Maine
Incentives/Policies for Renewables & Efficiency
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Last DSIRE Review: 06/16/2009
| Incentive Type: |
Public Benefits Fund |
| State: |
Maine |
| Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: |
Solar Thermal Electric,
Photovoltaics,
Wind,
Biomass,
Hydroelectric,
Geothermal Electric,
Fuel Cells,
Municipal Solid Waste,
Tidal Energy
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| Applicable Sectors: |
Residential,
Nonprofit,
Schools,
Rural Electric Cooperative,
Institutional
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| Types: | Renewables |
| Total Fund: | Dependent on voluntary contributions by electric customers and revenues from the RPS alternative compliance payment |
| Charge: | None (contributions are voluntary) |
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Web Site: |
http://www.efficiencymaine.com/
renewable_programs_voluntary.htm
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Authority 1:
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35-A M.R.S. § 3210
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| Date Enacted: | 1997 (subsequently amended) |
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Authority 2:
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CMR 65-407-312
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| Date Enacted: | 12/15/1998 (subsequently amended) |
| Date Effective: | 12/20/1998 |
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Authority 3:
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HB 1038
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| Date Enacted: | 06/12/2009 |
| Date Effective: | 07/1/2010 |
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Summary:
Note: The Efficiency Maine Trust Act (June 2009) establishes a new entity, the Efficiency Maine Trust, which will be responsible for Maine's energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. All of the funds in the Renewable Resource Fund will be transferred to Efficiency Maine Trust July 1, 2010.
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. This fund is known as the Renewable Resource Fund. The PUC has 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 must notify its customers of the existence and purpose of the fund, the means to contribute to the fund, and summaries of projects that have been supported by the fund. Another potential source of revenue for the fund is the state's renewables portfolio requirement. Utilities may pay an alternative compliance payment (ACP) in lieu of procuring renewable resources to meet portfolio requirements; ACP income supports the Renewable Resource Fund.
The fund supports grants for renewable-energy research and development to the University of Maine System, the Maine Maritime Academy and the Maine Technical College System; and grants for renewable-energy demonstration projects to Maine-based nonprofits, consumer-owned electric transmission and distribution utilities, community-based nonprofit organizations, community action programs, municipalities, quasi-municipal corporations or districts, and school administrative units. The first funding solicitation was issued in 2003. As of July 1, 2007, the Renewable Resource Fund contained approximately $400,000.
The PUC administers the fund and must report to the Joint Standing Committee of the Legislature every year by December 1. The annual report includes a description of commission actions, accounting of total deposits and expenditures from the fund, and a description of any research and development or community demonstration projects that received funding. Click here to view the 2008 Voluntary Renewable Resource Fund Annual Report.
Background
In 2007, Public Law 403 established the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) alternative compliance payment, the revenues of which are added to the Renewable Resource Fund. LD 36 expanded funding eligibility to additional types of organizations and transferred management of the fund from the State Planning Office to the PUC.
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Please note: The information on the DSIRE web site provides an overview of incentives and other policies, but it should not be used as the only source of information when making purchasing decisions, investment decisions, tax decisions or other binding agreements. Please refer to the individual contact provided in each record to verify that a specific incentive or other policy is applicable to your specific project.
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