Maine is a participating state in the regional carbon cap-and-trade program known as RGGI. As part of its Triennial Plan for FY2023-FY2025, Efficiency Maine allocated 12% of its FY2023 RGGI revenues to its Low Income Initiatives to fund primarily home weatherization projects and heat pump water heater retrofits. When the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan (and the corresponding legislation LD 1733 - An Act To Provide Allocations for the Distribution of State Fiscal Recovery Funds) allocated $25 million in ARPA funds to EMT to support weatherization of low- and moderate-income homes, EMT backfilled the Low Income Initiatives budget and redirected RGGI funds to its other programs.

As part of its Triennial Plan for FY2023-2025, Efficiency Maine established program budgets that reflect the minimum funding allocations to low-income customers set forth in statute [see 35-A MRS §10110(2)(B)] and 35-A MRS §10111(1)(B)] and rule [see 95-648 Code of Maine Rules (CMR) ch. 3, §3(A)(2) and 95-648 CMR ch. 4, §3(2)]. For the Electric Efficiency Procurement (electric ratepayer funds) this allocation is 10%. For the Natural Gas Conservation Fund (natural gas ratepayer funds), this allocation is set at a reasonable percentage considering low-income consumers' share of gas load and the cost-effective opportunity available at their homes. For RGGI funds, the target allocation to low-income programs is generally around 10%. However, as mentioned above, when EMT received a significant influx of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act ($25 million) to support weatherization of low- and moderate-income homes, it redirected low-income RGGI funds to its other programs.

In 2019, the Maine Legislature passed LD 1766 - An Act To Transform Maine's Heat Pump Market To Advance Economic Security and Climate Objectives, establishing a goal to install 100,000 additional high-efficiency heat pumps over five years by 2025. The bill required the Maine State Housing Authority to include information in its annual planning process (for low-income weatherization programs) on targets and budgets related to the heat pump goal. Efficiency Maine also offered enhanced heat pump rebates for low- and moderate- income households. Through the combined efforts of these agencies, Maine met this goal two years ahead of schedule in 2023. The Governor then established a second goal of installing another 175,000 additional heat pumps in Maine by 2027. In 2020, the state's climate action plan ("Maine Won't Wait: A Four-Year Plan for Climate Action") built on this momentum, establishing a goal of having at least 115,000 households in the state wholly heated by heat pumps and an additional 130,000 households in the state partially heated by heat pumps by 2030. It also called for at least 15,000 new heat pumps in income-eligible households by 2025. The climate action plan also recommended doubling the current pace of home weatherization so that 17,500 additional homes and buisnesses are weatherized by 2025, including at least 1,000 low-income units per year. The state is tracking progress towards these goals on the Climate Action Plan dashboard - see https://www.maine.gov/climateplan/dashboard.

Efficiency Maine allocates funds from the Volkswagen Settlement and the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) settlement specifically for disproportionately underserved communities in Maine to receive enhanced rebates for level 2 charging stations. These investments are targeted in areas that are especially rural where there is a higher upfront cost. Efficiency Maine also allocates at least 40% of its National Electric Vehcile Infrastructure (NEVI) Program funds for EV charging stations to disadvantaged communities per the federal Justice40 requirements. Efficiency Maine funding received through a settlement related to the New England Clean Energy Connect project includes dedicated resources for low- and moderate-income households for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, weatherization, and electric vehicle rebates. Efficiency Maine tracks progress toward these investment goals and reports on them in its Annual Reports (available at https://www.efficiencymaine.com/about/library/reports/) 

All of the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and LIHEAP-Weatherization funds administered by MaineHousing are dedicated to low-income Mainers who meet the criteria for LIHEAP eligibility. The funds are allocated pro-rata across the nine regions served by CAP agencies in the state. In 2021, MaineHousing initiated a Cultural Advisory Board to provide feedback and recommendations for all our programs, in an effort to ensure equitable access and benefit to the communities they serve. Included in this group are organizations that serve Native Americans and immigrants from many cultural backgrounds. MaineHousing reviews the recommendations from this group to make decisions on programmatic changes that would better serve these communities. The goal for the SERC grant is to install 1,060 Heat Pumps to contribute towards Maine's Climate Action Plan goals. Using the BIL and DOE funds, MaineHousing plans to weatherize 125 multifamily units. Weatherization activities are full building envelope based on energy modeling.

