With nuclear energy a priority for the Trump administration, both of the state's gubernatorial candidates – as well as beleaguered New Jersey rate payers – the Next New Jersey Manufacturing Program signed into law this week could set off a chain reaction of economic opportunity.
The NJBIA-supported bill, which creates a $500 million incentive program exclusively for New Jersey manufacturers, specifically offers $100 million in tax credits for the first two years of the program for clean energy projects like nuclear, solar, geothermal and green hydrogen.
But it’s the renewed urgency for nuclear power in New Jersey, and revamped focus on the industry from the Trump administration, where the chemistry could really come in for the program, according to NJBIA Chief Government Affairs Officer Christopher Emigholz.
“If you’re a manufacturer that creates components for nuclear power certainly, the timing of this program is perfect,” Emigholz said.
“We know the NJEDA is eager to get the program started. We know that it was a big win to have nuclear listed as one of the types of clean energy. We know that New Jersey desperately needs nuclear power amid our energy supply decreases and rising costs. And we know the federal conditions are ripe for expanding nuclear power here and around the country.
“And while we know that larger nuclear projects do not happen quickly, the supply chain and workforce needs are more immediate. The Next New Jersey Manufacturing Program offers a very timely opportunity for those manufacturers get a formidable head start, while also benefiting our economy and creating jobs in New Jersey,” Emigholz said.
Senator Michael Testa (R-1), one of the co-sponsors of the legislation along with Manufacturing Legislative Caucus Co-chair Senator Linda Greenstein (D-14), said for targeted manufacturers, the program provides “the tools they need to grow, compete globally and have success right here in the Garden State.”
In May, President Donald Trump announced four executive orders aimed at reinvigorating the U.S. nuclear energy industry by accelerating nuclear reactor licensing and testing, increasing the nuclear workforce, and adding 300 gigawatts of new U.S. nuclear capacity by 2050.
Simultaneously, the president has also greatly reduced the prioritization of wind power, which has also stopped in New Jersey.
Increased energy costs, resulting from New Jersey’s growing status as an energy importer, have become a primary election issue in the Garden State – and both gubernatorial candidates Jack Ciattarelli (R) and Mikie Sherrill (D) have endorsed the need for more nuclear power generation in the state.
Under the Next New Jersey Manufacturing Program, eligible businesses in certain manufacturing industries can receive a tax credit award equal to the lesser of 0.1% of the eligible business’s total capital investment multiplied by the number of new full-time jobs or 25% of the eligible business’ total qualified investment, subject to a total cap of $150 million per project.
To qualify for tax credits under the program, an eligible business would be required to:
- Make, acquire, or lease at least $10 million in capital investments at a qualified business facility in New Jersey;
- Create at least 20 new full-time jobs in New Jersey;
- Provide a median salary for the full-time jobs at the qualified business facility of not less than 120% of the median salary for manufacturing employees in the county where the project is located.
