NJ-EQUIP: A Spatiotemporal Analytics and Visualization Portal to Advance Energy Equity

Energy burden, the proportion of household income spent on energy costs, disproportionately affects low-income and historically marginalized communities, yet existing tools to assess and address this issue remain limited in spatial resolution, interactivity, and public engagement. This paper presents NJEQUIP (New Jersey Energy eQuity User Interactive Portal), a novel web-based platform designed to advance energy equity through interactive, spatiotemporal data visualization and public sentiment analysis. NJ-EQUIP integrates municipal-level and county-level data with a dynamic Energy Burden Calculator, overlays of overburdened communities, as well as filters for key demographic indicators. It further incorporates sentiment analysis to track public discourse data on energy policies from 2018 to 2023. By merging geospatial analytics, ubiquitous computing principles, and AI-driven insights, the platform offers a scalable, user-friendly tool for decision support, guiding researchers, planners and policymakers. By combining geospatial analytics with machine learning-driven insights, NJ-EQUIP demonstrates a transferable model for promoting transparency and equity in energy transitions at a statewide as well as local level.