In New Jersey, US representative Mikie Sherrill (D) and former state representative Jack Ciattarelli (R) have both espoused an “all-of-the-above” approach to energy.
But the candidates’ definitions of “all” differ, according to Clinton Andrews, director for the Center for Urban Policy Research and professor at Rutgers University.
Sherrill has pledged to overhaul the state’s approach to vetting new generation, which she has blamed for slowing New Jersey’s efforts to bolster offshore wind, especially compared with Virginia. Although meaningful offshore wind development may be unrealistic in the near term given President Donald Trump’s disdain for the sector, Sherrill has called for cutting the regulatory red tape around other resources, particularly solar, to put more clean generation on the grid.
The next governor could use two approaches to speed that process along for utility-scale projects, Andrews said. First, the new governor could use the authority already held by the Board of Public Utilities to preempt local land-use decisions, often a roadblock in bringing new wind and solar projects forward. New Jersey also could implement community benefits agreements, ensuring that residents and municipalities receive some form of compensation, to sway reluctant locals. But those arrangements would likely require legislation to establish.
More broadly, while Sherrill could continue to pursue outgoing governor Phil Murphy’s (D) call to decarbonize the electricity grid by 2035, committing that goal to statute, something the legislature is considering, may not be practical at the moment, according to Andrews.
“I think with the uncertainty around offshore wind that the Legislature would be hesitant to enshrine it in legislation,” he said. “I would guess that they would be punting on that and that Sherrill would follow more closely her interest in energy affordability.”
New Jersey’s permitting woes and resulting high energy costs have also cast a spotlight on its membership in RGGI [Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative], which Ciattarelli has promised to end. He has called RGGI a “failed policy”, saying it has done little to reduce emissions while contributing towards the state’s rising electricity costs. Leaving the program would save New Jersey $300mn-500mn/yr, he said.
Over the past year, RGGI allowances in the secondary market consistently have been well above the program’s cost-containment reserve trigger price, a soft ceiling designed to pour additional allowances into the market to mitigate rising prices. In addition, the market has been on a bullish streak recently. Argus assessed December 2025 allowances at $25.38/st on 31 October, a nearly one-year high for current-year contracts.
But leaving RGGI probably will not dampen electricity bills, according to Andrews. New Jersey is part of the PJM Interconnection, which includes RGGI members Maryland and Delaware, and imports much of its electricity, making it possible that the state could still feel the indirect costs of RGGI, he said.
Sherrill has said little with regards to RGGI, but her victory likely would ensure the state’s continued participation.
“My sense of RGGI is that it is something that Republicans like to cut and Democrats like to keep. So, if she follows the historical pattern, then she would keep it,” Andrews said.
Sherrill has maintained a consistent lead in the weeks leading up to the election, with the latest polling from Suffolk University on 30 October showing her 4 percentage points ahead of Ciattarelli.