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  • Friday, October 16, 2020 4:40 PM | Adelaide Taylor

    Efficiency Maine has recently issued a Request for Proposal from qualified bidders (or teams of bidders) to host, purchase, install and operate public Level 2 EV chargers to serve electric vehicles (EV) at locations throughout Maine where there is a high likelihood of significant use and longevity.

     

    Qualifying bids must propose to install a minimum of 4 EV plugs (or ports) per location and a maximum of 8 EV plugs (or ports) per location.  Only customers of CMP or Versant may apply.  Efficiency Maine is particularly interested in bids from large employers, apartment managers, retail centers and other locations where there is a high probably of EVs parking now and in the future. Winning bids may receive up to $4,000 per plug.

     

    The full RFP and Application Form can be found here: https://www.efficiencymaine.com/rfp-em-005-2021/

     

    This is one of two pilot programs approved by the MPUC to promote the beneficial electrification of Maine’s transportation sector. See attached for a summary of the pilots.


    Summary_MPUC_L2_Chargers_Pilots_CMP_EMT.pdf


  • Thursday, October 01, 2020 7:11 PM | Adelaide Taylor

    Earlier this month CMP launched a Make Ready Grant Program for Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) chargers. 

    Central Maine Power’s Make-Ready Grant Program


    CMP’s process is designed to be easy to navigate from application to implementation. Our make-ready grant program launched in early September and the rolling application process will continue until all 60 charging ports are awarded.  



    This pilot will provide an incentive for Level 2 EV charger projects with a minimum of 4 charger plugs at eligible public, workplace, or multi-unit dwelling sites. Sites are eligible for an incentive of up to $4,000 per plug towards the cost of implementation services and make-ready infrastructure.



    Learn more about this pilot program and our simple application process. The evaluation process begins on October 1, 2020 and applications will be considered on a first applied – first reviewed basis until all 60 chargers have been approved. We encourage you to share this opportunity with your network!


    For More Information Contact:


    Peter Hinkley, 207-530-0181 Peter.Hinkley@avangrid.com

    Aaron Smith, 207-844-9202 Aaron.Smith@avangrid.com


  • Tuesday, September 22, 2020 10:43 AM | Adelaide Taylor

    September 22, 2020

    BELFAST, Maine

    PowerMarket, an employee-owned community solar management services company, has partnered with SunRaise, a New England solar energy developer, owner, and operator, to bring some of the first community solar projects to Maine. PowerMarket and SunRaise’s goal is simple: Bring locally produced clean energy to local residents and businesses. With the recent passing of community solar legislation in Maine, residents can now support renewable energy that is produced in the state while seeing guaranteed savings on their utility bill every month.

    Community solar is a renewable energy model that has seen success in states like Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island. Residents and small businesses in the same utility territory as a community solar project can subscribe to a portion of it. Subscribers receive guaranteed savings on their utility bill for the clean energy that their portion of the project produces and supplies to the utility grid. Subscribers are then billed for their portion of the project but at a discount for supporting clean energy - saving them money every month.

    PowerMarket has worked to help bring community solar and its benefits to Mainers. To support this effort, PowerMarket has created four new jobs in Maine. PowerMarket also seeks to help build Maine’s clean energy future by being a proud Sustaining Leader of E2Tech.

    “For many years, numerous states have seen the benefits of community solar thanks to the help of our PowerMarket team. We are excited to finally bring these benefits to the state of Maine as well. The recent momentum behind community solar in Maine means saving residents money while ensuring a better future for communities throughout the state. We are proud to be a part of the clean energy movement in Maine.” - Nick Baudouin, Co-Founder of PowerMarket

    While at first community solar can seem complicated, PowerMarket’s experienced team works to streamline the process so that subscribing to a community solar project is simple and easy. That is why SunRaise decided to work with PowerMarket.

    “We are excited to finally be able to provide Mainers with off-site solar power that is lower cost, clean, and local. PowerMarket has been a great partner in bringing some of our first community solar projects in Maine to life. Drawing on PowerMarket’s expertise in the community solar industry, their team helped our project launch go smoothly so Maine residents can simply sign up and enjoy the benefits of community solar. Just as it should be.” - Patrick Jackson, Co-Founder of SunRaise Investments

    All Central Maine Power customers are able to subscribe to these community solar projects where participants will not only be guaranteed 10% savings on the community solar credits they receive every month, but also support clean energy in Maine. Residents who are interested in becoming subscribers or those who have questions about community solar in Maine can contact PowerMarket at sunraise@powermarket.io or 207-280-8130. As some of the first community solar projects in the state, spots will fill up quickly so subscribers should act fast.

