New Jersey Economy Would Benefit from Clean Energy, Says Study
The false “environment vs. economy” dichotomy took another blow today with the release of a study showing that shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy in the mid-Atlantic region would promote job creation and benefit the New Jersey economy. The report, conducted by the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group, claims that developing renewable energies like solar and wind would create jobs in manufacturing, installation, operation, and maintenance, reduce consumer energy bills, and funnel millions of dollars to rural landowners who lease their land for wind farms. The main obstacle is the substantial upfront costs; “renewable energy producers are financing 30 years worth of power all at once,” the report says. However, the upfront costs are rapidly paid off by low-cost production and the kind of stability that fossil fuels can’t match. “The sun and wind will never raise their fuel prices,” notes the report.
