New Jersey's citizens and leaders should work together to meet a common goal of relying on more renewable energy sources.
Any energy master plan should include a major push for renewable energy sources and a de-emphasis on coal and natural gas.
The recent hearings across the state regarding the creation of an
energy master plan highlighted where New Jersey needs to go as far as
powering itself through the next few decades. Aside from a general goal
of raising the amount of renewable energy sources used to 20 percent of
all the energy New Jersey uses, more specifics are necessary to show
how that goal can be reached.
Some leaders in South Jersey are already paving the way. Burlington
County's freeholders recently voted to approve construction of a plant
at the county landfill that would convert methane gas into electricity.
It is a move that will likely lower operating costs for the landfill,
thus saving taxpayers money.
The Atlantic County Utilities Authority erected five windmills at its
wastewater treatment plant early this year much to the same end.
And homeowners across the state are starting to take advantage of a
state rebate program that makes it relatively affordable to install
solar panels that would not only practically eliminate their electric
bill, but generate additional energy for use on the regional grid.
Additional opportunities for the state to take a look at where it gets
its energy from will present themselves in the very near future. The
B.L. England generating plant in Upper Township, Cape May County, is
scheduled to close next year.
And unless the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves a license
extension next year, the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey Township,
Ocean County, will see its license expire in 2009. Multiple safety
concerns have been raised regarding Oyster Creek, the country's oldest
operating nuclear power plant, opened in 1969.
Nuclear energy is, by far, much cleaner than coal or natural gas, but
the plants themselves create homeland security concerns which are still
valid. Therefore, any movement on building new nuclear plants or
keeping open the ones whose licences are set to expire should be looked
at very closely. It is far easier to kill scores of people by attacking
a nuclear power plant than it would be a windmill farm.
Regardless, we hope the state will listen to the people of New Jersey
when it comes time to draft the energy master plan, and keep clean
energy in mind.
