ROBERTS CONVENES ROUNDTABLE TO DEVISE PLAN TO SPUR NJ ECONOMY THROUGH ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

ROBERTS CONVENES ROUNDTABLE TO DEVISE PLAN TO SPUR NJ ECONOMY THROUGH ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. today convened a roundtable of business leaders, state officials, environmentalists and legislators who will spend several weeks devising plans to make New Jersey a leader in alternative energy production.

Roberts (D-Camden) said the group hopes to develop a plan by year’s end to create jobs and spur economic growth in the state by investing in alternative energy.

Its goal is to build upon, supplement and bring together existing programs, along with recent plans presented by Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

A Center for American Progress report estimates investing in alternative energies could bring 57,000 new jobs to New Jersey.

“Billions of dollars in economic growth is at stake, and New Jersey cannot let this opportunity pass by,” Roberts said. “For decades, New Jersey was the center of the industrial world, but times have changed. We now must ensure New Jersey is a leader in producing the alternative energy that will fuel the world for decades to come. Our future may well depend on it.”

Roberts described the discussion as “valuable and interesting.”

He was joined by Assembly members Upendra Chivukula (D-Somerset), Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer/Middlesex), Pamela R. Lampitt (D-Camden) and L. Grace Spencer (D-Essex/Union).

Participating from the state were Jeanne Fox, Board of Public Utilities president; David Socolow, Department of Labor and Workforce Development commissioner; Larry Lewis, assistant chief of staff to Gov. Jon S. Corzine; and Maureen Hassett, vice president of the state Economic Development Authority.

Also joining were Ralph LaRossa, Public Service Energy and Gas president; Philip Kirschner, New Jersey Business & Industry Association president; Jim Leonard, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce vice president; Kathy Davis, South Jersey Chamber of Commerce executive vice president; Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club executive director; Pam Frank, SunFarm Network government affairs director; Richard Dovey, Atlantic County Utilities Authority president; and Mike Ritaccco, Toms River School District superintendent.

“We know the potential alternative energy production can bring, but we have to build a clear roadmap to get there, and get there soon,” Roberts said. “Today we outlined a vision. We know the urgency. We will make this plan a reality.”

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