Gas-powered cars may soon become a thing of the past in New Jersey.

Gov. Phil Murphy said last week that starting in just over a decade the state wants all new cars on sale to be fully electric.

The Democratic governor hopes it will contribute to reaching 100% clean energy across the Garden State in 12 years instead of 27 years and help tackle climate change as an issue statewide.

The latest announcement was part of the state’s new goals. Although Murphy did not sign an executive order, his administration said it is working with legislators this year to codify the goal into law.

It comes on the heels of California adopting its own 2035 EV rules.

But while plugging in to fuel up is not new to New Jersey, drivers here are likely chock-full of questions: How much will switching to an electric vehicle cost? Do we have enough charging stations in the state? What if I don’t want to go electric?

We spoke with an expert, an advocate, as well as state and local officials, about whether this transition is doable and what New Jersey needs to do to make it possible.

As of December 2022, there were 91,000 electric vehicles registered in New Jersey, said Caryn Shinske, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

That’s up from about 80,000 registered EVs last June but represents just 1.5% of the approximate 6 million total registered vehicles statewide, according to figures provided by the DEP and the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission.

“The (DEP) estimates that 4.5 million light-duty EVs will have to be registered in New Jersey to meet 100% new EV sales by 2035,” said Shinske.

Aniruddh Mohan, a distinguished postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, said increasing electric vehicles on roads will come down to overcoming obstacles like infrastructure and affordability.

“There are of course going to be a lot more challenges ahead in terms of infrastructure, particularly EV chargers,” Mohan said. “I think that’s really the biggest thing that needs to be addressed in order to get consumers to adopt this.”

No. Well not yet.

New Jersey has 911 public electric vehicle charging locations and 109 private locations, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s alternate fuels database (which does not account for at-home charging ports). That’s compared to more than 16,000 in California, which is home to 30 million more people.

Among New Jersey’s 23 Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike service areas, eight currently have electric charging stations and half of those locations only currently work if you have a Tesla.

Of the two service areas on the Atlantic City Expressway, one — the Frank S. Farley Service Plaza — has four “general use” fast electric vehicle charging stations which were activated last summer, according to a South Jersey Transportation Authority spokesperson.

It’s important to note, Mohan said, that not all of those charging stations have “fast chargers.”

The U.S. Department of Energy says fast chargers fuel EVs up for 100 or more miles in as few as 30 minutes.

“The other issue with that is of (the New Jersey) fast chargers, 75% of those are actually Tesla superchargers and Tesla’s network is mostly restricted to Tesla vehicles,” Mohan said.

It’s welcome news then that Tesla last week indicated it will open up about 7,500 Tesla chargers (3,500 of which are “fast”) to all other EVs by the end of 2024.

New Jersey — as it has outlined in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan — plans to have 400 fast chargers and 1,000 Level 2 chargers in place across New Jersey by 2025. Level 1 ports add 2-5 miles of range per hour of charging and Level 2 adds 10-30 miles per hour of charging, according to federal officials.

The plan also calls for fast chargers to be installed every 50 miles along major state corridors and every 25 miles between major roadways. Where those figures stand as of now is unclear.

Last March, Murphy also released guidelines to help municipalities prepare for more electric vehicles. Commitments have been made by the state to install 24 charging stations at six state parks and in forests in New Jersey.

Besides installing more chargers, some electric vehicle drivers said in December that if not for upfront costs they could see more drivers make the switch.

According to automotive price advisor, Kelley Blue Book, the average price for a new electric vehicle in August 2022 was more than $66,000. But that’s above the industry average and more in the realm of luxury prices, Cox Automotive says. In the fall of 2021, the average price of an EV was about $56,000.

NAACP NJSC Environmental & Climate Justice Chairman Marcus Sibley said many residents have “made it clear that even with the rebates, they still can’t afford an electric vehicle.”

Sibley himself, a supporter of clean energy alternatives, has wanted to go electric but charger access and sticker prices have gotten in the way.

“We understand and appreciate these efforts by the administration to prioritize energy sources that don’t simultaneously cause health implications for our most vulnerable residents,” Sibley said. “But we’ve also learned that sometimes urgency illuminates hypocrisy.”

Mohan said the issue of equity surfaces again when it comes to the dearth of chargers in some areas of the state.

