Piperno, Eulner Criticize Governor’s Costly “Green” Plan Acceleration

This week, Governor Murphy announced he would be accelerating his plan to move the state to 100% green energy and electric vehicles from the target date of 2050 to 2035. The announcement was promptly followed by criticism from numerous citizens, organizations, and public officials alike.

In response to the Governor’s proposal, Monmouth County Assemblywomen Marilyn Piperno and Kim Eulner issued the following statement condemning the acceleration as impractical and costly to the people of New Jersey:

“Governor Murphy’s green energy plan is ambitious, but utterly unfeasible. The proposal calls for the complete elimination of natural gas and other fossil fuels by 2035 but fails to address the significant financial burden this will impose on taxpayers. Requiring New Jersey homeowners to replace their natural gas furnaces, stoves, and water heaters with green energy alternatives, will have serious ramifications for their wallets and add further undue financial burden on those people who can least afford it to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Additionally, there are serious concerns about whether the state’s insufficient renewable energy infrastructure could reliably support such an influx of grid overloading, not to mention expensive, electric vehicles.”

“The Governor’s plan will also have a negative impact on businesses across the state, as numerous industries utilize natural gas for their operations. Many commercial buildings in New Jersey largely rely on gas-fired boilers, each of which could cost upwards of $2 million to replace. Moreover, there is no financial assistance or incentives for businesses, let alone taxpayers, to make this required transition to green energy. Doing so will only leaving those already struggling in the least economic friendly state in the country, in potential financial ruin. We, therefore, urge Governor Murphy to proceed with caution, and roll back his financially distressing proposed plan.”