NJBIA’s Energy and Environment Policy Committee recently hosted a virtual meeting with guests representing Mitrex, CSG Law, ExxonMobil, Earth Finance, Langan, Edward Waters, and the New Jersey Food Council.
Jill Chen, Manager of Business Development at Mitrex, along with her colleague Adam Zellner, spoke about Mitrex’s ability to empower urban sustainability via Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), a technology that transforms building exteriors into sustainable energy generators while maintaining the existing characteristics of the building’s facades.
Chen and Zellner highlighted numerous incentives at the federal, state, and local levels that help to make such transformations possible.
At the federal level, there exists several useful instruments, including:
- a Solar Investment Tax Credit (SITC) of 30% or more depending on the location of the project;
- Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery Systems which affects how asset depreciation is calculated for tax purposes;
- The 179D Commercial Buildings Energy-Efficiency Tax Deduction, which allows for deductions based on the amount of energy generated.
Andrew Sinclair, Guyana Operations Advisor, Public and Government Affairs at ExxonMobil, explained why ExxonMobil is participating in crude oil development in Guyana.
Sinclair noted that ExxonMobil remains a leader in the transition to other sustainable energy sources, such as biofuels, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage (CCS), while also acknowledging the continued need for traditional fossil fuels given the expectation that 2 billion people will join the middle class in the developing world by 2050, and thereby increase the global energy demand by 15%.
Guyana is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Sinclair said, and ExxonMobil has committed to being a partner in the country’s economic growth and transformation, and to responsibly develop their resource as they seek to become one of the top 15 oil producing nations in the world.
Tim Zenk, Managing Director at Earth Finance, illustrated the Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) as a focus on carbon intensity reduction, while being technology neutral and complementing existing state and federal policies.
Zenk clarified that while the CFS is a market of credits and deficits in relation to carbon intensity, it does not act as a mandate or tax credit. The CFS has demonstrated a reduction of greenhouse gases, and economically supports carbon technologies in transportation overall.
In addition to the morning’s presentations, John Valeri of CSG Law noted the New Jersey Clean Air Council will hold its annual public hearing, which will focus on the impact of food waste on air quality and climate change, on Tuesday, August 16 at 9:30 a.m.
Finally, Mary Ellen Peppard, Vice President at the New Jersey Food Council, discussed packaging and labeling mandates which have been proposed and, in some cases, advanced, and the problems that accompany this legislation including supply chain issues, technological feasibility, and food and safety considerations.
Ray Cantor, Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer at NJBIA, brought attention to new legislation, S-2425, which would implement a low-carbon transportation fuel standard like the CFS.