    About PowerMarket:

    PowerMarket works to make clean energy more accessible, affordable, and ubiquitous through community solar. We are a recognized market leader in providing subscriber acquisition, management & billing services to the community solar industry. Based in New York City, we manage over 20,000 subscribers—ensuring they are seeing utility bill credits, savings and the environmental impact of their participation. Since inception, we have put over $600,000 back in the pockets of our community solar subscribers. We are an advocate for our subscribers and have rolled out many programs across the Northeast with Low- and Moderate-Income (LMI) carve outs to ensure benefits are equally distributed to these communities.

    Company Website: www.powermarket.io

    Media Contact: Nick Baudouin


    About SunRaise:

    SunRaise Investments is a mission driven commercial solar energy owner, operator, and development group. We develop, finance, own, and operate large community solar energy projects. As a developer and owner, we are unique in that we can be the one party to bring your public or private property through permitting, interconnection, construction, financing, and operation, allowing property owners to enjoy a seamless relationship with one party. Lease your land or roof and receive long-term predictable revenue from SunRaise. We develop projects on farm land, roof tops, landfills, gravel pits, parking lot canopies, industrial sites, forested land and more. We invest in these solar projects so our electricity consumers don't have to pay the upfront cost of solar. Instead, we provide consumers with a low, stable electricity rate, significant savings, and environmental leadership. We choose to do this because we care deeply about our future. We are committed to a complete transition away from fossil fuels & towards clean renewable energy because it must happen now.

    Company Website: http://www.sunraiseinvestments.com/#home-3

    Media Contact: Patrick Jackson


  • Thursday, August 20, 2020 9:53 AM | Joe Brown

    Check out this compilation of celebratory videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meXLTOusgeE


  • Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:13 AM | Adelaide Taylor

    Portland, Maine, August 11, 2020 – ORPC, Inc., a global energy solutions company with expertise in microgrid development and marine renewable energy systems that generate power from free-flowing rivers and tidal currents, has selected Downeast Machine & Engineering of Mechanic Falls, Maine,­ to build the structural components for its second commercial RivGen® Power System device.­

    ORPC will install the device in Igiugig, Alaska, in 2021, as part of a multi-year project supported in part by funding to the Village of Igiugig from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technology Office and Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, as well as private investment.

    ORPC installed the first RivGen device, also constructed and assembled by Downeast Machine, in the local Kvichak River in 2019. When completed the Igiugig project will feature two RivGen devices, smart grid controls and electronics, and an energy storage system, resulting in baseload power supplied from renewable river energy and a 90% reduction in the community’s use of diesel fuel. 

    “The Igiugig-ORPC partnership is the model marine renewable energy project in the United States today and exemplifies a long-term and predictable renewable energy solution available to remote communities around the world,” said ORPC CEO, Stuart Davies.

    “We are very excited to, again, have the opportunity to work with ORPC in the manufacture, fabrication and assembly of a second RivGen device,” said Michael Bertrand, Project Manager for Downeast Machine. “These large-scale, fabricated assemblies are uniquely suited to our highly skilled fabricators and industrial-sized fabrication facility.”

    ORPC is Maine-based, with headquarters in Portland, an operations center in Eastport, and an engineering laboratory in Brunswick, where the Downeast Machine team will assist ORPC engineers with final system integration of the RivGen device. ORPC has a project office in Alaska, operates subsidiaries in in Montreal (ORPC Canada) and Dublin (ORPC Ireland), and is working with project partners in Patagonia, Chile. For more information, visit www.orpc.co.

    Downeast Machine’s headquarters is in Mechanic Falls and its fabrication facility is in Leeds, Maine. The company provides quality design, machining, fabrication, and industrial maintenance services throughout Maine and northern New England. The company was formed in 1979, and purchased its Leeds facility in 2011, retrofitting it using a Maine Rural Development Authority loan. In 2016 Downeast Machine became 100% employee owned. Its Leeds facility specializes in large fabricated drums, vats, tanks, and other products in stainless steel, high end stainless alloys and carbon steel, transforming plates of steel into fabricated, machined and painted fully finished and customer-ready products. For more information, visit https://www.downeastmachine.com.

