New Jersey governor to set leading clean power target and follow California ban on gas-powered cars

Photo courtesy of AP

February 15, 2023

The decision to require all new cars to have zero emissions by 2035 is sure to be controversial for some, but the truth is that by 2035, you’ll probably be hard pressed to find a new gas vehicle to buy anyway. All major auto manufacturers expect to sell mostly EVs in the next decade and GM has already said that it plans to produce only EVs by 2035.

Regardless of how you feel about the politics of the announcement, the future will be electric. In addition to the directive on zero emission vehicle sales, Murphy also plans to target the electrification of 400,000 residential buildings and 20,000 commercial buildings by 2030. Generally that means switching building heat from gas and oil to heat pumps.

For those unfamiliar with heat pumps, a simple way to understand them is basically that they’re air conditioning units that can run in reverse – in the same way that air conditioning pulls heat from your home to cool it, heat pumps can also pull heat from the outside air (even if it’s cold) to warm your home. Heat pumps are literally air conditioning units that have a valve which allows the refrigerant to flow in the reverse direction.

Anyway, enough about heat pumps and back to the future of energy.  Imagine a world where solar panels on your roof produce electricity for your home, charge your EV and home batteries and power your heating and air conditioning (which use the most energy in your home).  When the sun goes down, your home gets power from your home batteries or the batteries in your EV. If you’re running low, buy from the utility or your neighbors who have extra energy. That’s the future of energy and generating your own electricity with home solar is the starting point.

Want to know whether home solar is right for you? Get started with a free solar assessment.

Here’s a link to the original article with more details on the governor’s plans.