State launches weatherization plan with $25M from Jobs & Recovery Plan

Courtesy / State of Maine Gov. Janet Mills, center, announced that the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan will provide $25 million in federal funds to Efficiency Maine Trust. Among those at the Thursday announcement were PenquisCAP Chief Executive Officer Kara Hay, Efficiency Maine Executive Director Michael Stoddard, and Matt Damon, co-owner of Penobscot Home Performance of Brewer, an energy efficiency company.

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By Staff

Green jobs and energy-efficient homes are top drivers for a new tranche of money going to Efficiency Maine Trust.

The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan will provide $25 million in federal funds to the independent agency, which is charged with improving energy efficiency across the state.

The money will go toward helping more Maine people weatherize their homes. The goals, the state said, are to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, save money on annual heating and electricity bills and support Maine’s 1,500 local energy efficiency businesses.

Gov. Janet Mills announced the award Thursday at General Insulation, a Brewer supplier of insulation and weatherization materials in Maine.

She was joined by PenquisCAP CEO Kara Hay, Efficiency Maine Executive Director Michael Stoddard, and Matt Damon, co-owner of Penobscot Home Performance of Brewer, an energy efficiency company.

Maine is the most heating oil-dependent state in the nation; Maine people and businesses spend over $4 billion every year to import fossil fuels.

“Through the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, we will expand incentives to help people weatherize their homes and keep more of their hard-earned money, and we will train more Maine people to work in our growing clean energy sector, creating new green jobs and strengthening our economy,” Mills said.

Career training

To continue Maine’s progress in embracing clean energy, Mills also unveiled a new Clean Energy Partnership backed by $5.5 million from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to provide career training opportunities, such as apprenticeships. The aim is to equip Maine people with the skills to fill good-paying jobs in the growing clean energy sector.

The announcement came after a report from the U.S. Energy Information Agency, which estimated the costs for nearly all home heating methods will go up this winter for reasons related to the pandemic and the worldwide economy.

“Efficiency Maine is ready to use these federal funds to help low- and moderate-income families improve the comfort of their homes by adding insulation, which is vital given the concerns about rising energy prices this winter,” said Stoddard. “We intend to start our outreach next week in the Bangor area, and prioritize projects in communities where weatherization projects will do the most good for Maine people, as quickly as possible.”

Investments in weatherization and workforce training is expected to help small businesses hire more local workers to complete energy retrofits and purchase more weatherization supplies from places like General Insulation, said Damon.

“Weatherization may not be as visible as other infrastructure projects, but it can lead to lasting, ground-up improvements in environmental and economic resilience — and represent the types of future-looking steps Maine and the country needs to take to mitigate the effect of climate change, spur economic growth, and create a sustainable future,” Damon said.

Dan Burgess, director of the Governor’s Energy Office, said the funding will support training and pathways for Maine people to enter the clean energy sector.

Assistance for residents

In addition to the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan investments, Mills said approximately $70 million is available this winter to help Maine people pay their heating and electricity bills, weatherize their homes, or receive emergency fuel deliveries through MaineHousing and local community action agencies like Penquis.

“With the projected increase in heating costs, this funding could not have come at a better time,” said Hay.

MaineHousing is using supplemental funding from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan to issue an additional Home Energy Assistance Program fuel assistance benefit to each of the more than 30,000 recipients from last year’s program, said MaineHousing Director Dan Brennan.

“In addition, we have allocated funds to our Community Action Agency partners for more home weatherization, central heating system repair and heat pump installations,” he said. “There are plenty of funds available, so we encourage those who are eligible for HEAP to apply if they haven’t done so already.”

For more information on winter heating season programs, click here.

Maine has adopted targets to reduce emissions, including becoming carbon-neutral by 2045.