Governor Mills Announces Maine to Receive Significant Federal Funding to Expand Heat Pumps

Maine is expected to receive up to $72 million out of $450 million in Federal funding to New England states to advance heat pump deployment and support Governor Mills' goal of installing another 175,000 heat pumps in Maine by 2027

Governor Janet Mills announced today that Maine and five 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.

The five northeast states -- Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island -- were selected for the $450 million grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, which is funded through the Federal Inflation Reduction Act.

In total, the award will support the installation of 580,000 heat pumps across the five states. Maine's share of the award is estimated to be between $45 million and $72 million, which will support installation of highly efficient heat pumps, for home heating and cooling, and heat pump hot water heaters. The funds will be awarded to the Maine Governor's Energy Office(GEO) and be administered by Efficiency Maine.

"Maine's nation-leading transition to heat pumps is creating good-paying jobs, curbing our reliance on expensive and harmful fossil fuels, and cutting costs for Maine families. This significant award will continue our momentum and ensure folks across Maine, particularly those in rural Maine, stay comfortable and safe in their homes and save them money in the process," said Governor Janet Mills. "I thank the Biden-Harris Administration for this funding and for its support of our work to expand the use of heat pumps to lower energy costs, strengthen our economy, and protect our environment."

"Maine has set an example for the nation on how efficient, climate-friendly technologies like heat pumps can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs and support new businesses, and save people money on their heating and cooling bills," said Hannah Pingree, Director of the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and Dan Burgess, Director of the Governor's Energy Office. "This award from through the Inflation Reduction Act will ensure Maine can meet our ambitious target of 275,000 heat pumps installed by 2027, and we thank the U.S. EPA and our partner states for their support of this important initiative."

"For the good of the Maine economy, and in order to meet the ambitious goals of Maine's climate action plan, it is imperative that we grow our programs to scale up the adoption of heat pump technology," said Michael Stoddard, Executive Director of Efficiency Maine. "The funding from the Carbon Pollution Reduction Grant comes at a critical juncture as Maine seeks to ramp up its programs."

The multistate proposal, called the New England Heat Pump Accelerator, will prioritize collaboration and information-sharing between states and will be made up of three main hubs:

• The Market Hub will boost participation in the states' existing heat pump programs by engaging manufacturers, distributors, and contractors to drive sales, ensure adequate stocking, and promote quality installations of heat pumps that are well-suited to New England's climate and housing stock. The Market Hub will also train New England contractors on cold-climate heat pumps and the value of whole-home electrification with efficiency.
• The Innovation Hub will support heat pump adoption among low- and moderate-income households. States will execute up to two large-scale, multi-year projects, such as heat pump strategies for multifamily buildings and mobile homes and heat pump technologies to address specific housing barriers.
• The Resource Hub will be a central portal where distributors, contractors, program implementers, and other stakeholders in the heat pump supply chain can access important data and educational resources.

Maine's success in installing heat pumps has earned wide recognition for how the high-efficiency heating and cooling technology works well in rural areas with cold climates and can generate new economic and workforce opportunities for Maine people.

In July 2023, Maine surpassed its goal of installing 100,000 new heat pumps two years early. Governor Mills then set an ambitious new target of installing another 175,000 heat pumps in Maine by 2027, bringing the number of heat pumps installed in Maine homes, businesses, and public buildings during her time in office to 275,000.

Earlier this year, Governor Mills announced that Maine received a $10 million grant through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support a new program to install heat pumps in 675 mobile homes -- among the first programs of its kind in the nation.

On May 8, the Governor announced clean energy jobs in Maine have surpassed 15,000, and the clean energy sector grew to contribute $2.31 billion to Maine's economy in 2022, according to an independent report (PDF) released by GEO. The report also found that the energy efficiency sector, which employed over 8,600 people in 2022, is the largest and fastest growing sector within the state's clean energy economy.

GEO this year has also launched the Maine Clean Energy Jobs Network, a new online clearinghouse that connects jobs-seekers with Maine-based clean energy employers and workforce training programs.

While overall reliance on heating fuels has decreased in recent years, Maine still remains the most heating fuel-dependent state in the nation with 56 percent of households reliant on delivered fuel as their primary heating source.

Since taking office, Governor Mills has prioritized action against climate change in Maine through reducing carbon emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, and making Maine communities more resilient to climate effects.

In 2019, with bipartisan support of the Legislature, Governor Mills enacted laws setting ambitious targets for transitioning to renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These include reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Maine by 45 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050 and transitioning Maine's electricity use to 80 percent renewable energy by 2030.

In 2023, Governor Mills committed to accelerate Maine's transition to using 100 percent clean energy by 2040, a move to have climate-friendly technologies in Maine -- such as heat pumps -- powered by clean electricity. The Governor's Energy Office is currently developing a state energy plan to meet that goal.

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