Maine Governor's Energy Office

Last week GEO staff Dan Burgess, Allison Rand, and Caroline Colan visited Aroostook County to meet with local constituents, businesses, and public utilities. It was great to meet with William Schofield of Van Buren Light and Power, which was awarded a grant through GEO's grid resilience program to replace antiquated poles, distribution lines, and switching equipment while also training apprentice line workers. We also visited Mi'kmaq Farms in Caribou, which received a grant from the Maine Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future's Community Resilience Partnership to expand solar energy generation to power their tribe-owned fish hatchery which distributes fish to tribal members and community food pantries. #resilience #solar #gridmodernization #cleanenergy #climatechange #solarenergy #communityresilience

Looking for a job in Maine clean energy policy? GEO is hiring! The Policy and Regulatory Analyst is responsible for coordinating and supporting the office's efforts related to utility regulatory engagement, grid modernization, and electric sector transformation that is needed to enhance affordability and resilience and meet Maine's clean energy and climate objectives. Applications are due by August 29, 2024. For more information, visit this page: https://lnkd.in/eHSw6sxR #hiring #gridmodernization #job #jobopening #cleanenergy #policyanalyst #cleanenergyjobs #mainejobs #mainecleanenergy #electricgrid #maine #energypolicy #climatejob

Governor Janet Mills yesterday announced that the State and the Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have agreed on a floating offshore wind research lease in the Gulf of Maine, a key milestone in the State's efforts to advance floating offshore wind research and promote responsible offshore wind development. The agreement follows BOEM offering a research lease to the State earlier this year. The research lease site will host the nation's first floating offshore wind research array. Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/e5KBdNxQ

Next Thursday, August 22 at 2pm, small and mid-size businesses in Maine are invited to join the Maine Governor's Energy Office, Efficiency Maine Trust, and the U.S. DOE Manufacturing & Energy Supply Chains Office (MESC) for an informational webinar on relevant federal funding opportunities and state energy efficiency programs. The webinar will delve into how the federal government is supporting manufacturing in America as well as funding opportunities and state energy efficiency incentive programs available to manufacturing firms in addition to water treatment facilities, controlled environment agriculture facilities, and other industrial sector businesses. Register here: https://lnkd.in/g_bG8_pP

Governor Janet Mills, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Senator Angus S. King, Jr., and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a $147 million grant award to support a novel and innovative multi-day energy storage system developed by Form Energy in Lincoln, Maine to enhance grid resilience and optimize the delivery of renewable energy. The project, at the site of the former mill site in Lincoln, would be the first of its kind in New England and the largest long-duration energy storage project in the world to date. The award is part of a $389 million regional grant to New England states funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law -- supported by Maine's Congressional Delegation -- to strengthen the regional electric grid and advance the deployment of clean energy. https://lnkd.in/env8XbDd

Did you catch Maine Calling yesterday on Maine Public? GEO's Director Dan Burgess joined the panel discussion along with Michael Stoddard from Efficiency Maine Trust and Maine State Climatologist Sean Birkel. The show covers climate change, the increased need for air conditioning, and the rise of heat pumps as efficient alternatives to window units for cooling and dehumidifying. Fortunat Mueller from ReVision Energy and Rebecca Lincoln from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention also called in to join the conversation. You can listen to the show here: https://lnkd.in/eSffZcSi

The Maine Governor’s Energy Office today announced $2 million in grant awards to expand or establish six clean energy workforce training programs in Biddeford, Portland, Freeport, Augusta, Orono, and Oxford Hills. Federal funding to support these awards was made available through congressionally directed spending secured by U.S. Senator Angus S. King, Jr. and Representative Chellie Pingree via the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration.

Governor Janet Mills today announced $6.6 million in grant awards to six Maine utilities and technology providers to deploy electrical grid resilience projects in Maine communities. The awards, selected through the Maine Grid Resilience Program with funds awarded to the state under the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants, will improve the resilience of Maine’s electrical grid to better withstand extreme storms while enhancing clean energy deployment and job opportunities. The funds will be administered by the Maine Governor's Energy Office and come as communities in Maine recover and rebuild after extreme storms this past winter and spring. https://lnkd.in/em3JJe4M DOE Grid Deployment Office U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Governor Janet Mills announced yesterday that Maine and four other New England states will receive a total of $450 million in federal funding to accelerate the adoption of heat pump technology in residential single-family homes and multifamily buildings across the region. Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island were selected for the $450 million grant through the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, which is funded through the Federal Inflation Reduction Act. Maine's share of the award is estimated to be between $45 million and $72 million, which will be awarded to the Maine Governor's Energy Office and administered by Efficiency Maine Trust. #heatpumps #energyefficiency #federalfunding #heatpump #hvac https://lnkd.in/eQyFJ4Pt

A great offsite planning meeting this week with the Maine Governor's Energy Office team - thank you to TechPlace, Brunswick Landing’s technology incubator, for hosting us!