Maine is launching a new home energy rebate program designed to help certain low-income homeowners purchase and install heat pumps. Gov. Janet Mills said the program aims to cut energy bills and help the state meet its climate goals.
Mills announced the new program at ReVision Energy in South Portland on Wednesday, alongside the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
Mobile home owners who make below 80% of the area median income are eligible for up to $14,500 toward the cost of heat pump installation.
Governor Mills said it's part of an overarching goal of reducing the state's dependence on heating oil, which she said was costing homeowners billions of dollars when she first took office.
"I think about $4 or $5 billion a year out of pockets, and into the pockets of big oil and gas companies out of state," Mills said.
The program is funded by $36 million from the federal Inflation Reduction Act, passed by congressional Democrats and signed by President Biden in 2022.
Granholm said the program helps fill gaps in Maine's existing heat pump incentives.
"One of the areas you wanted help on is making sure that we were able to give people who live in manufactured housing and mobile homes the ability to access this," she said. "That wasn't previously available, and now it will be."
Mills said the money will help the state meet its goal of installing 175,000 new heat pumps by 2027.
Affordable housing developers can also qualify for the rebates, and a second round of federal funding will expand income eligibility for the program next year.
Homeowners can verify eligibility and apply for the rebates at efficiencymaine.com.
Earlier in the day, Mills and Granholm visited a new 55-unit affordable housing development for seniors in Westbrook, highlighting the property as an example of efficient design.
Stroudwater Apartments features several energy-saving design components, including heat pumps, rooftop solar, and highly insulated windows.
MaineHousing helped fund the development. During a tour of the building, director Dan Brennan said it represents the agency's emphasis on reducing energy consumption across its portfolio.
"This one is, you know, one of the more energy efficient buildings we've done, and it's nearly completely electric. So this is very typical of what we hope to be building year after year after year," Brennan said.
Brennan said the building uses about 25%-to-30% less energy than a typical MaineHousing development from a decade ago.
The new rebate program offers incentives to developers to build more properties like Stroudwater, through rebates on heat pump installation in new affordable housing developments.
