The Maine Department of Energy Resources (MDER) announced Tuesday that a combined $1.2 million in grants have been awarded to three organizations to “support energy efficiency workforce training programs.”
Together, the programs being supported by these grants are expected to serve around 1,200 participants, including both those new to the field and existing professionals.
Funding for these grants comes from the United States Department of Energy Training for Residential Energy Contractors program.
Grant recipients included the Maine Community College System (MCCS), the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP), and the Maine Labor Climate Council.
With its $317,000 grant, MCCS will “expand the pipeline of HVAC technicians through career exploration, pre-apprenticeship, and short-term workforce training,” as well as offer heat pump installation training for existing HVAC professionals.
AESP will be using its $449,000 grant to “provide training and industry certifications for new and incumbent workers through a combination of a virtual statewide Learning Management System, eight statewide webinars, and six in-person hands-on training sessions.”
The $477,000 grant awarded to the Maine Labor Climate Council will be used to support apprenticeship programs, as well as “upskilling for incumbent workers.”
“We are excited to announce awards to three programs that will expand workforce training opportunities for Maine people in energy efficiency and building systems,” said Dan Burgess, Acting Commissioner of the Maine Department of Energy Resources.
“These investments will strengthen career pathways, support local businesses, and ensure Maine has the skilled workforce needed to meet growing demand for energy efficiency services across the state,” Burgess said.
Click Here to Read the Full Press Release
As mentioned by the Maine Department of Energy Resources in their Tuesday press release, Mainers are using increasingly less fuel oil to heat their homes, despite its continued position as the state’s most predominant heat source.
Thousands of new heat pumps have also been installed throughout the state in recent years, with the latest tallies indicating that more than 180,000 have been installed statewide.
Gov. Janet Mills (D) has largely attributed the state’s decreasing reliance on heating oil to her administration’s efforts to expand heat pump usage.
In 2011, Maine established statutory goals for the reduction of heating oil usage by 30 percent by 2030 from the state’s 2007 levels, and by 50 percent by 2050.
This latest round of grants on top of the $7 million that was already invested in “clean energy workforce development and innovation” for Maine since 2022.
