Enigin Update - State of Maine to Spend $180 Million on Energy Efficiency
The US State of Maine is preparing to spend $180 million over the next three years on a far-reaching plan to help businesses, amongst others, use less energy.
The scheme will greatly expand energy efficiency programs, along with meeting the 20-year legislative target of weatherising every half of the businesses and all the homes in the state. That legislation also aims to cut consumption of electricity and natural gas by nearly one-third over the next 10 years, and use of heating oil by 20 percent. Officials are calling it the most ambitious energy-saving goal in the United States.
The three-year plan is the first working document of a new, independent agency called Efficiency Maine Trust. The trust was formed to consolidate the state's efforts to reduce its dependence on petroleum fuels.
Members of the Legislature's Utilities and Energy Committee were given a special presentation on the 96-page plan Monday. But as lawmakers prepare to adjourn for the year, it remains to be seen whether state government can muster the resources and political will to fund the plan over time.
Much of the plan's money would come initially from federal stimulus funds. The one-time government cash would be supplemented by a small charge that electricity customers already pay on their bills. That surcharge now generates roughly $14 million a year.
Taken together, the plan's actions would save consumers an estimated $810 million over the three years. They would cost each Maine resident $48 a year, and pay back $4 for every dollar invested, said Michael Stoddard, a Portland attorney who last month was named the trust's first executive director.
After the presentation, Stoddard said conservation and efficiency measures under way now with federal stimulus funds are just starting to produce results that people can see.
Specifics of the plan are likely to change as the Efficiency Maine Trust gets up and running.
Enigin Distributors in the US have the solutions at their finger tips to help businesses in Maine and across the whole of the US to become energy efficient, save money and reduce harmful emissions.
