PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 14, 2024
Maine’s quasi-state agency that promotes energy efficiency says the state is on track to reach its goals in electrifying buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In July 2023, Maine surpassed its goal of installing 100,000 new heat pumps two years early. Gov. Janet Mills set a new target of installing another 175,000 heat pumps in Maine by 2027. Maine will receive up to $72 million from Washington to install heat pumps for home heating and cooling and hot water heaters. But a business owner Thursday questioned a shift in a rebate program to incentivize electric pumps that heat an entire house, rather than a few rooms. The Maine Climate Council has set a goal of 487,000 homes – 90% of single-family homes in Maine – that will meet their entire heating load with electric heat pumps in retrofits and new construction.