Dive Brief:

New Jersey's Senate Environment and Energy Committee this week passed a measure calling for an 80% renewable energy standard in the state by 2050, with an 11% requirement beginning next year and increasing by 10% every five years.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Bob Smith, told The Record it is an "aggressive" goal, but said the state "n eeds to be a leader in renewable energy because we are so impacted by global climate." A nearly identical bill passed the Senate last year but stalled before the session concluded.

Sen. Bob Smith, told The Record it is an "aggressive" goal, but said the state "n Critics, including Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity, say the measure could drive up power prices by more than $1 billion over the next five years. However, a poll released last year by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation found more than three quarters of the state back further investing in renewables, and would support the 80% standard.

Dive Insight:

The New Jersey Senate is, once again, attempting to bolster renewable energy in the state. The Record notes the standard being considered now is virtually identical to a measure passed 25-14 last year. That bill, however, never came to a vote in the Assembly.

“Other states will pass New Jersey by, taking jobs with them if we don’t lead the way,” Tom Gilbert, campaign director of Rethink Energy New Jersey, told The Record. “Clean energy is not a partisan issue,”

Gilbert pointed to the Fairleigh Dickinson poll, which last year showed wide support for bringing more renewable energy online. In that survey, some 77% of respondents showed high concern for climate change in New Jersey and 78% favored the 80% standard.

Currently, New Jersey has a 22% renewables goal.