Rebates

Efficiency Maine offers a variety of home energy loans to help customers pay for energy upgrades. Maine homeowners can borrow up to $7,500 over 10 years with interest rates fixed at 5.99% APR. There are no additional fees associated with these loans.

Eligibility

Participant:

• Homeowners of any income (businesses are not eligible)
• Borrower must be a Maine resident
• Minimum credit score depends on loan type
• Maximum debt-to-income ratio depends on loan type
• No recent bankruptcies, foreclosures, or repossessions, depending on loan type

Building:

• Located in Maine, PACE loans only available in PACE Towns

Upgrades:

• Required: an upgrade eligible for a

Efficiency Maine offers a $50 rebate for the purchase of ENERGY STAR-certified clothes washers. See the program website here for the mail-in rebate forms. Efficiency Maine also offers various discounts at Home Depot, Lowe's, and Granite Group for the purchase of ENERGY STAR certified heat pump water heaters. Heat pump water heaters bought anywhere else qualify for a $850 mail-in rebate. See the Heat Pump Water Heater Incentives page for details.

Efficiency Maine works with lighting manufacturers, retailers, and distributors to reduce the prices of energy-efficient lighting products statewide. Find the best light bulb retail prices here.

In addition, in partnership with Maine Libraries, Efficiency Maine has made free electricity monitor loaners available for Maine residents to borrow from all of Maine’s libraries. The monitors plug into electrical outlets and then a consumer plugs an appliance into the monitor to find out how much electricity it uses.

Maine's public benefits fund for energy efficiency was authorized in 1997 by the state's electric industry restructuring legislation. Under the initial arrangement, the administration of certain efficiency programs was divided among the State Planning Office (SPO), the state's electric utilities, and the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC). However, as a result of the 2002 legislative amendments, the authority to develop energy efficiency programs was effectively transferred from the SPO to the PUC, and the authority to implement these programs was transferred from the state's electric utilities to the PUC.

In 2009, the Act Regarding Maine's Energy Future (Public Law

Maine's public benefits fund for renewable energy was established as part of the state's electric industry restructuring legislation, enacted in May 1997. The law directed the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to develop a voluntary program allowing customers to contribute to a fund that supports renewable energy projects. The fund is now part of the Efficiency Maine Trust. 

Funding Sources

The PUC adopted rules requiring the state's utilities to offer customers the option of supporting the fund by checking off a contribution of $1, $5, $10, or other amount each month on their electric bill. Every six months, each utility

Efficiency Maine administers a rebate program that offers instant and mail-in rebates for qualifying battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) at participating dealers or through direct purchase from a manufacturer. Rebates are listed below; rebates for individuals vary based on income and rebate limits vary as well:

Individuals

- New BEV: $2,000 (Any Income), $3,500 (Moderate Income), $7,500 (Low Income)

- New PHEV: $1,000 (Any Income), $2,000 (Moderate Income), $3,000 (Low Income)

- Used BEV/PHEV: $2,500 (Low Income)

Businesses/Organizations

- New BEV: $2,000

- New PHEV: $1,000

Governmental Entities/Tribal Governments/Select Non-Profits

- New BEV: $7,500

- New PHEV: $2,000

Click here for more information.

In November of 2019, Governor Mills signed Executive Order 13, which requires state agencies to develop and implement a sustainability plan to meet or exceed the states renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction timelines and targets. It further requires the procurement of environmentally preferable products and services, encourage practices that lead to less wasteful workplaces and account for climate change projections when designing or siting new facilities or projects. The full text of the executive order can be found here.

Maine Statutes Title 5, Section 1764-A also requires that plans and designs for the construction of new or substantially renovated

Residential and Commercial Green Power Purchasing

Maine Green Power allows Maine electric customers to choose clean, local renewable energy for their home or business. When you sign up, you will see an additional line item charge on your monthly utility bill for participating in Maine Green Power. The Maine Green Power Program matches the purchase amount with Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs, that are produced in Maine. For more information, or to enroll, visit here.

Government Green Power Purchasing

In 2003, Maine's governor established a goal for the state government to buy at least 50% of its electricity from

The Maine Public Utility Commission (PUC) adopted interconnection procedures in January 2010; the rules were last updated in 2020. These rules apply to all transmission and distribution utilities operating in the state and apply to all distribution generation (not just renewables). Maine's interconnection procedures, based in part on the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's. 2006 Model Interconnection Procedures,* identify four different tiers with corresponding technical screens. These are:

• Level 1: Small certified generating, inverter-based facilities 25 kilowatts (kW) or less;
• Level 2: Certified facilities 2 megawatts (MW) or less;
• Level 3: Non-exporting, certified facilities 10 MW or less;
• Level 4: Any generating

Note: In 2010, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which has authority over mortgage underwriters Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, directed these enterprises against purchasing mortgages of homes with a PACE lien due to its senior status above a mortgage. Most residential PACE activity subsided following this directive; however, some residential PACE programs are now operating with loan loss reserve funds, appropriate disclosures, or other protections meant to address FHFA's concerns. Commercial PACE programs were not directly affected by FHFA’s actions, as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not underwrite commercial mortgages. Visit PACENation for more information about PACE financing

Note: The Federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate (HEAR) Program. The IRA established the main parameters for this program but allowed the states to customize the program to meet their state-specific needs. The program is designed to award rebates for purchase of qualifying home electrification equipment and appliances. Residents earning less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) can receive the full rebate amount, and residents earning between 80% and 150% AMI can receive a partial rebate. See summary below and program website for complete details.