“So, it’s easier if you live in a single-family home … you can install a slow charger for your vehicle in your garage. But for example, if you live in an apartment complex, like a multi-unit dwelling, then it becomes a lot more challenging. So, we need to think about charging access in that scenario,” Mohan said.

On average, the cost to install an electric vehicle charging station at home can range from $250 to $4,500 depending on the voltage and charger preference, according to used car retailer Carvana.

Mohan highlighted that with more carmakers expanding their fleets to include electric vehicles and battery costs (”Batteries are the most expensive part of the electric vehicle”) going down, the proposition of switching will likely appeal to more New Jerseyans in the coming years.

An incentive program for owners of multi-unit dwellings is also available.

EV drivers have said finding a charger on a road trip can come down to navigating several apps.

On a federal level, the Biden Administration hopes to provide relief here by pairing the 500,000 publicly electric vehicle chargers it looks to have installed nationwide by 2030, with a centralized online hub to find them. It’s unclear exactly what this will like look but Mohan said a single app would make sense.

“The other issue that I’ve encountered is that a lot of times you go to a charging station, and it’s actually not available, it’s not been serviced or under maintenance or something,” Mohan said. “And it’s not actually on the app that it’s under maintenance or not available so a lot of times EV chargers are not working and you don’t know that beforehand.”

As of now, it’s difficult to tell, an expert said.

“New Jersey is located in the PJM Interconnection, that’s the electricity system that we are in. So it depends on the grid in the PJM, at any given point of time of the day that you’re charging, and so on,” Mohan added.

That the state’s new EV goal has been announced in tandem with upgraded clean energy goals by 2035 will only help. “So, if you get 100% clean electricity and EVs, then you’re, of course, wiping out all the operational emissions in comparison with combustion engine vehicles,” Mohan said.

However, in the future many people may be charging simultaneously and opting to do so overnight which should be kept in mind as the state considers impacts to the grid, he said.

“The energy system undergirds every aspect of our society. So doing a transition like this is going to be complex in its nature … we are putting in the infrastructure that is needed,” Jane Cohen, executive director of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy said during a teleconference with reporters last week.

“For example, the electric vehicle infrastructure,“ she said, “we’ve made huge strides in that, especially over the last 18 months, and we will continue to do so.”

If you don’t want to go electric because you already own a gas-powered car (or prefer public transportation), you won’t have to swap out your vehicle.

But the state hopes to make EVs an appealing option for new buyers and anyone on the fence.

Murphy administration officials said in a statement that in addition to New Jersey not having a sales tax on EVs, funds from other sources are expected to get more electric vehicle drivers on the road and make their transition smooth with more charging availability.

Besides the up to $4,000 you can access through an ongoing incentive program, New Jerseyans can take advantage of up to $7,500 in tax credits from the federal Inflation Reduction Act.

Since 2019, the state has awarded more than $240 million for electric vehicles and more charging access, said Bailey Lawrence, a spokesman for Murphy.

The first phase of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s New Jersey Zero-Emission Incentive Program — which launched in 2021 — provided more than $39 million in vouchers for 370 zero-emissions vehicles in Newark, Camden, New Brunswick and parts of the Jersey Shore.

State officials said another phase will open “in the coming weeks” for businesses to receive between $20,000 to $175,000 depending on vehicle class.

California has something to do with it.

New Jersey has followed the zero-emission path laid out by the Golden State since as early as 2004 when it signaled plans to reduce gas emissions by new cars on sale.

Under the federal Clean Air Act, administrators in Murphy’s office said in a teleconference that New Jersey must either follow zero-emission vehicle standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the state of California.

The California Air Resource Board’s newest rule affects only new passenger and light trucks on sale. Anyone behind the wheel of a combustion engine-powered car will not be pulled over for doing so in 2035 and the new rule does not impact used gas car sales.

New Jersey has yet to outline exactly how a law here would look but state officials said in a statement it would apply to “all new cars and light-duty truck sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.”

More details and information on public forums where residents will have a chance to share their thoughts on this proposed transition are expected before the end of this year.

Have a question about electric vehicles or charging stations in New Jersey you want to ask? Email srodas@njadvancemedia.com.

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Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @stevenrodasnj.