‘All of the Above’ Energy Is a Trap. Black and Brown New Jerseyans Need Clean, Affordable Energy, Not More Pollution

By Milena Bimpong

When utility bills arrive in mailboxes from Camden to Newark, families across New Jersey face the same impossible choice: keep the lights on, buy groceries, fill a prescription, or pay the rent. As electricity and gas prices continue to climb, working families—especially Black and Brown communities that have long shouldered the greatest energy burdens—are being pushed to the breaking point.

Now, the same out-of-state billionaire oil and gas interests that have profited from this crisis are pushing a self-serving narrative in Trenton: that New Jersey needs an “all of the above” energy strategy.

But what the fossil fuel companies and their corporate lobbyists don’t tell you is that by saying “all of the above,” they’re really just trying to keep New Jersey addicted to expensive oil and gas — locking in long-term profits for them while leaving us to foot the bill.

Black and Brown communities have paid the price for decades with higher rates of pollution, asthma, and other health impacts. They should not be asked to pay again so oil and gas corporations can protect their bottom line. Trenton lawmakers should reject this false choice and stand with New Jersey families—not billionaire-backed oil and gas companies.

For decades, the fossil fuel industry’s business model in New Jersey has depended on systemic environmental racism. Fossil fuel pipelines, compressor stations and dirty “peaker” power plants are crammed into Black, Brown and low-income neighborhoods. Continuing to burn fossil fuels won’t lower utility bills. It will only guarantee that children continue to breathe poisoned air while fossil fuel executives pocket billions.

The math is simple: fossil fuels are not the affordable choice. According to Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy report, energy from natural gas peaker plants is nearly twice as expensive as utility-scale solar — which can also be built much more quickly.

The current affordability crisis facing working families was caused by Donald Trump’s failed policies. By rolling back hundreds of billions in clean energy investments and blocking offshore wind projects, Trump has handed record-breaking profits to billionaire oil and gas campaign contributors. Meanwhile, regular New Jerseyans are forced to shoulder volatile gas prices that spike without warning.

Trenton must step up and protect Garden State families from the harms inflicted by the Trump agenda.

Governor Sherrill and the Legislature have taken meaningful first steps by expanding access to solar energy and beginning to limit the impacts of data centers on energy prices.

New Jersey needs a bold, renewed commitment to clean, equitable energy solutions that lower utility bills, create good-paying union jobs and eliminate the public health burdens on our communities.

First, Trenton must firmly reject new gas plants and embrace 21st century solutions that can move ahead even in the face of federal opposition. Virtual Power Plants, or VPPs, link rooftop solar, home battery storage and smart devices to create “community power” that helps our electric grid manage demand during peak hours, directly replacing the need for dirty, expensive peaker plants located in low-income neighborhoods.

Second, we must broaden clean energy access. While community solar already saves subscribers 20% on electricity bills, we should go further by establishing a targeted Plug-In Solar Incentive Program. Plug-in solar panels can sit on a balcony or patio and plug directly into a standard outlet — making self-generated clean power available to renters and apartment dwellers. But because these systems cost around $600 upfront, the state must offer grants and rebates so working families aren’t left behind.

Third, we must reform our electric grid and hold massive energy consumers accountable.

PJM Interconnection, our regional grid operator, has allowed a massive backlog of renewable energy projects to sit stalled in administrative queues for years. Research from NRDC shows that connecting just 30% of those stalled clean energy projects could have slashed electricity prices by more than 60%. 

And the Legislature must take the next step in holding data centers and other mega-energy users accountable by requiring that they bring their own new clean energy to the electric grid. S680/A1170, sponsored by Sens. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), John McKeon (D-Essex), and Joe Danielsen (D-Somerset), would ensure that artificial intelligence data centers and crypto-miners bring new clean energy sources to the grid to permanently protect working families’ energy bills — and to keep dirty polluting systems out of our communities.

True environmental justice means fighting for both clean air and an affordable way of life. We must not be seduced by the fossil fuel industry’s “all of the above” PR trap. The fastest, cheapest and healthiest path forward is a transition to clean, renewable energy. It is time for Trenton to double down on solutions that protect our health, empower our communities and keep money in working families’ pockets.

Milena Bimpong is the Environmental Justice Policy Associate at New Jersey LCV. The organization advocates for policies and passes laws to protect clean air, safeguard clean water, and ensure equitable access to preserved open spaces and parks.