Tom Johnson

Apr 4, 2024 | njspotlightnews.org | Tom Johnson

PSEG Nuclear LLC has notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission it plans to seek renewal of licenses for its three nuclear power plants in South Jersey, which provide nearly half the state’s electricity and are an integral component of New Jersey’s clean-energy goals. In a letter of intent submitted to the NRC late last week, the company, a subsidiary of PSEG, informed regulators it will seek to extend the operation of the plants.

Mar 29, 2024 | njspotlightnews.org | Benjamin Hulac |Tom Johnson

WASHINGTON – A new generation of trucks and buses used to haul garbage, carry cement, move fuel, ship freight or shuttle people, including on school buses, will have to run significantly cleaner than the current fleet of heavy-duty trucks under new federal standards. The standards, issued in a final rule the Environmental Protection Agency published Friday morning, will apply to heavy-duty trucks for six upcoming model years, 2027 through 2032.

Mar 21, 2024 | njspotlightnews.org | Tom Johnson |Benjamin Hulac

A majority of new cars, light-duty trucks and SUVs sold in the U.S. by 2032 will be either purely electric or hybrids under an Environmental Protection Agency rule unveiled Wednesday. The regulation, one of the largest regulatory efforts the administration has made to slash heat-trapping greenhouse gases, sets a target of cutting emissions from vehicles’ tailpipes in half by 2032, eliminating more than 7 billion tons of carbon pollution, according to EPA estimates.

Mar 14, 2024 | njspotlightnews.org | Tom Johnson

After months of debate, a pair of climate bills won swift approval from a legislative committee on Thursday, two measures supporters say would help modernize the aging power grid and speed up New Jersey’s clean-energy transition. In a meeting that lasted less than a half-hour, the Senate Environment and Energy Committee voted out the bills, while also approving a proposed amendment to that state Constitution that would enshrine the right to a clean and healthy environment.

Mar 13, 2024 | njspotlightnews.org | Tom Johnson

It is a relatively simple proposition likely to spawn wide agreement: Everyone is entitled to a clean and healthy environment. But the “green” amendment, a proposed addition to New Jersey’s Constitution, triggered nearly three hours of debate last week when it surfaced again before a legislative committee, six years after last having been voted out of a legislative committee. Similar amendments have been around for a lot longer than that. Pennsylvania  enacted its version into state law in in 1971.