Evolved Energy Research, in partnership with Rocky Mountain Institute, supported the State of New Jersey in developing an Energy Master Plan that was released on January 27th 2020, setting the state on course towards 100% clean energy and an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The team worked with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Department of Environmental Protection, Governor’s Office, and New Jersey stakeholders to investigate effective policy for decarbonizing the state’s economy as part of an integrated energy planning process.
Evolved provided industry leading economy wide least cost system planning using stakeholder defined policy scenarios, providing the information necessary to evaluate tradeoffs and create near-term state policy for climate action. The resulting Energy Master Plan outlines a roadmap for reaching the state’s long-term goals. Policy recommendations fall into 7 overarching strategies:
1. Reduce energy consumption and emissions from the transportation sector by accelerating the transition to electric vehicles
2. Accelerate deployment of renewables energy and distributed energy resources
3. Maximize energy efficiency and conservation and reduce peak demand
4. Reduce energy consumption and emissions from the building sector
5. Decarbonize and modernize New Jersey’s energy system
6. Support community energy planning and action with an emphasis on encouraging and supporting participation by low and moderate income and environmental justice communities
7. Expand the clean energy innovation economy
This is the first state-led study of its kind in the Eastern Interconnection, positioning New Jersey as a leader in addressing the challenges of climate change. The Energy Master Plan, Technical Appendix, and a Public Webinar describing the process and analysis can be found at https://nj.gov/emp/.