Gov. Janet Mills and U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm spoke in South Portland on Sept. 18, 22024 with some of Maine’s housing and energy leaders about how investments in clean energy can help homeowners by lowering costs. (Photo by AnnMarie Hilton/ Maine Morning Star)
Gov. Janet Mills’ Farmington home was built circa 1840, and as old houses usually are, she said it can be quite drafty.
She’s looking to weatherize and take other steps to make her old home more energy efficient. But those efforts can be costly — even for the state’s chief executive — she said during a panel discussion with U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm Wednesday at the Revision Energy headquarters in South Portland.
During the event, Mills and Granholm announced a $36 million grant through the federal Inflation Reduction Act to help households across the state take steps to make their homes more efficient and lower energy costs.
“Those investments are truly going to make life better in Maine,” Mills said of the new grant, as well as other federally-funded projects to expand clean energy such as the forthcoming development of the world’s largest multi-day energy storage system in Lincoln.
Low income Mainers who live in manufactured homes, as well as people who own larger new construction multifamily buildings with lower-income tenants, will be able to access the rebates and are eligible for up to $14,000 in savings. To qualify as low-income, a household needs to be below 80% of the area median income.
In Maine, two in five households are “energy burdened,” which means they are spending more than 6% of their income on energy costs, according to data Granholm shared.
The new rebates will specifically help households install heat pumps, which are a cleaner alternative to furnaces and air conditioners and can help reduce energy bills.
While in office, Mills has encouraged the transition to heat pumps, setting a goal in 2019 of installing 100,000 heat pumps by 2025. That goal was met in 2023, so the governor set a new target of another 175,000 heat pump installations by 2027.
Mills’ administration said details of the rebates will be shared with housing developers and the Manufactured Housing Association of Maine to make sure those that are eligible can take advantage of the program. She emphasized that none of the rebate programs are required, but rather provide incentives for people who would like to install more efficient systems in their homes.
Maine has also applied for another $36 million grant that, if approved, will expand those rebates to middle-income manufactured homeowners and smaller new construction multifamily buildings.
Granholm said that additional money could be available by the end of the year.
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