NJIT Researchers Launch Project to Improve Energy and Climate Justice in New Jersey

A new project led by New Jersey Institute of Technology researchers is underway to help New Jersey’s lower-income homeowners take advantage of the state’s clean energy programs.

The initiative arrives in support of the state’s recent commitments to the Clean Energy Act outlined in the New Jersey Energy Master Plan: Pathway to 2050, which includes “developing a community solar program that allows more state residents to benefit from solar energy, especially low- and moderate-income (LMI) families.” 

The community outreach project involves a year-long study of the attitudes and behaviors of under-resourced neighborhoods in Newark toward the adoption of renewable energy, and will encourage residents to engage in N.J.’s Community Solar Program — a key initiative in the state’s goal of reaching 100 percent clean energy by 2050.

Results from the study also aim to provide a broader “sustainability roadmap” for N.J. policymakers to enhance energy justice throughout the state.

Led by Yao Sun, assistant professor in NJIT’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, the $30,000 study is one of ten projects to receive funding this academic year from the New Jersey State Policy Lab of Rutgers University and will be administered by the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.

“As climate change intensifies the severity of weather-related disasters, it is imperative to ensure both community and environmental equity when designing and implementing energy and climate policies,” said Sun. “To support these initiatives and to help New Jersey’s under-resourced communities reduce their energy burden, it is important to provide households with opportunities to voice their thoughts and concerns, actively engage in shaping the community solar program, and collaborate with policymakers to improve energy justice.”

According to data provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, a sizable number of under-resourced neighborhoods in the NJIT’s home city of Newark are affected by a disproportionately higher energy burden, often due to environmental and socioeconomic barriers to adopting newer energy technologies. 

Using AI-based crowdsourcing tools, Sun’s team will engage Newark residents in online open discussions to collect insights into region-specific barriers discouraging the city’s homeowners from participating in the Community Solar Program and other relevant energy justice programs thus far.

“Progress on reducing climate-changing emissions and enhancing local well-being is dependent on fostering an energy transition in which all communities are able to participate,” said the project’s co-principal investigator Maurie Cohen, professor of sustainability studies and chair of NJIT’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. “This project will help to recruit more of the city’s residents into the process of collaboratively creating a more sustainable future.”

“According to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, 55% of New Jersey population lives in overburdened communities,” said Zeyuan Qiu, Co-PI of the project and professor of environmental science and policy in NJIT’s Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science. “As such, the under-resourced neighborhoods we are connecting with through this project can offer us a ‘sustainability roadmap’ that would be extremely helpful for N.J. policymakers to advance energy transformation and enhance energy justice throughout the state.”

Recently, New Jersey’s community solar program has helped pave the way for a national community solar program that will soon include Washington, D.C., Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico and New York, providing up to 20% savings on a subscriber’s energy bills, according to an announcement from the Biden administration.

Updates from the NJIT project — including project milestones, preliminary and advanced research findings, as well as policy recommendations — will be posted online every eight weeks for the general public. The project’s other collaborators include co-investigator Yan Zhao of GTI Energy. 

To learn more and get project updates, visit: https://policylab.rutgers.edu/