Investing in Transportation and Clean Air

• In 21 New Jersey counties, the air quality doesn’t meet national standards. To address that, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 invests in low- and zero-pollution transportation, including:

• $1 billion for clean heavy-duty trucks, school buses, and transit buses, including $400 million reserved just for communities that don’t meet national air quality standards.

• $3 billion to reduce air pollution at ports.

• Another $3 billion for environmental justice block grants to reduce air pollution and mitigate climate and health risks.

• An additional $3 billion for projects that reduce pollution and improve access to safe and affordable transportation. 

• Provide $281 million for air quality monitoring, including in historically overburdened communities exposed to persistent air pollution.

• Additionally, over the next five years, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will:

  • Invest $4.5 billion to improve public transportation across the state to provide healthy, sustainable transportation options and replace thousands of dirty transit vehicles with clean, zero emission vehicles.

  • Invest $104 million to support the expansion of an EV charging network, a critical element to accelerating the adoption of EVs to address the climate crisis and support domestic manufacturing.

  • Deliver a portion of a $5 billion nationwide fund for school districts to replace school buses that burn diesel with low- or zero-pollution school buses. 

• Since the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law in November 2021, nearly $1 billion dollars of investments in transportation and clean air have already been announced in New Jersey, including:

  • $830 million for public transportation programs to provide healthy, sustainable transportation options and replace thousands of dirty transit vehicles with clean, zero-pollution vehicles.

  • Nearly $30 million for the Carbon Reduction Program. This program will fund projects that reduce air pollution from highway traffic, projects like the construction of bus-rapid-transit corridors, for example.

  • $15 million funding to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Creating Clean Energy Jobs

• The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will boost clean energy production and manufacturing, creating more jobs in an industry that employs over 53,000 New Jerseyans already. 

• In particular, the Inflation Reduction Act will: 

  • Bring an estimated $11.4 billion of investment in large-scale clean power generation and storage to New Jersey by 2030.

  • Provide $30 billion in tax credits to accelerate domestic production of solar panel, wind turbines, batteries, and critical minerals processing

  • Provide a new $10 billion investment tax credit to build new manufacturing facilities for clean technologies such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels

• These investments will create up to 1.5 million good-paying jobs in 2030, and possibly over 9 million jobs over the next decade, according to experts at the BlueGreen Alliance.

  • In 2021, over 53,000 New Jerseyans were employed in a clean energy industry

  • A 2020 report found that federal clean energy stimulus investments similar to those considered in the Inflation Reduction Act would add 90,000 clean energy jobs in New Jersey over five years.

Lowering Costs for New Jersey Families

• The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will:

• Invest $9 billion in consumer home energy rebate programs, focused on low-income consumers, to electrify home appliances and for energy-efficient retrofits

• Offer 10 years of consumer tax credits to make homes more energy efficient, making heat pumps, rooftop solar, electric HVAC, water heats, and electric appliances more affordable

• Create a $1 billion grant program to make affordable housing more efficient.

• Independent analyses found the Inflation Reduction Act would lower energy costs for families in New Jersey with estimates ranging from $300 to $1,800 in annual savings.

• The average household could see between $1,025 in household energy costs including electricity costs, home energy, and transportation by 2030 compared to 2021.

• Additionally, to reduce energy costs for New Jersey families, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will:

  • Deliver a portion of a $3.5 billion national investment in energy efficiency and weatherization programs to New Jersey, helping to lower energy bills for working-class families in our state over the next five years.

• Since the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law in November 2021, millions of dollars in investments have already been announced in New Jersey to help lower energy costs for families in our state, including:

  • $87 million for Weatherization Assistance Program to reduce energy costs for low-income households and $6.4 million to help prevent outages and make the power grid more resilient.

• $4 million for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to help families manage the costs of staying warm in the winter and cool in the summer.