Four members of New Jersey Gov. Sherrill’s recently appointed Nuclear Policy Task Force will be among the featured speakers at a full-day conference hosted by Rowan University on June 9. The event, titled “Expanding New Jersey’s Nuclear Generation Capacity,” will address the complex fiscal, regulatory, and environmental challenges state and industry leaders face as they attempt to meet rising energy demands.
The conference comes amid regional energy proposals, including PSEG Nuclear, Westinghouse and Holtec discussing options for a fourth full-sized reactor in Salem County, as well as the implementation of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) at the Oyster Creek site in Ocean County.
Sponsored by the Rowan Energy Collaborative (ROWEC) and the Steve Sweeney Center for Public Policy, the event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Rowan University’s Chamberlain Student Center, Eynon Ballroom. Admission is free, and breakfast and lunch are included for registered attendees.
To register for the event, please click here.
“New Jersey and the nation as a whole must be honest about the scale of energy demand that we are currently facing,” Yolanda Mack, associate dean for Industry Partnerships and Workforce Development at the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering said. “Nuclear energy must be part of the solution if we are serious about driving down greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously supporting electrification, advanced manufacturing, growing data infrastructure, and long-term economic growth.”
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) President Christine Guhl-Sadovy, who co-chairs the Governor’s task force, is scheduled to deliver the luncheon keynote address. Other prominent task force members participating as panel speakers include:
- Ed Potosnak: Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.
- Evan Weiss: CEO of the Economic Development Authority.
- Patrick O’Brien: Director of Government Affairs and Communications for Holtec.
The speaker lineup also features Senator John Burzichelli, the primary sponsor of a bill moving through the State Legislature designed to catalyze nuclear power plant construction. Joining him from the private sector is James Wyble III, Vice President of the Americas Region for Westinghouse and lead for North American AP1000 project development. The AP1000 is the specific reactor model PSEG Nuclear proposes to deploy for its expansion in Salem County.
Additional speakers representing labor, academic, and policy sectors include former Senate President Steve Sweeney; Victor Ibarra of the Clean Air Task Force; Daniel Cosner, President of the Southern New Jersey Building Trades and Construction Council; Ken Robell, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Salem Community College; and Erick Ford, President of the New Jersey Energy Policy Coalition. Senior officials from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, PSEG Nuclear, and IBEW Local 94 will also participate.
During the event, Eddie Guerra, Associate Dean for Strategic Sustainability and Engagement at the School of Earth and Environment, alongside Christopher Peters, Associate Teaching Professor, and several Rowan graduate students, will present preliminary findings from a multidisciplinary study titled Expanding Nuclear Power in NJ. Funded by a grant from the New Jersey State Policy Lab via the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, the study evaluates cost-effective and environmentally responsible strategies for state energy expansion.
“Our study addresses an issue affecting everyone in New Jersey: the supply and cost of energy,” Guerra, the lead investigator, said. “By delivering insights to inform state policy, our interdisciplinary team at Rowan University bridges nuclear engineering, economics, regional planning, public policy, environmental science, and business.”
Rowan University President Ali Houshmand and Chancellor Anthony Lowman will deliver the conference’s opening remarks.
The June 9 event marks the Sweeney Center’s sixth major energy policy conference over the last three years. It also highlights the expanding footprint of ROWEC, which officially launched in February to enhance New Jersey’s economic competitiveness through affordable, low-carbon energy strategies.
Marie Casanova, director of the Green Jobs Academy at Rowan University and Co-Director of ROWEC, emphasized that state educational pipelines must scale alongside physical utility infrastructure.
“As New Jersey looks to expand nuclear power generation to meet growing demand and strengthen grid reliability, workforce development must be treated as a core part of the supply chain,” Casanova said. “Shortages of adequately trained and skilled labor can create bottlenecks and introduce risks that impact schedules, costs, safety, quality, operations and long-term success and security.”
