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NJ Transit Bus

Funds from Regional Clean-Energy Initiative to Electrify NJ’s Transportation Sector

April 22, 2020/in header, Latest News, News /by Jersey City Times Staff

Murphy administration gears majority of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative money toward investing in NJ Transit buses and infrastructure, helping low- and moderate-income communities

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Full story link – HERE.

By Tom Johnson

The Murphy administration is steering the bulk of the money it will receive from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to focus on electrifying the transportation sector with an emphasis on environmental justice communities.

In a strategic plan the administration issued Friday, 75% of the estimated $80 million it will receive each year is targeted toward electrification in the sector, particularly investing in NJ Transit buses and infrastructure, and medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles in densely populated communities already overburdened with pollution.

The spending plan reflects two top priorities of the administration — electrifying the transportation sector, the largest source of greenhouse-gas emissions; and addressing poor air quality and other health issues in low- and moderate-income communities.

Projects under the plan, administered by state agencies, are designed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, leverage funding and stimulate job creation, as well as enhance natural resources such as coastal wetlands and forests that sequester carbon emissions.

“As we work to ensure our economy recovers from this pandemic, the investments made under this plan will promote health, equity and environmental protection, helping us to build a stronger and fairer New Jersey,’’ Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.

State agencies to split funds

The money will be split among the New Jersey Economic Development Agency (60%), the state Board of Public Utilities (20%) and the state Department of Environmental Protection (20%).

The EDA will establish a Green Bank to leverage funds and stimulate opportunities in the clean-energy innovation economy. The creation of a Green Bank — and the funding to capitalize the initiative — brings New Jersey in line with other leading clean-energy states and provides a critical public-private partnership to spur investment in clean-energy technologies during a moment of severe economic contraction, according to Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey.

‘’Especially amidst the COVID-19 crisis, we need to make the investments that further public health and expand the clean energy economy,’’ he said.

DEP will use its allocation to assist coastal communities in protection and enhancement of ecosystems such as salt marshes, tidal wetlands and seagrass beds, which are critical habitat for their ability to store and sequester carbon. The agency also will focus on projects to restore and improve the health of forests, which also store carbon.

Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society, said the Murphy administration’s plan provides another tool to protect New Jersey from climate change.

“Funding for Blue Carbon sequestration projects will help remove greenhouse gases, help restore important coastal habitats such as tidal marshes, and build buffers against future storms,’’ Dillingham said.

The BPU will focus its resources on low-income communities, according to Joseph Fiordaliso, its president. “This plan will put significant resources toward electrifying transportation, especially for low- to moderate-income residents, an area where we can make the broadest, fastest progress on cutting air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions,’’ Fiordaliso said.

‘A shot in the arm’

“The RGGI spending is a shot in the arm for New Jersey’s clean economy and its most vulnerable at a time when we need it most,’’ said Mary Barber, director of regulatory and legislative affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund.

The focus on the transportation sector comes at a time when state lawmakers and policymakers are pushing plans to ramp up New Jersey’s efforts to electrify vehicles. Earlier this year, Murphy signed a bill to set aggressive goals to spur sales of electric vehicles and fund charging stations, including handing out rebates of up to $5,000 to consumers who buy plug-in electric cars.

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in New Jersey as well as threatening to worsen the state’s fiscal picture, some fear it could lead to diversion of money targeted for clean energy to plug holes in the state budget.

 

Header:  Courtesy NJ Transit’s Facebook page

 

News Briefs

Hudson County Community College has been named the recipient of a one-year, $850,000 investment from the JPMorgan Chase. The investment will be utilized for a program the College developed to address the challenges of the economic crisis in Hudson County that were brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is designed to provide lasting improvement in the County’s workforce ecosystem.

Mayor Steven Fulop and the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation (JCEDC) have launched the latest round of emergency funding to provide over $2.5 million in direct aid and support to Jersey City’s neediest residents, regardless of immigration status. The city will partner with  York Street, Women Rising, United Way, and Puertorriqueños Asociados for Community Organization. 

Mayor Steven Fulop is joining forces with Uber to announce a new agreement that will expand residents’ access to COVID-19 vaccinations with free Uber rides to and from Jersey City vaccination sites. Phase 1B includes essential frontline workers and seniors 75 years old and over.

The federal Paycheck Protection Program, which offers businesses loans that can be forgivable, reopened on January 11th. The revised program focuses first on underserved borrowers – minority- and women-owned businesses.

Keep abreast of Jersey City Covid-19 statistics here.

Governor Murphy has launched a “Covid Transparency Website” where New Jerseyans can track state expenditures related to Covid.  Go here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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