NJ Governor Elect Mikie Sherrill Zeroes In On Solar Power

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New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill came into Election Day 2025 with both hands swinging against US President Donald Trump and anyone else standing in the way of abundant, affordable solar power for home-state ratepayers. Making good on campaign promises is easier said than done, of course. It will be an uphill battle all the way, but Sherrill has three secret weapons in her pocket: brownfields, the community solar movement, and agrivoltaics.

The Long Road To More Solar Power

New Jersey has already set a 50% clean energy goal for electricity by 2030, and 100% by 2035. It has a long way to go, particularly in regards to ramping up its wind and solar resources. The state’s current energy profile is not particularly encouraging, especially after President Trump shredded the nation’s offshore wind industry, stomping all over New Jersey’s 11-gigawatt offshore wind target in the process.

The share of renewables in New Jersey’s power generation profile stands at just under 10%, with solar providing 90% of that.

The rest is supplied by three nuclear reactors located at two sites, both in Salem County, along with a roster of gas power plants. As of 2023,  natural gas and nuclear energy shared an almost equal amount of in-state power generation, with natural gas at 49% and nuclear at 42%, continuing a state of affairs that has existed since 2011.

The state’s connection to out-of-state power stations also opens the door to non-renewables. “New Jersey consumes more electricity than it produces and in 2023 it obtained nearly one-fifth of its power from generators in other states by way of the regional grid,” the US Energy Information Agency noted in an update earlier this year, referring to the regional grid operator PJM.

A Brownfields Springboard For Solar Power

Sherrill’s energy plan includes ramping up capacity and improving air quality at existing nuclear and gas sites, but that could take years. Besides, new nuclear and gas capacity is more expensive than solar. Solar power plants can be built faster, and more economically, than any other domestic generating resource, as Sherrill notes.

Aside from permitting hurdles cited by Sherrill, one key obstacle to accelerating solar development in New Jersey is land availability. New Jersey is a small, densely packed state. With its early advocacy for solar power, the state scored #1 on 50-state rankings for installed capacity in the early 2000s, only to drop back as Texas, California, and other land-rich states began to surge.

Still, New Jersey currently clocks in at a respectable #12, consisting mainly of rooftop solar and other small scale installations. The state has also proven adept at making new space for utility-scale solar power plants. New Jersey is an early adopter of floating solar technology, and its healthy lineup of landfills and other classified sites provides an opportunity for expansion in the brownfields-to-solar movement.

One good example is the 28.89 megawatt Toms River project. Currently holding the title of biggest solar power plant in New Jersey, the facility is also billed as the solar array built on a Superfund site anywhere in the US.

Although the federal government’s support for re-powering industrial sites is up in the air, state lawmakers are on the case. Last year outgoing governor Phil Murphy signed the new Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program Act to ramp up solar development on landfills.

The bill signing was accompanied the launch of New Jersey’s Landfill to Solar online guide for local governments and solar developers, created by the Governor’s Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy.

The Community Solar Difference

The brownfields angle is not the only tool in Sherrill’s solar power toolkit. New Jersey is also front and center in the community solar movement. Community solar projects are typically small in scale and locally sited, providing nearby ratepayers with access to solar power on a subscription basis at a lower cost than the standard grid mix.

In August, Murphy signed new community solar legislation into law, aiming to add 3,000 more megawatts to New Jersey’s existing community portfolio. “This landmark policy follows a string of record-breaking electricity capacity prices in the PJM region, which are forecast to continually drive up electricity bills for families and small businesses,” notes the organization Coalition for Community Solar Access.

The 3,000 megawatt goal is a huge leap up for the community solar movement in New Jersey. The state’s total capacity currently stands at just 900 megawatts, including projects in the pipeline as well as active solar power plants.

CCSA also notes that smaller, locally sited solar power plants enable New Jersey to add more capacity, more quickly, without the expense and time involved in building new transmission lines in a state where space for new lines is already limited.

The Agrivoltaic Connection

The community solar movement has begun intersecting with the brownfields-to-solar movement, enabling local governments to transform inert eyesores into active power-generating assets that help keep electricity rates down. Another area of intersection is the agrivoltaic movement, in which solar power plants are designed with space for livestock grazing and cultivating pollinator habitats.

The agrivoltaic movement is now branching out into raising food for human consumption, too. The benefits include preserving open space from real estate development, enabling farmers to secure a reliable source of revenue while continuing to contribute to local food systems, and shepherding more low-cost solar power into the state grid.

Last year, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities launched a new dual-use pilot project to organize and accelerate agrivoltaic development in the state The three-year pilot program calls for up to 200 megawatts of solar power, with Rutgers University applying its agrivoltaic research to develop best practices and guidelines.

If all goes according to plan, the pilot project will demonstrate that agrivoltaic projects are more profitable than agriculture alone, helping to build more support for solar power within the state’s substantial agriculture industry.

Next Steps For Solar Power In New Jersey

There is still plenty of room for more solar development in New Jersey. And, as Sherrill has pointed out, solar is still the most affordable, accessible source of in-state power generation.

As for collaborating with neighboring states and working with — or suing — PJM to get more out-of-state renewable energy resources into the regional grid, that’s going to be a whole ‘nother can of worms. Nevertheless, Governor-Elect Sherrill has vowed to pursue those pathways as well, so hang on to your hats.

Photo: New Jersey Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill will zero in on solar power as the fastest, most economical way to add more electricity to the grid (screenshot, courtesy of mikiesherrill.com).