New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Wednesday laid out a vision for what she called an “all-of-the-above model” for controlling energy costs and increasing production in New Jersey — but demurred on any vision for offshore wind, once a cornerstone of her predecessor’s green energy plans.

Just a few years ago, offshore wind was set to transform New Jersey’s energy sector, with multiple gigawatts of wind power approved by state regulators. But that industry faltered as inflation rose after the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has effectively been halted by the Trump administration’s hostility to wind power.

On the debut episode of WNYC's “Ask Governor Sherrill” call-in show Wednesday night, Sherrill declined to lay out a plan for wind power while discussing steps to expand nuclear power and boost solar and battery storage development.

“If that makes sense in the future, New Jersey will move into it,” the governor said.

“The president has put a moratorium on all leases for offshore wind, which has effectively ended the offshore wind movement for now in New Jersey,” she added.

Sherrill's stance marks a stark departure from her predecessor, Gov. Phil Murphy, who used an executive order in 2022 to set a goal of generating 11 gigawatts of electricity — enough to power more than 3 million homes — from offshore wind for New Jersey by 2040.

Murphy pushed hard for the Garden State to reach that goal. Under his administration, the state Board of Public Utilities approved five wind projects for subsidies. Major international energy companies opened American headquarters in New Jersey. Training programs launched to prepare the industry’s new workforce. New Jersey invested hundreds of millions of dollars to turn South Jersey into a hub of offshore wind construction.

But the industry was rocked by pandemic-era supply chain issues and post-pandemic inflation. Ocean Wind, the first offshore wind project approved by the state, was originally slated to begin construction in 2023 and be online by 2025. Instead, parent company Ørsted scrapped the whole thing in late October 2023, citing overwhelming economic headwinds.

President Donald Trump’s return to the White House worsened offshore wind’s prospects. Federal regulators immediately halted any new lease sales and the approval of any new federal permits, leaving a number of New Jersey projects frozen in their early stages. One project, Atlantic Shores, had all of its approvals in place and was set to begin construction in 2024 despite facing the same economic problems. But it was also scrapped last year, after officials determined Trump’s policies made the work unviable.

Sherrill, during Wednesday's show, cited her administration’s moves to counter rising energy costs. She said her order to freeze utility rates and efforts to bolster energy production in New Jersey will bring much-needed relief to residents.

“If we’re really going to drive down costs, we need to expand generation,” she said.

The governor signed a new law earlier this month that effectively lifted New Jersey’s de facto 40-year ban on new nuclear power facilities. The law loosened coastal development rules in the Garden State to allow for nuclear energy construction in those zones.

All of the state’s existing nuclear plants — the trio of active facilities in Salem County and the decommissioned Oyster Creek plant in Ocean County — are in the coastal zone.

Building new nuclear power is a notoriously lengthy and expensive process. Sherrill said that New Jersey has certain advantages, including a qualified workforce, but that the federal government needs to create a national plan for nuclear power expansion.

The governor has said New Jersey needs to pursue a variety of energy sources to meet demand, which is being driven to record highs by the development of data centers. Along with opening the door to expanding nuclear power, Sherrill’s administration has taken steps to boost solar and battery storage development and indicated support for upgrading natural gas power plants.

Soaring electric bills are a top concern for New Jerseyans, and Sherrill campaigned on a promise to stop their rise.

She signed a pair of executive orders related to energy costs during her inaugural address. The orders direct the use of existing funds to subsidize electric bills, empower state utility regulators to say no to more rate increase requests, accelerate solar and battery storage programs and establish a state Nuclear Power Task Force.

Sherrill said her Day One executive orders and subsequent moves are meant to undo past actions that have inhibited New Jersey's energy supply growth.

“Every single time something went wrong, the costs went onto the back of New Jerseyans,” she said.

The proliferation of power-hungry data centers in New Jersey and across the region are a key driver of electric costs. Sherrill said her administration is working with developers to ensure new data centers are built with dedicated energy sources so that they don’t increase demand on an already strained regional grid.

“We do need them for running [artificial intelligence] and some of the high end innovation that we’re famous for in New Jersey,” the governor said. “We can't do it in a way that impacts people negatively and impacts the environment negatively.”

“Ask Governor Sherrill,” which WNYC produces in partnership with WHYY, WBGO and Montclair State University, will air bimonthly. Its next episode is scheduled for June 3.