Resource Hub
The Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center is committed to sharing updated information on:
- clean energy technology
- state and national programs and incentives
- ongoing legislation and policy surrounding clean and renewable energy
Learn more about clean energy innovations that you may be able to take advantage of presently and the near future.
Clean Energy Information
Solar Energy
Solar energy is a clean energy source that is seeing spikes in popularity in the United States and abroad. The market for solar energy is growing rapidly in the United States, and the costs for acquiring this energy are decreasing, allowing more and more consumers to partake in the use of this clean energy.
How It Works
Solar technology harnesses the power of the sun, but can do so in a number of different ways. The most common solar energy technologies are photovoltaic, concentrated solar power, and community solar.
Solar Photovoltaics (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) are clean energy generation technologies that utilize solar radiation. Solar PV generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction using semiconducting materials. Solar PV is utilized across a wide variety of applications ranging from residential use to grid supply generation.
Concentrated solar power, also known as concentrated solar thermal, uses a series of mirrors to concentrate light and convert it to heat. This heat is used to generate electricity using a steam turbine. Concentrated solar power is used on large scales and requires specific environmental conditions to be successful.
Solar photovoltaic technology, also known as Solar PV, is one of the most widely utilized renewable energy technologies. It has become increasingly popular over the past three decades as efficiency and affordability of Solar PV equipment has improved. Additionally, federal and state incentives have promoted the adoption and accessibility of this clean energy resource. In the State of New Jersey, solar PV has been widely adopted into long term energy planning, along with other renewable energy sources such as wind and biofuel.
Learn more about photovoltaic systems on the National Renewable Energy Lab’s website.
Though uncommon in more temperate areas of the United States and the world, concentrated solar power (CSP) plants are nevertheless a powerful and innovative technology. These plants rely on arrays of mirrors in circular or dish-shaped patterns to track the sun and reflect the incoming solar energy on a single receiver which generally contains a fluid. This creates an extreme heating effect, heating the fluid and boiling water into steam, which can move turbines similar to a conventional generator to create electricity. These plants can often be found in desert areas where the sun is extremely strong, and can produce significant amounts of electricity.
Learn more about concentrated solar power systems on the National Renewable Energy Lab’s website.
Community solar (or shared solar or solar gardens) is not a solar energy technology, but instead an innovation in how solar energy is distributed. Since traditional solar arrays can exclude consumers who cannot build solar arrays (due to shading, roof structure, or lack of ownership) or are unwilling to do so, community solar offers an avenue for attaining clean energy regardless. Community solar customers can buy into or lease part of a larger array to benefit from the energy. Members benefit from solar availability, potential energy bill savings, grid benefits, and greater stability for the use of clean energy.
Learn more about community solar on the National Renewable Energy Lab’s website.
New Jersey is one of the top states in the country (5th) in terms of installed capacity and homes and businesses with solar panels installed. In 2017, New Jersey was the fifth largest producer of solar energy, and used solar to produce around 75% of its renewable energy. New Jersey has a total installed capacity of 2526.33 MW, which provides a total of just under 4% of the state’s total energy production. Solar has provided thousands of jobs for the state, and when combined with falling prices for solar energy, represents a considerable economic boon. Current legislation aims to continue the growth of solar energy as part of its new Renewable Energy Standard, which will promote continued innovations in solar technology and the implementation of community solar farms.
Learn more about the state of solar energy in New Jersey, visit the Solar Energy Industries Association’s website, and the Energy Information Administration’s website.
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Wind Energy
Wind energy is a clean energy that is rapidly growing in coverage across the United States. Wind power harnesses naturally occurring winds to generate electricity. Because winds blow strongly in many areas regardless of conditions, wind turbines are capable of providing a consistent and renewable source of energy. Because these turbines operate on wind alone, wind energy is clean and carbon free, and can help offset emissions. The greatest value of wind energy is displacing fossil fuel electricity generation and the subsequent avoided emissions as they relate to climate change.
Learn about our research into offshore wind in Ocean City, NJ. Read the White Paper and results of our public survey!
How it Works
Wind turbines are mounted high in the air (generally over 100 feet), where they are buffeted by winds at their fastest and least turbulent. Wind that makes contact the propeller blades move the blades with a combination of lift and drag, similar in some ways to how airplanes attain flight. This movement turns a shaft within the base of the turbine, which creates electricity. Turbines are fairly consistent (they will generate energy around 90% of the time), and will turn with winds as weak as 6 to 9 miles per hour, but will generally shut down when winds reach dangerous speeds in order to avoid damaging equipment.
