Sunny New Jersey?

Pity New Jersey.  The state has an identity crisis, overshadowed by New York.  It’s the rear end of constant jokes.  Television gave it plenty of exposure—thanks to The Sopranos.  Its politicians always get caught up in corruption scandals, including the one last week that even ensnared some rabbis!  But there’s more to Jersey than the jokes.  There is wonderful countryside, nice beaches, and small towns that take you back in time.  And thanks to some maneuvering by its utilities regulatory body, the state will soon be a leader in solar power generation, second only to California.

By 2013, 200,000 utility poles will have solar panels installed on them, in addition to those added to rooftops and even solar gardens.  Using a tweaked form of a feed-in tariff, consumers will pay a little for this US$500 million project:  $1.28 a year for now, and then up to $4 and change by 2028.

This large step by a tiny state is crucial in our move to energy independence.  Residents will pay a benign amount, the panels will be installed where there’s already space, and the energy will not have to travel far, unlike Mr. Pickens’ pie-in-the-sky plan (now not a plan) to move wind energy from rural America to urban areas miles away.

New Jersey’s governor, Jon Corzine, may not survive his fall re-election bid, and he may be taking more credit for this shift than he deserves.  But while everyone says they want 20% or 30% off their energy to come from renewables by 2020, the Garden State is one entity that is making significant steps to this difficult goal.