  • Thursday, August 06, 2020 11:34 AM | Joe Brown
    • The demonstration project will consist of a single semi-submersible concrete floating platform that will support a commercial wind turbine (10-12 MW).

      • The floating hull technology (VolturnUS) was developed by UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center.

      • After winning funds from the US DOE and creating a successful prototype, UMaine and NEAV will move forward with this commercial scale project

        • UMaine will license its VolturnUS floating hull technology to NEAV

    • Positioned 14 miles off the coast of Maine

    • Objectives:

      • Further evaluate the floating technology;

      • Monitor environmental factors and;

      • Develop best practices for offshore wind to coexist with traditional marine activities. 

    • Construction is expected to be completed in 2023
    • The full press release can be found here: FINAL NEAV release not embargoed PDF Aug 5 2020.pdf
  • Monday, July 27, 2020 8:12 AM | Adelaide Taylor

    More than 13,000 Megawatts of solar power were installed last year in the United States, and ReVision Energy has been recognized by Solar Power World magazine for its contributions to the industry.


    ReVision, who has moved steadily up the national rankings since first appearing in 2011, achieved a rank of #15 of all residential solar installers, #14 of all rooftop solar installers, and emerged as #1 among rooftop solar installers serving Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont.

    In Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, ReVision ranks as the #1 residential solar + battery storage installer, as well as one of the top solar + storage installers in the nation.

    The Top Solar Contractors list is developed by Solar Power World to recognize the work completed by solar contractors across the United States. Produced annually, the Top Solar Contractors list celebrates the achievements of U.S. solar developers, subcontractors and installers within the utility, commercial and residential markets, and ranks contractors by kilowatts installed in the previous year. The 2020 list was released on July 21st.

    “The Solar Power World team is so pleased to highlight more than 400 companies on the 2020 Top Solar Contractors list, especially during this unprecedented time,” said Kelsey Misbrener, senior editor of Solar Power World. “All contractors featured on the 2020 list reported strong 2019 installation numbers and are continuing to stand tall this year.”

    This year’s Top Solar Contractors class is facing obstacles unseen in this industry before. The first quarter of 2020 was the country’s largest ever, with 3.6 GW of new solar capacity added. But COVID-19 will show its impact before the year’s end. Wood Mackenzie is forecasting the residential and non-residential markets will decrease 25% and 38%, respectively, in year-over-year installation volumes this year.

    “Throughout the data gathering process for the 2020 Top Solar Contractors list, we talked to many companies reporting busier schedules than before the coronavirus epidemic,” Misbrener said. “Coupled with an increased customer desire to add storage, we believe the installation market will continue to stay busy all year. Companies may be working remotely and a bit leaner, but the solar industry will push through.”

    ReVision Energy installed 22.7 megawatts of solar power in 2019, and has installed over 76.5 megawatts of solar since its founding. ReVision started as two guys in a garage, and now has over 250 employee-owners working out of 5 locations across Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

    https://www.revisionenergy.com/blogs/revision-energy-ranks-1-in-new-england/


  • Monday, June 29, 2020 1:47 PM | Joe Brown

    It's great to see two innovative Maine companies get this unique opportunity!!

    Check out the coverage by Mainebiz: https://www.mainebiz.biz/article/two-maine-startups-get-into-national-cleantech-accelerator-program

  • Friday, June 26, 2020 12:54 PM | Joe Brown

    Take advantage of Efficiency Maine's instant rebates for qualifying electric vehicles!

    Efficiency Maine is also a great resource if you looking for more information about electric vehicles and charging. Their website provides easy to understanding information about finding a charging station, which vehicles are eligible for their rebate, additional incentives for EV and charging, and more. Find out how to receive a tax credit on both your EV and home charging station, in addition to the instant rebate!!

    For more details go to: https://www.efficiencymaine.com/ev/electric-vehicles-and-charging-solutions/

    Follow Efficiency Maine on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on EV news and financial incentives!!

  • Wednesday, June 24, 2020 2:48 PM | Joe Brown

    Applications are now being accepted through June 30, 2020 for up to $60,000 in student loan debt relief for professionals who live in or relocate to Maine and are employed by a Maine-based business in the STEM-related fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

    For more information: https://www.famemaine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/AlfondLeadersHandout_wDisclaimer.pdf

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