New Jersey legislators have filed an amended version of a bill that would recognise the environmental and fuel diversity attributes of the state's nuclear power plants after a previous version stalled at the end of the last legislative session. Meanwhile, the state is taking steps to underline its commitment to the goals of the Paris climate change agreement.

Governor Murphy yesterday announcing New Jersey's re-entry into the RGGI (Image: @GovMurphy)

Senate Bill 877 was first seen by the New Jersey Senate Environment and Energy Committee on 25 January. An earlier version of the bill was pre-filed on 9 January by Senators Stephen Sweeney, Bob Smith and Jeff Van Drew.

SB877 is a continuation of proposed legislation - Assembly Bill 5330 and SB3560 - which directed the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to establish a Nuclear Diversity Certificate (NDC) programme. An NDC would represent the environmental and fuel diversity attributes of one megawatt-hour of electricity generated by an eligible nuclear power plant.

Unanimously approved by a joint legislative committee on 20 December, the earlier version of the legislation had been passed on to the full Assembly and Senate with a vote expected to take place earlier this month. However the legislation failed to go forward after Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto decided on 3 January not to advance the bill.

Smith said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who was sworn in on 16 January, had wanted to see more "green initiatives" in the new version of the bill, which has now been re-framed to focus on the emission of carbon dioxide. Instead of NDCs the bill now centres on Zero Emission Credits (ZECs), crediting nuclear power plants for their non-emission of carbon dioxide. Beyond the "major focus" of keeping the state's nuclear power plants in operation, the bill also includes requirements to examine electricity storage, support for solar and wind energy initiatives, and a mandate for public utilities to put together an energy efficiency standard to reduce electricity consumption.

The draft legislation has now been referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, with a vote scheduled for 5 February.

New Jersey's four nuclear reactors - the single-unit Hope Creek and twin-unit Salem plants, both owned by Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), and Exelon's single-unit Oyster Creek. Oyster Creek - together generate 38.5% of the state's electricity. Oyster Creek is already scheduled for early closure in 2019 following changes to state water use rules that would have required the construction of new cooling towers at the plant. PSEG chairman Ralph Izzo has previously said that although Hope Creek and Salem are currently operating economically, without intervention they are expected to be unable to continue covering their costs within two years and may have to close.

Climate commitment

Governor Murphy yesterday signed an executive order mandating the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Board of Public Utilities to begin the process of re-entering the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The RGGI is a regional compact of states in the USA's Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions which aims to cap and reduce CO2 emissions through the trading of carbon emissions allowances.

Murphy said the 2012 decision by the previous administration to withdraw from the compact had forced New Jersey to fall behind on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the impacts of global climate change, while foregoing an estimated $279 million in revenue that could have been realised from participation in RGGI's carbon budget trading programme.

"Climate change is real, and a real threat to our state. Doing nothing is not an option," Murphy said.

Murphy's announcement came one week after the Senate Environment and Energy Committee had approved separate legislation signalling the state's ongoing commitment to the environmental goals of the Paris agreement.

The New Jersey Senate is now to vote on the bill, SB598, which would see New Jersey join the United States Climate Alliance of states committed to upholding the environmental goals of the Paris agreement. The bipartisan alliance was formed by state governors following President Trump's June 2017 decision to withdraw the USA from the Paris agreement and currently has 16 state members.