Maine Climate and Energy

Background

ENE is incorporated in Maine and regularly represents environmental concerns at the Maine Legislature and agencies such as the Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine...
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Energy Efficiency as a Resource

Maine is pursuing many opportunities to expand conservation and other clean or demand-side resources as part of the near- and long-term solutions to the energy crunch.

Efficiency programs must be an important piece of the solution to Maine's energy challenges. Efficiency programs are tested, cost-effective, and hugely successful. LD 1485: An Act Regarding Maine's Energy Future was designed to help to advance the efficiency solution through two important measures:

• A Heating Fuel Efficiency and Weatherization Fund, which will remedy the lack of energy efficiency and weatherization programs available to Maine businesses and residents seeking help to manage their heating bills; and,
• Efficiency Maine Trust, a revised administrative model for efficiency programs in Maine that will improve efficiency and effectiveness while also providing a stronger system of checks and balances to make sure these funds are well spent.

See ENE's testimony in support of new energy legislation and bill summary for more information.

Maine's recent progress in implementing efficiency policy helped rank it among the top 10 on the American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy's State Energy Efficiency Scorecard.

The Efficiency Maine Trust (EMT) worked with expert consultants, industry leaders and other stakeholders –including ENE- to develop its first 3-year plan for expanding efficiency programs in Maine.  The plan calls for investments in cost-effective resources for all fuels and customers. The Public Utilities Commission is reviewing the plan.

See the proposed Triennial Energy Efficiency Plan at the EMT Web site.

Building Energy Efficiency

Maine took another important step to reducing energy demand by updating its building codes. The legislature passed LD 2257, which sets energy efficiency standards for all residential construction, establishes real enforcement of the codes, and institutes novel approaches to raise consumer awareness of building energy performance.

Renewable Energy

Climate

Maine is one of the founding members of the nation’s first mandatory greenhouse gas cap and trade system, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Through the auction of RGGI allowances, the program has raised millions of dollars for Maine clean energy investments, the majority of which is designated for energy efficiency program expansion, with the remainder primarily to other clean energy programs.

• ENE’s RGGI Auction Tracker shows a detailed breakdown of ME and other states’ auction revenues and expenditures.
• LD 1851: An Act to Establish the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Act of 2007 full text and fact sheet.
• See ENE’s RGGI page for more materials and analysis.