When asked whether the administration is considering keeping the Oyster Creek nuclear plant open or allowing another reactor to be built in Salem County as part of the state's energy master plan currently being developed by the governor's office, Angie E. McGuire, deputy chief of the governor's Office of Economic Growth said that nothing is being ruled out.

"Alternatives need to be on the table," said McGuire. She pointed out that there has been very little new energy development in the state for years, and the state's energy needs are growing. "We are not excluding anything."

McGuire's comments came during a discussion of the state's energy master plan held as part of the 2007 New Jersey Clean Energy Conference put on by the state Board of Public Utilities.

The energy master plan, which is slated to be released this fall, is a blueprint of where the state expects to be getting its energy in the future and ways in which it hopes to conserve energy needs.

Nuclear energy currently accounts for about half of the state's electricity needs, according to the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute at Rutgers which has been studying energy patterns.

AmerGen, a subsidiary of Exelon Corp., is seeking a 20-year extension to its operating license for Oyster Creek, which expires in April 2009.

It and a plant in New York are the oldest nuclear power facilities in the nation. Many environmental and community groups have been arguing against the extension over safety concerns, including how to dispose of nuclear waste and how to protect the plant from attack.

Public Service Enterprise Group indicated earlier this year that it might consider building another nuclear reactor in southern New Jersey, where its Salem and Hope Creek facilities are located.

While the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission would have the final approval on building a new reactor or extending Oyster Creek's license, but the governor's support would remove a lot of roadblocks.

Environmental groups are pushing for Corzine to rely more on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and increasing energy efficiency in the energy master plan instead of developing nuclear sources.