions in New Jersey, equivalent to the annual emissions from over 5.2 million cars. Burning fossil fuels like methane (“natural”) gas, propane, and fuel oil directly in New Jersey’s homes is responsible for more than 28% of New Jersey’s GHG emissions.
Building electrification means switching from fossil fuel-powered appliances — like gas and propane furnaces, hot water heaters and stoves — to clean, highly efficient electric appliances like electric heat pumps, heat pump hot water heaters and induction stoves.
Transitioning to efficient electric appliances allows New Jerseyans to bring the state’s commitment to 100% clean energy into their homes — creating zero emission healthy living spaces with clean indoor air.
Consumers recognize that highly-efficient appliances such as heat pumps are not only climate friendly, but can lower monthly utility bills, make their homes more comfortable, and give them more control.
Transitioning homes and buildings to clean electricity powered primarily by solar and wind will deliver cleaner air, improving public health and saving lives. Gas appliances in homes are a key driver of harmful air pollution, including particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) – poisonous, highly reactive gases that harm human health and also lead to the formation of other harmful air pollution like ozone (“smog”) and secondary particulate matter (PM2.5) in the atmosphere.
A family of 4 in Teaneck, NJ recently replaced an aging gas boiler and HVAC unit with insulation and a combination of ducted and ductless heat pumps, which ensured each room in the house could be sufficiently heated and cooled.
When their central heating and A/C system reached the end of its life, a couple in Matawan, NJ installed 2 highly efficient cold climate heat pumps that not only gave them more control over their temperature and slashed their energy use, but eliminated outside noise, an unexpected benefit.
When vented outdoors, New Jersey buildings powered by fossil fuels contribute more than four times more outdoor nitrogen oxides (a precursor to smog) than electricity generation. When burned indoors, fossil fuel appliances contribute to air pollution levels that would be illegal if measured outside. Children living in homes with gas stoves have a 42% higher risk of current asthma, and a recent study found that up to 12% of childhood asthma cases nationwide could be attributed to gas stoves.
We know we don’t have to sacrifice our health to heat our homes or cook our food. And with new policies helping people upgrade to climate-friendly homes, we won’t. The demand for heat pumps and electric appliances in New Jersey is growing quickly, thanks to a combination of federal and state incentives, more competitive technology, and policy changes.
Low- to moderate-income households will receive the most significant federal rebates for electrical upgrades and heat pumps passed in the federal affordable clean energy plan. Landlords who rent to low- to moderate-income households can also take advantage of these federal rebates.
Households can use this calculator to learn about rebates, based on a household’s income, which include:
Residents who do not qualify for these income-eligible rebates can still receive tax credits of up to 30% to lower the cost of clean energy equipment and home upgrades to electrify.
In March 2023, Governor Phil Murphy announced EO 316, which set a goal to install heat pumps in 400,000 New Jersey homes and 20,000 commercial properties by 2030 as well as making 10% of all low-to-moderate income properties electrification ready by 2030.
Not only do electric appliances provide more comfortable and healthier heating and cooling, but those who make the switch from fossil fuels like natural gas or oil and propane will typically save money on monthly energy bills.
The transition to all-electric homes is underway in New Jersey. Gov. Murphy’s goal to deploy 400,000 heat pumps in homes by 2030 and millions in federal incentives to help New Jersey residents adopt electric appliances will accelerate this transition further, encouraging people to leave the gas system.
Yet this transition could result in unintended consequences for those who remain on the gas system.
According to a 2022 report prepared for the BPU, as more households leave the gas system in favor of electrification, monthly gas bills will increase 35% by 2030 for remaining gas customers in New Jersey.
The transition to all-electric homes is underway in New Jersey. Gov. Murphy’s goal to deploy 400,000 heat pumps in homes by 2030 and millions in federal incentives to help New Jersey residents adopt electric appliances will accelerate this transition further, encouraging people to leave the gas system.
Yet this transition could result in unintended consequences for those who remain on the gas system.
According to a 2022 report prepared for the BPU, as more households leave the gas system in favor of electrification, monthly gas bills will increase 35% by 2030 for remaining gas customers in New Jersey.
Gas utilities spend billions of dollars – that New Jersey ratepayers are expected to pay back over the next several decades – on a gas system that will be used less and less as households choose electric appliances and improve home weatherization. Without state intervention, additional spending could lead to escalating gas rates for consumers. A March 2023 report estimates that in neighboring New York state, gas utilities spend on average $3 to $6 million per mile to maintain aging gas pipelines. As New Yorkers continue to exit the gas system, gas customers that are stuck on the system could see their gas bills rise to more than $8,000 per month by 2050 to pay back the cost of this gas utility spending if state leaders continue to delay efforts to align gas utility spending with the state’s climate goals.
Today’s highly efficient “cold climate” electric heat pumps affordably give consumers the comfort, safety and reliability they want. Heat pumps are widely used in regions with the coldest climates and have taken off in the Northeast in particular. Mass Save, which works to improve energy efficiency for Massachusetts households, offers rebates up to $10,000 for homes that switch to air source heat pumps as their sole source of heating.
Maine, one of the coldest states in the U.S., has seen cold climate heat pump adoption surge in recent years, with an average of 25,000 heat pumps deployed per year according to Efficiency Maine.
Rather than allow the polluting fossil fuel industry to stall New Jersey’s energy future, CLEAN works to move New Jersey forward faster toward a clean energy future that creates jobs and builds healthier, pollution-free communities. We must work together and push progress forward. Our health and safety, livelihoods, and climate are at stake.
Organizations from around New Jersey have joined together to form Clean Energy Action Now! (CLEAN), a campaign dedicated to increasing awareness of the health, economic, and climate benefits of an equitable clean energy future.
Paid for and authorized by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
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