Maine’s HEAR program focuses itself on electrifying

Community Solar in the state of Maine is governed by by P.L. 2019 c. 478, P.L. 2021 c.390, and Chapter 313 of the Public Utility Commissions (PUC) rules. These rules govern the state's Net Energy Billing (NEB) Policy. Under NEB there are two programs which customers can participate in "Community" or shared renewable projects, a kWh credit program, which is available to all electric utility customers, and a tariff rate program, which is available to non-residential customers.

Net Energy Billing kWh Credit Program

The kWh program allows customers to choose to participate in a larger project on a

Legislation enacted in 2009 directed the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to develop a program offering green power as an option to residential and small commercial customers in the state. The PUC issued rules in October 2010 and issued an RFP. The PUC selected a company, 3 Degrees Group, Inc., to manage the statewide green power program for Maine, which launched in April 2012. 

The program purchases renewable energy certificates from qualified Maine renewable resources on behalf of Green Power customers. The program seeks to obtain 25% of its power from Maine Class I renewable energy projects that have been

Maine law requires that any municipal ordinance, bylaw, or regulation adopted after September 30, 2009 regulating solar energy devices on residential property follow certain requirements. The rules, bylaws, and regulations of homeowner associations (HOAs) must also follow these requirements. Specifically, these legal instruments may not prohibit a person from installing or using a solar energy device (including a clothesline or drying rack) on residential property owned by that person. In the case of a leased/rented property, the policy protects the renter's right to use a clothesline or drying rack.

The municipal reviewing authority may, to protect and ensure access to

Much of the information presented in this summary is drawn from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program and the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP). For more detailed information about building energy codes, visit the DOE and BCAP websites.

The Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code includes the statewide minimum requirements that all new construction and additions to existing buildings must satisfy. Exceptions include log homes, manufactured housing, post and beam or timber frame construction, and warehouses or silos used to store crops. The commercial requirements apply to all new commercial and institutional construction. 

Legislation enacted in

Note: This model ordinance was designed to provide guidance to local governments that wish to develop their own siting rules for wind turbines. While it was developed as part of a cooperative effort involving several state agencies, the model itself has no legal or regulatory authority.

In 2008, the Governor's Task Force on Wind Power Development issued its final report. One of the Task Force's recommendations was that the State Planning Office (SPO) develop a model wind ordinance for use by local governments to help facilitate wind development in the state. The SPO completed the model wind ordinance in August

Maine offers two compensation options for customer generators and subscribers to community solar projects. Any customer may participate in the Net Energy Billing kWh Credit Program, but only non-residential customers can participate in the Net Energy Billing Tariff Rate Program. 

Net Energy Billing kWh Credit Program

While being called “net energy billing,” the Net Energy Billing kWh Credit Program functions like traditional net metering. Production and consumption are netted on a monthly basis. Excess kWh’s remaining at the end of a billing period are applied to the customer’s next bill as a kWh credit. At the end of a 12-month

Maine's original Renewable Resource Portfolio Requirement was passed as part of the state's 1997 electric utility restructuring law. In 1999, Maine's Public Utility Commission (PUC) adopted rules requiring each electricity provider to supply at least 30% of their total electric sales using electricity generated from eligible renewable and certain energy efficiency resources. At the time of passage, the required percentage of renewable energy was actually lower than the existing percentage supplied. In 2019 Governor Mills signed legislation (L.D. 1494) that increased Maine’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 80% by 2030 and set a goal of 100% by 2050

Efficiency Maine's Small Battery Management program gives residential and small commercial participants with existing and new battery systems $100/kW of average discharge during demand response events. The incentive is paid annually in December.

View the program manual for more information.

Maine offers a property tax exemption for solar and wind energy equipment generating heat or electricity, as long as all of the energy is (1) used on-site where the property is located or (2) transmitted through the facilities of a transmission and distribution utility, and a customer or customers receive a bill credit for the energy produced.

Maine allows for the creation of easements to ensure access to direct sunlight. Instruments creating a solar easement may include, but are not limited to, a description of the space affected by the easement; any terms or conditions under which the solar easement is granted or will be terminated; and a map showing the affected properties and the area protected by the easement. Solar easements must be created and will be recorded and indexed in the same way as other conveyances of real property interests.