Maine is working on plans to allocate roughly $72 million in federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to help residents with energy and efficiency rebates.
Over one year ago, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, giving about $370 billion for investments across the country in clean energy and energy efficiency. The legislation provides about $4.3 billion for “energy-saving retrofits” and an additional $4.5 billion for efficient electric appliances and other supplies across the nation.
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The Department of Energy specifies that Maine can get about $36 million from each program and a minimum of about $11 million total for low-income households.
In 2019, Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) announced Efficiency Maine will offer heat pump rebates, with a goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps by 2025. Maine surpassed its goal and recently announced a new mark to reach, installing an additional 175,000 heat pumps by 2027.
“We are setting an example for the nation, and with our new and ambitious goal, we will continue to lead the way when it comes to embracing efficient, climate-friendly technologies that strengthen our economy, protect our environment, and save people money,” Mills said in a statement.
Officials are deciding how to issue new standards to make the rebates under the Inflation Reduction Act more accessible to residents. Under the law, those with the lowest income could get the highest rebate, which is currently $8,000 or 100% of project costs for heat pumps. The state wants to make the rebates more accessible to moderate-income households.
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Efficiency Maine Executive Director Michael Stoddard told the Energy News Network that Maine plans to focus the funds on multifamily buildings that could benefit from the heat pump rebates.
“What these IRA rebate programs enable us to do is expand and extend the number of customers that we can serve — but it’s not likely that it’s going to dramatically change the amount of incentive on any individual project,” Stoddard said.