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Galloway, N.J. – With utility bills dramatically rising, a new �鶹��ý��վ poll finds that solar power has the highest support when New Jerseyans were asked what energy sources they would develop more to increase supply.

Though a plurality of New Jerseyans said affordability should be the top priority when it comes to state energy policy, most residents want to move toward a clean energy future, according to the poll by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy. Majorities said it is important that the state take steps to become carbon neutral and want to prioritize renewable energy over fossil fuels.

The poll was conducted before Senate Republicans narrowly passed the Trump administration’s domestic policy bill, which includes provisions to end federal tax credits and phase in a new tax for solar and wind industries. The bill also includes a tax incentive for the development of a type of coal used in steelmaking. 

“New Jerseyans want action to address the energy affordability crisis, which will only intensify as the state struggles to meet surging demand,” said Alyssa Maurice, Hughes Center head of research. “But it’s also clear that residents want to continue the clean energy transition.”

The poll of 606 New Jersey residents was conducted June 18-25 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points.

Energy costs

A majority of 70% of residents said their electric bills have increased significantly (38%) or somewhat (32%) over the past year. Fewer (52%) said their gas bills have increased significantly (24%) or somewhat (28%) in that time period.

Nearly half of residents (48%) said they have had to adjust their budgets, reducing everyday spending to afford their utility bills, while 47% said they have not had to change their spending habits.

When asked which entities they think bear responsibility for the increased energy costs in New Jersey, if any, the highest rate (52%) cited utility companies, followed by elected officials in the state (47%), large corporations or businesses (40%) and the federal government (38%). 

Higher rates of Republicans (70%) and Independents (50%) blamed elected officials in New Jersey than Democrats (34%).

Energy policy

When it comes to the state's energy supply, New Jerseyans want to focus on developing renewables. A majority of residents (57%) said expanding renewable energy sources like wind and solar power is a more important priority than expanding fossil fuels and 30% said the inverse – that increasing fossil fuels like oil and natural gas is a more important priority than renewables.

As the state grapples with rising demand, residents were asked which sources of energy they would support to increase supply. The highest rate (64%) supported solar power, followed by wind (41%) and nuclear (33%). The energy source with the highest rate of support for both Democrats and Independents was solar (80% and 69% support, respectively), while Republicans favored nuclear power (59%).

“Though lesser-known technologies like renewable natural gas, hydropower or geothermal energy weren’t listed due to limited familiarity, respondents did have the option to enter their own alternative,” Maurice said.

As the state prepares for a new administration to shape the future of energy policy in New Jersey, residents want the focus to be on reducing utility bills for ratepayers. When asked the most important energy challenge for the state to address, the highest rate said reducing utility bills for residents (36%). This was the most cited for all partisan affiliations. Behind affordability was ensuring the reliability of the electric grid (19%), diversifying energy sources (16%), reducing emissions to meet carbon reduction goals (14%), and meeting new industry demands for artificial intelligence and data centers (5%).

Environmental considerations

Most New Jerseyans (60%) said it is very important (31%) or somewhat important (29%) to them that New Jersey takes steps to meet clean energy goals and become carbon neutral by 2035. One-third said that it is not too important (12%) or not at all important to them (22%).

When it comes to personal changes to reduce their carbon footprint such as driving an electric vehicle, only 1 in 5 residents (21%) said they are very likely to consider a hybrid or electric model when shopping for their next car, 24% said they are somewhat likely, and 48% said they are not too likely (14%) or not at all likely to consider one (34%, including 55% of Republicans and 40% of Independents).

Residents are split evenly on the economic impact of policies aimed at reducing the effects of climate change. Nearly one-third (32%) said these policies help the economy and almost the same rate (31%) said they hurt the economy. One-fourth of New Jerseyans said these policies make no difference for the economy.

You can find the full poll results here. 

Methodology

The poll of New Jersey residents was sponsored and conducted by the �鶹��ý��վ Polling Institute of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at �鶹��ý��վ. Data collection took place from June 18-25, 2025. A total of 606 New Jersey voters were interviewed. Responses were recorded via telephone or online in English. Overall, 94% of interviews were conducted on cell phones and 6% on landline phones. In terms of mode, 66% were reached via dialing with the survey administered by a live interviewer and 34% were reached via text-to-web. The live calls were conducted by Opinion Services. The text messages were sent by �鶹��ý��վ Polling Institute staff from the university’s Galloway campus and included a single-use link to take the survey online. All respondents passed various quality control checks to evaluate the quality of the data collected online. 

Both cell and landline samples consisted of random digit dialing (RDD) sample from MSG. Within-household selection is done by asking for the youngest adult. Adults without a telephone are excluded from the sample. The data was weighted to balance the sample demographics using iterative proportional fitting, also known as raking or random iterative method (RIM) weighting. Weights were based on U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 data for the adult population in New Jersey on variables of age, race, education level, and sex. The poll's margin of error is +/- 3.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The margin of sampling error is higher for subsets. Sampling error does not account for other potential sources of bias in polls such as measurement error or non-response.

About the Hughes Center

The William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at �鶹��ý��վ serves as a catalyst for research, analysis and innovative policy solutions on the economic, social and cultural issues facing New Jersey, and promotes civic life through engagement, education and research. The nonpartisan center is named for the late William J. Hughes, whose distinguished career includes service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ambassador to Panama, and as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at �鶹��ý��վ. The Hughes Public Policy Center can be found on , and can be followed on , and .