New Jersey State Profile
Last Updated: 9/15/26 — Updated Monthly
STATE OF PLAY
New Jersey is a clean energy leader, with 9% of the state’s total energy generation coming from clean energy in 2024. New Jersey’s clean energy industry employs over 62,000 workers, a 25% increase since 2020. New Jersey is also home to 90 planned or operating data centers. Despite New Jersey’s strong clean energy economy, Trump and Republicans threatened clean energy jobs and the loss of new energy generation needed to meet rising demand, and led to increased energy costs of 27%.
| KEY 2026 RACES |
| NJ-07 |
ENERGY BREAKDOWN
- 9% of New Jersey’s energy generation came from renewable energy in 2024, with solar accounting for 88% of the state’s renewable generation.
- As of July 2026, New Jersey was home to 5.7 GW of operating clean energy capacity, ranking 29th in the country for clean energy deployment.
- As of June 2026, New Jersey’s average residential electricity rate was 24.95 cents/kWh.
- As of June 2026, average electricity costs in New Jersey were up 27% since Trump took office.
- Since 2025, at least seven New Jersey utilities have enacted or proposed rate hikes totaling more than $836 million, affecting more than 4.2 million electricity customers and 3.1 million gas customers.
- From August 2025 to August 2026, average utility bills in New Jersey were up 25.6%.
- As of August 2026, New Jersey was home to 90 planned or operating data centers.
- The OBBBA was expected to cause a loss of 3.7 GW of generation capacity in New Jersey, threatening grid reliability and higher costs as energy demand rises.
CLEAN ENERGY PROJECTS & JOBS
- Two new clean energy projects have been announced in New Jersey since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.
- In 2024, New Jersey’s clean energy industry employed 62,368 workers, a 25% increase since 2020.
- The Trump administration has canceled or threatened eight clean energy projects in New Jersey, jeopardizing 8,519 jobs, over $3.6 billion in investment, and 4.8 GW of clean energy being added to the grid.
| Clean Energy Projects Announced Since IRA Passage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project | Summary | Projected Jobs | Investment | Project Status |
| Cenntro Battery Packs Factory | In February 2023, Cenntro announced it had started assembly and production of lithium-ion phosphate battery cells at its Freehold, New Jersey factory. The battery packs will be used for Cenntro’s electric commercial vehicles. | – | – | Operational |
| Port Newark Container Terminal Solar Project | In July 2025, Standard Solar opened a solar project at the Port Newark Container Terminal. The solar project generated enough power to supply roughly half of the energy demand at the Port while reducing emissions by 50%. | – | – | Operational |
Additional projects threatened or canceled in the state due to threats to clean energy:
| Additional Threatened Or Canceled Clean Energy Projects | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project | Summary | Projected Jobs | Investment | Project Status |
| Jersey Central Power & Light’s New Jersey Clean Energy Corridor Loan Canceled | In August 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy withdrew a $715.8 million loan commitment to Jersey Central Power & Light for the New Jersey Clean Energy Corridor. The loan, first offered through a conditional loan commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office in January 2025, was later paused after Trump’s inauguration. The New Jersey Clean Energy Corridor would upgrade 40 miles of transmission infrastructure in the utility’s service corridor, enabling the addition of 4,890 MW of wind energy, enough electricity to power 1.6 million homes per year, to the grid. The project was expected to create more than 230 construction jobs, which JCP&L planned to hire through union contractors. JCP&L also planned to create a two-year apprenticeship program for lineworkers and substation electricians. The conditional loan commitment was offered under the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment loan program, which was established by the Inflation Reduction Act. | 230 | $716 million | Canceled |
| Bluepoint Wind’s Developer Was Paid To Cancel The Project By The Trump Administration | In April 2026, the Trump administration paid Ocean Winds to abandon its plans to build the Bluepoint Wind project. Bluepoint Wind, located off the coasts of New Jersey and New York, was projected to add 2.4 GW of energy to the grid, enough to power over 1 million homes, and create “thousands” of good-paying new jobs. The project was proposed by Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock, and Ocean Winds, a joint venture between Engie and EDP Renewables. Ocean Winds was reimbursed $885 million for this lease and an additional canceled offshore wind project lease off the coast of California. | – | – | Canceled |
| EEW American Offshore Structures Filed For Bankruptcy | In April 2026, EEW American Offshore Structures and EEW AOS Paulsboro Urban Renewal filed for bankruptcy protection. The group also faced eviction from its planned factory. The two companies, subsidiaries of Germany’s EEW Group, manufactured monopiles, the foundations that support offshore wind turbines, at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal in New Jersey. The facility operated by the two companies was expected to create more than 500 jobs at full capacity. However, the company faced headwinds from political attacks on offshore wind and rising costs, leading offshore wind developers to cancel projects and, in turn, their contracts with EEW. | 500 | – | Canceled |
| Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Port Canceled | In February 2025, EDF Renewables announced it had abandoned its planned Atlantic Shores offshore wind facility, officially ending the project. In March 2025, the Trump administration’s Environmental Appeals Board invalidated the project’s permit and cited Trump’s executive order directing a review of offshore wind leasing as a reason for the permit’s termination. The cancellation of the offshore wind project also resulted in the company withdrawing plans to lease land at the New Jersey wind port, which was expected to support 200 jobs. The New Jersey Economic Development Agency was evaluating alternatives for the wind port, as Atlantic Shores was the only remaining leasee before it withdrew from the offshore wind project. | 200 | – | Canceled |
| Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Project Canceled | In February 2025, EDF Renewables announced it had abandoned its planned Atlantic Shores offshore wind facility, officially ending the project. The two-stage offshore wind project, initially planned as a joint venture between EDF and Shell, was expected to provide 2.8 mW of energy to New Jersey and create nearly 200 turbines. The Atlantic Shores project had already received approval from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for its construction and operations plans. Shell shared plans to cancel the project in January 2025, and wrote off $1 billion it had invested in the project. EDF booked an impairment of $980 million from the project and cited the “unfavorable” political situation in the U.S. in its statement exiting it. In March 2025, the Trump administration’s Environmental Appeals Board invalidated the project’s permit and cited Trump’s executive order directing a review of offshore wind leasing as a reason for the permit’s termination. In June 2025, Atlantic Shores petitioned the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to terminate its Offshore Renewable Energy Certificates order, cancelling the project. | – | $1.98 billion | Canceled |
| CMC Energy Services Laid Off 89 Workers | In December 2025, CMC Energy Services laid off 89 workers. CMC Energy Services provided energy efficiency solutions and was located in Hamilton, New Jersey. | 89 | – | Layoffs |
| Larrabee Tri-Collector Solution Delayed | In August 2025, Jersey Central Power & Light delayed a $1 billion technology investment to facilitate the interconnection of offshore wind to the grid by 30 months. The interconnection point, called the Larrabee Tri-Collector, was selected by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to connect offshore wind to Jersey Central Power & Light’s transmission network in 2022. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved the investment’s delay because of federal policy uncertainty and the Trump administration’s attacks on offshore wind. | – | $1 billion | Delayed |
| Leading Light Offshore Wind Project Canceled | In November 2025, legal counsel for the Leading Light Wind project informed the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities that it would no longer complete the project due to “economic and regulatory conditions.” Leading Light was expected to generate 2,400 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power up to 1 million New Jersey homes. In June 2026, Invenergy sold the lease for Leading Light Wind, which was located in the New York Bight, as part of a $765 million agreement with the Trump administration. | 7,500 | – | Canceled |
RELEVANT DISTRICT NEWS
- Thousands of gallons of diesel spill from AI data center in Secaucus, N.J. [CBS News, 9/14/26]
- NJ coast faces rising seas as scientists track signs of a changing climate [NBC 10, 9/8/26]
- Governor Sherrill Signs Legislation Giving New Jerseyans Cleaner, More Affordable Energy at Their Fingertips [Insider NJ, 9/1/26]
- Data center fight moves to NJ courts, with developers blaming local bans on ‘public hysteria’ [New Jersey Monitor, 8/20/26]
- NJ, feds sue commission to protect drinking water from contamination [New Jersey Monitor, 8/18/26]
- This N.J. town just got hit with a $300M lawsuit for banning massive AI data centers [NJ.com, 7/28/26]
- Sherrill signs three bills to lower NJ electricity costs [New Jersey Monitor, 7/7/26]
- The growing revolt against AI data centers just prompted N.J. to ‘pause’ this $500M program [NJ.com, 6/23/26]
- New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill calls on AI data centers to “pay their own way” amid spiking energy costs [CBS News, 5/27/26]
- New Jersey’s water crisis: A deficit of planning and a drought of action [The Jersey Vindicator, 5/17/26]
- NJ leads in Superfund sites as federal cuts threaten cleanups [NJ Spotlight News, 5/14/26]
- Data center boom poses early challenge for New Jersey’s affordability agenda [Politico, 4/4/26]
- New Jersey Unions Create a Coalition Focused on Decreasing Energy Costs and Creating Solar Jobs [Inside Climate News, 2/20/26]
- NJ orders utilities to explain solar delays amid data center boom [North Jersey, 2/17/26]
- Energy costs, Trump tariffs rising concerns for NJ businesses [NJ Spotlight News, 12/9/25]
- Report says N.J. is eighth highest in nation for utility bills [ROI-NJ, 11/20/25]
- New Jersey energy costs spark voter demand for fast action [NJBIZ, 11/17/25]
STATE CLIMATE DISASTERS
- Between 2010 and 2024, New Jersey saw forty-seven billion-dollar extreme weather disasters, causing $100 billion in damages.
- New Jersey is at high-risk of coastal flooding from hurricanes and nor’easter storms, putting the millions who live on the state’s coast at risk.
- More frequent extreme heat events in New Jersey are increasing the number of pregnancy heat-risk days in the state, putting women of color at risk of dangerous preterm births.