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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Energy Incentive Programs, Maine

Updated August 2011

What public purpose-funded energy efficiency programs are available in my state?

Maine's restructuring law provides for energy efficiency programs through a statewide charge of up to 1.5 mills per kWh. These costs are included in the rates of the local electric distribution utilities. Almost $15 million was spent in 2010 across all program types (including low-income and residential). These funds were augmented, starting in 2009, by Maine's portion of proceeds from the northeastern states' Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Efficiency Maine,a state-chartered corporation under direction from the Efficiency Maine Trust, administers efficiency programs for businesses and residents.

The following three programs may be of interest to federal customers:

  • The Efficiency Maine Business Program offers both prescriptive cash rebates (on high-efficiency lighting products, packaged air conditioners, and variable frequency drives) as well as customized incentives that are dependent on the energy efficiency work being done. No more than $300,000 of incentives can be received by a single customer over a two-year period. Pre-approval is required for most purchases.

  • Efficiency Maine offers a Special Program for Small Businesses, that includes an energy audit, technical and administrative assistance in identifying and bidding upgrades, and low interest loans for up to $35,000 to finance the project. A small business is one that has a peak monthly load of less than 25 kW.

  • Efficiency Maine sponsors the Building Operator Training and Certification Program, which trains and certifies building operators to optimize the operations of their facilities. Rebates for training are available upon successful completion of the program; additional rebates are available when an efficiency project is submitted. Efficiency Maine also offers a variety of other training.

What utility energy efficiency programs are available to me?

For information on Maine's electric utility energy efficiency programs, see the previous section. In addition, as a member of GasNetworks, Unitil also offers rebates of up to $15,000 for high-efficiency gas-fired space and water heating equipment.

What load management/demand response options are available to me?

The Independent System Operator New England Inc. (ISO-NE) offers its Demand Response Programs, which provide payments to electricity users for load reductions (of as little as 100 kW), either by reducing usage or by operating on-site generation during periods of high demand. Customers may participate in the program through any participating member ("Enrolling Participant") of the New England Power Pool, such as a utility company, power marketer, competitive energy supplier, or independent curtailment service provider (CSP). The Enrolling Participant is allowed to aggregate load to reach the quantity qualification limit, so customers interested in these programs with less than 100 kW to offer may want to contact their utility or other eligible party. ISO-NE offers several options:

  • The Real-Time Demand Response Program provides an opportunity for customers to receive payments for voluntarily responding to system emergencies. Participants are paid for actual load reductions, based on the higher of the real time zonal price or a guaranteed floor price ($350/MWh for customers that can respond within 2 hours and $500/MWh for those that can respond within 30 minutes). Participants may receive additional incentives by qualifying as an installed capacity (ICAP) resource for their load reduction capacity, although response to system emergencies then becomes mandatory. In order to facilitate notification of emergency events and verification of load curtailments, customers must have an approved Internet-Based Communication System (IBCS) installed. Participating customers must also have interval metering installed at their facility.

  • The Real-Time Profile Response Program provides remuneration to customers without interval metering for voluntarily responding to system emergencies. The enrolling participant must have the physical ability to interrupt loads at the customer's facility within 30-minutes' notice of a system emergency. Payment for verified load reductions is based on the real-time zonal price, with a $100/MWh floor price. Participants may receive additional incentives by qualifying as an ICAP Resource for their load reduction capacity, although response to system emergencies then becomes mandatory.

  • The Real-Time Price Response Program provides customers with the opportunity to receive payments for voluntarily reducing load during periods when the real-time zonal price is projected to be high. ISO-NE will notify participants either the night before or day of an event if the zonal price is expected to exceed $100/MWh ($0.10/kWh). Participants can voluntarily respond to the notification and submit load data to verify their load reductions. Payment for verified load reductions is based on the real-time zonal price, with a $100/MWh floor price. Customers must have interval metering installed at their facility to participate in this program.

  • The Day-Ahead Load Response Program is a more sophisticated variant of the Real-Time Price Response Program. Customers submit offers of hourly load reductions into the day-ahead market and are then notified by their enrolling participant if the offers are accepted. If so, the customer must drop load during the cleared hours but is remunerated by the greater of its bid or the actual clearing price for those hours. Customers must have interval metering installed at their facility to participate in this program.

ISO-NE's Forward Capacity Market (FCM) allows customers to bid their load reduction capabilities – whether constant (such as an indoor lighting retrofit project), seasonal (such as a new energy-efficient chiller plant), or dispatch able (such as a back-up generator or demand management action) – into a forward capacity auction that pits demand-side resources against supply-side ones. Bids that are accepted are paid the auction clearing price. These auctions take place periodically for commitment periods several years in the future. For instance, the first auction, for resources whose contribution to the grid began in June, 2010, took place in February, 2008. Future auctions are announced at the FCM web site.

What distributed energy resource options are available to me?

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) website provides information on programs in Maine that offer incentives for renewable distributed generation. The following programs may be of interest to federal customers:

  • The Maine State Energy Program's Solar Thermal, Solar Electric, and Wind programs provide financial incentives for solar heating, photovoltaic, and small wind energy installations. For commercial solar hot water or space heating, the program rebates 25% of the cost (or $1,000, whichever is less); for solar electric, the incentive is $2.00/watt for the first 1,000 watts. Qualifying wind installations can receive $1 per watt of capacity, up to $4,000.

  • The Maine Public Utilities Commission offers a Community-based Renewable Energy Pilot Program, which offers incentives for locally-owned renewable generation projects through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process. The 2011 deadline was May 31, but check the website for future RFPs and program status updates.

  • New Generation Energy offers a Community Lending Program that provides up to $100,000 at interest rates as low as 2.0%, to small businesses and nonprofit organizations for solar photovoltaic and solar thermal installations.

Are there energy efficiency programs sponsored by the state government?

For information on state-sponsored energy efficiency programs contact the Governor's Office of Energy Independence and Security.

What additional opportunities are available to me?

Federal customers whose utilities have area-wide supply contracts through GSA (e.g., Central Maine Power and Maine Natural Gas), may be able to take advantage of 3rd-party financed energy efficiency projects called utility energy services contracts (UESCs). Information is available on GSA's Energy Center of Expertise Library Page. Federal facilities should contact their account executive to determine the level of each utility's participation.

NOTE: Energy efficiency funds and demand response programs are updated at least annually. Please contact the FEMP webmaster if changes are needed between updates.