Efficiency Maine has increased its engagement of low- to moderate-income customers and small businesses through targeted outreach regarding enhanced incentives for heat pumps and weatherization. For Low Income Initiatives, Efficiency Maine holds quarterly stakeholder advisory group meetings to engage organizations who serve low income households. Efficiency Maine invites nonprofit groups, native American representatives, state government and utility staff. The purpose of this meeting is to increase engagement with low-income Mainers. Under Low Income Initiatives, Efficiency Maine sends outreach material directly to eligible individuals as well as uses targeted digital ads and area-specific radio spots to broaden the reach. The program manager supplements these efforts with presentations to towns and affordable housing association members. For the Small Business Initiative, Efficiency Maine conducts targeted marketing and outreach efforts to reach small businesses, including direct mail and phone calls to eligible businesses; collaboration with local groups such as Climate to Thrive, The Nature Conservancy, and chambers of commerce; and public relations activities targeted at eligible participants. Another means of engagement come from the network of trade allies called Qualified Partners. These independent businesses are the primary marketers of the program—working with their existing customers and identifying new customers for energy-efficient equipment. For businesses that do not currently work with a contractor or a Qualified Partner, the Efficiency Maine website features an online search tool to easily put potential customers in touch with a Qualified Partner in their area. The Program Managers for Electric Vehicle Initiatives engage with the aforementioned quarterly advisory group, the Maine Climate Council Equity Subcommittee, and the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition to gather insight and raise awareness about low-income EV rebates and charging infrastructure opportunities. 

The Community Resilience Partnership assists communities to reduce carbon emissions, transition to clean energy, and become more resilient to climate change effects such as extreme storms, flooding, rising sea levels, public health impacts, and more through grants and techical assistance. A key component to reach these goals is to ensure that Maine’s climate response includes shared benefits across diverse populations of Maine people. Community Resilience Partnership grant applicants are asked to include robust community engagement in their action grant proposals. Knowing that climate change impacts will create the greatest hardships for already marginalized communities, communities must identify and promote solutions to help the people who are most vulnerable to climate impacts. Grant applicants are scored on their community engagement strategy and how the potential benefits of their proposed climate action project are distributed equitably. In addition, the Community Resilience Partnerhip awards addtional points to proposals from communities that score HIGH on Maine’s Social Vulnerability Index or are small in size, and therefore have limited capacity and resources.   

The Governor's Energy Office has also established the Clean Energy Partnership program to coordinate action and engagement accross government, industry, academia, and community partners to support the clean energy and energy efficiency industries in Maine. The CEP is led by GEO in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future (GOPIF), the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL), and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). Other partners include the Maine Community College System, the University of Maine system, MaineHousing and Community Action Programs, private companies, labor unions, nonprofits, municipalities, and State and local chambers of commerce, among many others.The CEP Advisory Group includes representatives from industry, labor, support organizations, training and educational institutions, and state government, and helps guide CEP program development and implementation. This work includes defining workforce needs, monitoring progress, advising adjustments, and designing future program development. Since the CEP was established in 2022, the Advisory Group has met on a quarterly basis. A list of Advisory Group members can be found on the GEO website. 

The GEO also made specific outreach efforts to gather input from key labor stakeholders. GEO staff meets regularly with industry associations and union representatives from construction crafts to discuss current capacity to train energy efficiency workers. The CEP also regularly engages with Career and Technical instructors and directors, and has convened focus groups and ad-hoc meetings at CTE centers across the state. The CEP integrates feedback from labor, community, and education partners into program design for existing and new programs to maximize benefits to community members.

Workforce Development

In order to support the increased demand for heat pumps and to promote quality installations, Efficiency Maine specified a curriculum for registered trainers that support heat pump installers and developed a training module on "heat pump basics" that is required for all heat pump installers working with Efficiency Maine's residential programs. Efficiency Maine provides other trainings and workshops to contractors working in its commercial programs and has started delivering building code training to contractors. Efficiency Maine's intent to continue these efforts is reflected in its new Triennial Plan (for Fiscal Years 2023-2025).

In 2022, the Maine Governor's Energy Office launched the Clean Energy Partnership to advance Maine’s clean energy, economic development, and workforce goals as outlined in the state climate action plan, Maine Won't Wait. The primary goal that the Clean Energy Partnership intends to achieve is to more than double Maine's clean energy workforce to 30,000 by 2030. This goal has an auxiliary effect of helping achieve additional climate goals such as heat pump adoptions and weatherization. The purpose of the Clean Energy Partnership is to prepare, expand, and support Maine’s clean energy workforce as well as supporting innovation of clean tech products and services. This initiative is supported by the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan, innovation funds, and additional funding sources designated for bolstering this effort (e.g., Congressionally Designated Spending, etc.).

Last Reviewed: November 2024