Christie Touts Solar’s Benefits at Groundbreaking

New Jersey Gov. Christie has helped break ground on a Hackensack solar farm that will turn a brown field into green energy.

The Public Service Electric & Gas project is being built on a dormant site. Christie says such projects create jobs and are good for the environment.

This one will employ 65 union workers.

The Republican governor signed legislation a week ago to stabilize the country's second largest solar market, which has faltered.

Some environmentalists blame Christie for hat, saying his decision to pull out of a multistate greenhouse-gas reduction pact and divert hundreds of millions in clean energy funds to balance the state budget pushed the solar industry to near collapse.

They say Christie is more interested in how his policies play nationally than in supporting clean energy.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)