On June 17, 2022, Maine Governor Janet Mills and Efficiency Maine announced a new $15 million initiative to help Maine’s schools, towns, cities, and Tribal governments make energy efficient improvements and reduce their energy costs. This new energy efficiency initiative is funded by the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan. Recipients can use the funding to switch to high-efficiency heat pumps, upgrade lighting systems to LEDs, and improve refrigeration equipment. While decreasing carbon emissions, this initiative will also reduce costs for Maine taxpayers and increase Maine’s energy security. Since 2019, more than 60,000 new high-efficiency heat pumps have been installed across Maine to address the state’s dependency on heating oil and reduce harmful carbon emissions. The state’s climate plan has targeted installing 100,000 new heat pumps in Maine by 2025. More information about this new initiative can be found here.