Gov. Janet Mills made an Earth Day visit to a renewable energy company in Montville to announce a new initiative to promote clean energy jobs.
Revision Energy is the sort of business Gov. Mills says she wants to see more of. In 18 years, the solar power company has grown from two employees to nearly 300, in five offices across northern New England. Mills says she wants to create 30,000 clean energy jobs in Maine by 2030.
“The Maine Clean Energy Innovation Challenge, which we’re announcing today, makes available $500,000 from the Maine Technology Institute to clean energy startups that will expand clean energy technology, create jobs and combat climate change,” she says.
Mills says the initiative will help the state meet its climate change goals, which align with those just announced by President Joe Biden.
“As I announced to the United Nations General Assembly a year and a half ago, Maine will achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, and we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030, and by 80% by 2050, goals that are very similar, maybe not quite identical, but very similar to those goals announced today by the president and his staff,” she says.
The governor says investing in clean energy will save money for Mainers while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating well-paying jobs. She encourages clean energy entrepreneurs to contact the Maine Technology Institute for details on the program.