Maine has ambitious targets for clean energy and carbon reduction. But more importantly, it is also the training of future workers.

A few years ago, Maine launched an ambitious plan to install 100,000 heat pumps across the state by 2025. The idea is part of the state’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The stoves and boilers used to heat most homes in the state run on oil or propane and release carbon dioxide into their chimneys as they work.
These detractors, mostly paid by the oil and propane industries, should be doing what they do best, scaring people with convoluted stories about how heat pumps keep them freezing in their homes when winter temperatures drop. This may have been true a few years ago, but heat pumps available today can heat a home even at -20°F outside temperatures.
When Maine residents realized they could save a lot of money every winter by switching to heat pumps (being able to cool their homes in the summer was an added bonus), they began installing heat pumps in record numbers. In fact, Maine reached its goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps by 2025 two years ahead of schedule.
Now that heat pumps have become a reliable way to heat homes in the winter, Maine has a new goal of installing an additional 175,000 heat pumps statewide by 2027. At the announcement ceremony for the new initiative, Maine Gov. Janet Mills said, “We are setting an example for the state. Our shift to heat pumps is creating well-paying jobs, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and reducing the burden on Myanmar. , The cost to the families of the state in creating more comfortable conditions at home is a hat-trick for our state.”

Heat pumps are poised to go mainstream in the US to replace fossil fuel systems. “We have been using this system for the past 100 years,” said Maine Efficiency chief executive Michael Stoddard. In February, Maine experienced the coldest temperatures in the state in 50 years, with chilly winds down to -60°F. The Maine Energy Efficiency Association has reached out to heat pump owners across the state to learn about their situation.​
“They reported feeling comfortable and warm,” he said.”So we know that [heat pumps] operate at very low temperatures.”
Researchers found that Maine heat pumps performed reliably in sub-zero temperatures during the winter of 2021, with customers expressing satisfaction. Thanks to their high efficiency, heat pumps also save money for the citizens of the state, especially now that the war in Ukraine has disrupted global energy markets.
Stoddard recently told Canary Media that more than 140,000 heat pumps have been installed in the state over the past decade. “If they don’t work properly in cold weather, we’re getting a lot of complaints right now,” he said. Instead, the group noted that “customer satisfaction is incredibly high.”
The promotion of heat pumps is good, but someone needs to be able to advise homeowners on which heat pump is right for their home and install it. In an effort to increase the number of qualified heat pump professionals in the state, the Maine Community College System developed a heat pump installer training program in 2019. Today, these programs provide the state with the technicians needed to meet the new goal of an additional 170,000 calories. Pumps by 2027.
“Inspired by Governor Mills’ clear call to take action on heat pumps in 2019, we immediately expanded the training lab, hired more instructors, developed a new short-term training program, and included new heat pump training modules in our degree and certification programs. “said David Daigler, dean of the Maine Community College System. “Today, I’m proud to say it works. Maine Community Colleges trained 558 heat pump installers, 60 percent of whom received short-term workforce training programs, further confirming why Maine Community Colleges are the best place to in-house training. flexible, responsive workforce.”
State community colleges will soon need to develop new training programs for offshore wind workers. Governor Mills has also set a goal for Maine to have all electricity come from zero-emission sources by 2040. Today, 72 percent of Maine’s electricity comes from hydroelectric power, wind power, and solar power. In an effort to move towards 100 percent renewable energy, the state has just passed a new law that will make it easier to build floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine. Due to the depth of the waters off the coast of Maine, the use of turbines installed directly on the ocean floor is not possible.
“To combat climate change and invest in Maine’s energy independence, our state is setting ambitious but necessary renewable energy targets. Clearly, these efforts will include offshore wind projects,” the bill’s author, State Senator Mark Lawrence, said in a statement. “If we know this is going to happen, we need to put up fences to make sure it’s done right and really benefits the people of Maine.”
The plan calls for the construction of 3 gigawatt floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine in areas not used by the state for fishing and lobster fishing. Sensitivity to the needs of both industries was key to getting legislation approved by the local coalition of 207 Maine Lobster and the Maine Building Trades Council.
Jack Shapiro, director of climate and clean energy at the Maine Natural Resources Council, told Canary Media that by 2040, 3GW floating wind farms could meet about half of Maine’s electricity needs. Electricity demand in Maine is expected to rise as more heat pumps and electric vehicles become available in the state.
Floating wind turbines present unique obstacles. They are more expensive to build. The technology is still relatively new, which means that the supply chain is just being created. The port facilities required for the assembly of buoys, cables and multi-leg platforms are still under construction.
According to the 2023 Global Wind Council report, about 80% of the world’s offshore wind resource potential is in areas where the water depth exceeds 60 meters (nearly 200 feet), which means they are not suitable for fixed bottom foundations.
“The floating offshore wind turbine will be an important part of achieving our climate and energy goals for all of us, not just in the United States, but around the world,” Shapiro said.”We’re thrilled that Maine can become a leader on the entire East Coast.”
California is often seen as the most ambitious state in the US with climate goals, but Maine is aiming to be a leader in clean energy and is using its community college system to prepare future workers for jobs in heat pump and wind energy technologies.
The most impressive thing about Maine preparing for the future is that it is moving forward with the support of all political parties and industry groups. Many jurisdictions have similar goals but are held back by resistance from those who feel they are being excluded from the planning process. Maine has gone to great lengths to garner community support for its ambitious clean energy and carbon reduction plans, and this is paying off by building and operating the needed technologies faster.
Steve writes about the relationship between technology and sustainability from his Florida home or anywhere the Force can take him. He prides himself on being “awake” and doesn’t care why the glass breaks. He believes what Socrates said 3,000 years ago: “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
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