New Jersey Unions Create a Coalition Focused on Decreasing Energy Costs and Creating Solar Jobs

Standing inside the New Jersey Statehouse last month, Claudia Mutzus wore a T-shirt from the Service Employees International Union and held a banner emblazoned with the words, “Built by New Jersey workers for New Jersey families.”

She’d gathered with other union members to mark the start of a new organized labor coalition, Climate Jobs New Jersey, with lofty ambitions: to secure energy independence through solar construction and, in the process, address the state’s electrical affordability crisis.

New Jersey residents have been facing increasingly high electrical bills since they began to spike as much as 20 percent in June 2025. With large electricity demands from data centers and the state’s need to purchase off-grid power to meet energy requests, costs have surged, leaving many residents baffled with no relief.

One of Climate Jobs New Jersey’s priorities is a statewide solar and battery storage program that coalition leaders say will enable the state to take back control of planning its own energy needs from PJM Interconnection, the grid operator that oversees the regional wholesale electricity market.

The statewide solar and battery storage program would help quickly deploy vast amounts of rooftop solar and battery storage, Wowkanech said, adding that the program could be online within the next 24 months and is the fastest way to add clean energy to the grid and lower electricity prices.

Taking back control of energy systems would mean putting the state in charge of planning and purchasing at least some of its energy, coalition members say. This way, New Jersey can plan for its energy needs by stimulating in-state clean energy generation and guarantee that workers benefit from every new project, according to the coalition’s website.

New Jersey generates approximately 13 gigawatts of electricity daily, but its consumption is around 19 GW, according to Greg Lalevee, business manager of Operating Engineers Local 825. This causes the state to buy off the grid, leading to a fifth of New Jersey’s power being imported from out of state. Lalavee also said that electricity is generated from “outmoded and outdated” sources.

Natural gas and nuclear power fueled about 90 percent of New Jersey’s 2024 total electricity generation. Renewable energy accounted for about 9 percent, with 8 percent from solar energy.

New Jersey is also experiencing climate change at a faster rate than other states, with temperatures 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit higher since 1895, and is struggling to combat increasing precipitation and sea level rise.