Since wind are often strong in specific geographic areas, it is often efficient to build many wind turbines within a relatively small area to maximize their ability to produce power. Because of the nature of wind, these turbines generally do not interfere with each other, and produce energy that can be sent to a central location. This energy can then be sent to consumers just as easily as in a conventional power plant.
Another useful, though controversial use of turbines is in the ocean. While installation can be difficult due to the depth of the water, offshore wind farms are capable of producing considerable amounts of energy. For example, in September 2018, the United Kingdom opened an enormous wind farm capable of powering 600,000 homes with its 659 megawatt capacity.
Despite its great potential in the state, wind power has been slow to grow in New Jersey, and currently only a coastal wind farm in Atlantic City and a turbine in Bayonne represent the only active turbines in the state. These farms produce a relatively small 9 MW annually, representing only about .03% of electricity generation in the state, though the NREL estimates that this capacity could potentially be increased over a hundredfold to 945 MW. The future of wind in New Jersey will be offshore wine; limited available space and habitat conservation have influenced the lack of terrestrial wind energy. However, the high cost of energy transmission infrastructure and length application and review process challenge offshore wind energy adoption. While legislation has largely lagged, executive orders by Governor Murphy are poised to jump start wind energy throughout the state and along the coast with an aggressive goal of 3,500 MW of offshore wind power installed by 2030.
Learn more on the Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office website.
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Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy represents clean energy derived from heat from the earth itself. Because of heat produced by natural processes beneath the earth’s crust, there is a wealth of heat underground, which can be used to produce electricity or provide heat. This energy is renewable and clean, and the operating plants often are compact and use less land than other clean and conventional energy sources.
How it Works
Geothermal energy taps into the heat within the planet to provide heat of electricity. Hot water and steam reservoirs can be used directly or to drive generators and produce energy. Generally, which of these processes is done by a plant depends on whether it is a heat pump or used for generation.
Heat pumps use the consistent temperature of the planet to heat and cool buildings. These low energy systems function by transferring heat into and out of buildings from the ground. These systems allow for efficient heating and cooling in all months of the year, and due to the geology of the United States, are widely available.
For more information on heat pumps, visit the National Renewable Energy Lab’s website.
Ground source heat pump (GHP) systems, also known as geothermal heat pumps, are an effective energy efficiency thermal technology used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in both residential and commercial setting. These systems reduce criteria pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, by lessening energy demand and improving energy efficiency. When designed properly and deployed in appropriate settings the results can be a significant source of emissions reductions.
A GHP system consists of a ground loop well system that exchanges heat between the ground and groundwater and a circulating fluid. This is then integrated with a heat exchanger and the buildings HVAC distribution system either for air or water temperature control. These systems utilized wells and cooler ambient temperatures of groundwater to improve efficiency of heating and cooling for buildings. For more information visit the National Renewable Energy Lab’s website.
These plants use steam from deep in the earth’s surface to activate a generator and produce electricity. Dry steam, flash steam, and binary steam plants are all options for this geothermal use. For more information visit the National Renewable Energy Lab’s website.
Because of the relatively consistent ground temperature throughout the state, New Jersey is relatively well suited for geothermal energy projects. Currently, there are state incentives for installing geothermal energy systems, and executive orders signed in 2018 have made geothermal power a part of New Jersey’s renewable energy plan for the future. Geothermal energy technology allows for improved energy efficiency, which is a key benefit for the densely populated state.
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Bioenergy
Bioenergy is renewable energy created from naturally occurring biological sources, such as grasses and trees. Types of bioenergy include biogas, bioethanol, and biodiesel which may be sourced from plants (corn, sugarcane), wood, agricultural wastes, and bagasse. Bioenergy is considered renewable because its source is inexhaustible, as plants obtain their energy from the sun through photosynthesis which can be replenished. Bioenergy, while still responsible for the release of carbon into the atmosphere, is considered less harmful than the burning of fossil fuels, as it utilizes and releases carbon currently in our modern cycle, whereas fossil fuels release carbon that has been stored away for long periods of time.
How it Works
Bioenergy is all derived from biomass of some sort, including woods, plants, plant byproducts, and other similar products. However, how the actual energy is produced varies significantly between uses; traditional biofuel usage may be as simple as lighting a fire in a stove, whereas the creation of biofuels is a complex process. The main forms of bioenergy are biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts.
