on this Earth Day polluters will now be held accountable for their actions here in Jersey this week attorney general Matt platkin and commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection Sean La Tourette announced eight new environmental enforcement actions targeting polluters across the state whose toxic legacies continue to threaten public health safety and the environment the announcement comes as settlement agreements in two other environmental justice cases have been reached the eight new matters include five environmental justice actions centering on a broad array of toxic pollutants that have tainted overburdened communities at two separate unrelated sites in Newark a site in Fort Lee a site in Milltown and a site in Camden and in an effort to continue to promote a clean New Jersey a group of elected officials are marking Earth Day by touring a community solar project correspondent Ted Goldberg is an Avenel whereas jerseys rooftops are increasingly becoming a source of energy New Jersey is the Saudi Arabia of rooftops and we have to take advantage of not just this rooftop but all of these rooftops not a comparison you hear every day but like Saudi Arabia's oil New Jersey's rooftops are increasingly becoming a source of energy with a patchwork of solar panels thanks to government programs like Community solar it's helping reduce costs for participants it's helping the local energy grid be more efficient and pollute less uh and it's good business for the Builder and the host I know firsthand that the residents of Perth Amboy have benefited from solar panels in their homes and I know that this project will level the playing field and Bridge a gap so all residents can benefit from cleaner and healthier environment solar plays a very critical role in New Jersey's energy ecosystem especially as we strive towards our power sector goal of 100 clean energy by 2035 which the governor announced were on track to hit not everyone is as optimistic as Governor Murphy the momentum is there but there is a lot more to be desired and are to make sure that we we reach that Target by 2035. card Tech amarnath works for vote solar a pro solar non-profit he thinks those goals are attainable only if New Jersey ramps up its solar projects and pushes them into all communities we need projects that meaningfully address the energy needs of low-income folks communities of color and can be done in a self-sustaining way through meaningful employment of people who have been left out of the energy industry RPM warehousing is powering 700 homes with its solar panels amarnath says it's a good start since it can cost upwards of ten thousand dollars to install panels on individual Homes New Jersey uh sets its sets itself up as a leader demonstrating how it is possible to transition our Energy System into one that is accessible and can finally do justice to the historic harms that were inflicted upon communities who stand to benefit the most from municable climate Action 7 out of 10 African Americans live within 30 miles of a Coal coal-fired Power Plant it partially explains why African Americans have lower rates of smoking yet higher rates of lung cancer while New Jersey might be the Saudi Arabia of rooftops there are still aspects of this state that make it difficult to put panels on your roof over 40 percent of New Jersey residents are renters and It's tricky to install rooftop solar when you don't own the roof over your head in low to moderate income areas cost or a lot of other considerations May prevent folks from participating in our clean energy economy as of last October solar systems provided six percent of New Jersey's electricity there's a bill in Trenton that would create goals for the state to hit 75 percent clean electricity by 2026 and 100 by 2035. it was introduced last August but it hasn't been voted on in Avenel I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight News [Music] [Music]