During her inaugural address, Gov. Mikie Sherrill declared a state of emergency on utility prices and paused on stage to sign two executive orders aimed at reining in the skyrocketing cost of energy. This spotlight on utility bills would have been impossible to predict and difficult to imagine little more than a year ago, but the governor is right to recognize that energy costs have become a crisis.
To lower electricity bills, getting more solar and batteries online is unequivocally where the new administration should be leaning in. These technologies are easily the fastest and cheapest ways to add energy capacity in the short-term and deliver electricity that is affordable, reliable and clean.
If we want more solar and storage on the grid quickly, New Jersey must cut the government and utility red tape that is holding back deployment. Sherrill clearly understands that many of the hurdles facing these projects are within New Jersey’s control and is looking to do something about them. Here, we offer four immediate steps her administration can take to remove bureaucratic barriers obstructing the solar and storage we need and give families back control of their electricity costs.
Sherrill should rapidly implement “smart permitting” for home solar and batteries, which will get rid of many time-consuming and costly barriers. A nation-leading law requiring the State to offer this streamlined process to New Jersey families passed at the end of last year. The legislation allows a year and a half to launch the program, but the new Governor can make it happen sooner. Local permitting bureaucracy can add as much as $4,500 to the sticker price of a typical rooftop solar system in New Jersey and leads more than 20% of the households that try going solar to give up. We can’t afford a long wait to fix this problem.
Sherrill should build on the “smart permitting” law by addressing other local barriers to installing solar. This includes streamlining the inspection process for simple installs and encouraging communities to follow standardized guidelines and application procedures for larger behind-the-meter projects.
Sherrill can bring more accountability to the slow, cumbersome, and expensive interconnection process that New Jersey utility companies force upon families and businesses who want to generate their own power cheaply and cleanly. With New Jerseyans desperate for utility bill relief and with a clear need for more electricity supply, simple projects should be getting approved in a matter of days rather than months. And, no one should be denied the opportunity to install solar because of where they live.
Sherrill can make plug-in solar widely available. Many New Jerseyans want to save on their utility bills using clean energy but live in apartment buildings or don’t have the space or money to install rooftop solar systems. Small, portable solar systems are the answer, but unfortunately, New Jersey’s one-size-fits-all interconnection rules make them inaccessible. Sherrill can direct state agencies to allow these affordable, appliance-style systems to come online safely without requiring utility approval or expensive household electrical upgrades.
New Jersey has been hit hard by skyrocketing energy costs and voters demanded action. Now, as Sherrill begins her administration, we have an opportunity to become a leader on affordable clean energy. Let’s get red tape out of the way, empower consumers to take control of their own energy future, and unleash the energy choices that drive down costs for us all.
Hannah Birnbaum is the chief of advocacy of Permit Power; Elowyn Corby is the Mid-Atlantic regional director for Vote Solar; Doug O’Malley is the director of Environment New Jersey.