Biofuels represent perhaps the most common form of bioenergy- it’s likely that the vehicles you use on a daily basis run on some percentage of biofuels. Biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are refined from raw plant products, such as corn or switchgrass, and made into usable fuel. While this fuel generally cannot be used alone to power existing cars, its ability to substitute some percentage of fossil fuels in vehicles currently on the road today give it a unique perk among fossil fuels. Biofuels are therefore invaluable as we continue transitioning to carbon free energy.
Learn more on the US Department of Energy’s Office of Efficiency and Renewable Energy website.
Biopower uses biomass in similar processes to those currently used to produce energy to achieve similar results with more renewable sources. Biopower relies on burning, bacterial decomposition, and conversion to gas or liquid fuel. These processes allow biomass to be converted to a state in which it can be burned efficiently as a substitute for coal or natural gas. Like with biofuels, this process can be useful in our continuing transition to renewable energy, since it makes use of infrastructure already in place.
Learn more on the US Department of Energy’s Office of Efficiency and Renewable Energy website.
While not a direct source of energy like the other uses of bioenergy, bioproducts offer a unique service in mimicking petroleum in the use of products such as plastics, lubricants, and industrial chemicals. This use of biomass can alleviate our dependence on fossil fuels and provide economic benefits.
Learn more on the US Department of Energy’s Office of Efficiency and Renewable Energy website.
The main bioenergy crops grown in New Jersey are corn and soybeans, which are grown in Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Warren, Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties. Currently, however, relatively few of these crops are being used for bioenergy generation, and there are currently no existing bioenergy plants in the state. While the state does have potential for biomass to be used at some existing plants with some efforts in conversion, ultimately the role of bioenergy in the state is developing.
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Nuclear
Nuclear energy, while not a renewable energy as most of the above sources are, is nevertheless a carbon free energy and an important part of the world’s energy portfolio as it transitions to other renewable sources. Among conventional energy sources currently in use, only nuclear energy emits no carbon in its generation of energy. Further, because it uses uranium and not fossil fuels, it also avoids the release of other harmful pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.
How it Works
Nuclear generators make use of nuclear fission, a process during which atoms are separated, which causes a significant release of energy in the form of heat and radiation. When this happens, other atoms are similarly split, causing a nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear generators are constructed to contain the energy of this reaction, which is then transferred into areas where it heats water, creates steam, and turns turbines to generate electricity. This process generally uses uranium, which, while finite, can be used fairly freely as a result of the relatively small amount used in the process.
Nuclear Energy in New Jersey
Nuclear energy is an important fixture in New Jersey’s energy production; in 2017, nuclear and natural gas combined to provide over 90% of net generation for the state. Nuclear energy also constitutes the vast majority of carbon free energy generation in New Jersey. Two nuclear power plants currently operate in Hope Creek and Salem, with its third plant at Oyster Creek having recently shut down in September 2018 due to financial issues. Though competition with natural gas is a major issue for plants currently, current legislature put forth by Governor Murphy aims to prop up these plants with funding to retain their generation services.
For more information, visit the Energy Information Administration’s website at https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=NJ.
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Hydropower
Hydropower relies on the use of waves, streams, and other moving sources of water to produce electricity. Since this technology relies on the strength of water alone, it is a renewable resource, and it produces no carbon emissions to be a clean energy source. While large dams such as the Hoover Dam in the western United States come to mind when thinking of hydropower, the reality is that generators both small and large exist across the country, and the technology sees wide use.
How it Works
Hydropower can work wherever there is sufficient water and a strong enough flow. The kinetic force of the water moves a turbine, which in turn produces electricity. The strength of the water’s flow may not simply be the result of the strength of its flow, but may also be a result of elevation or other factors.
Hydropower in New Jersey
There are prospects of hydropower on a smaller scale in New Jersey using existing dams. The two existing power stations in New Jersey are located along the Great Falls on the Passaic River and Yards Creek Generating Station in Warren County. There are also current projects at the Hunterdon reservoirs that generate small amounts of electricity that is mainly used for pumping and filtering water. However, these plants currently provide a very small amount of net energy generation. Due to New Jersey’s rivers and its long coastline, the state holds considerable potential for further hydroelectric projects, though its final role in the Energy Master Plan remains to be seen.
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