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Case Studies
Transportation Program . Industrial Maintenance Program . Solar for Maine Churches
 Transportation Programs - COMPLETED
We have recently completed three transportation projects in partnership with Maine Clean Communities, Greater Portland METRO and with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. All three grants involve transforming vehicle fleets in the Portland area from diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG), providing dramatic improvements to air quality in the Greater Portland area. As of January 10, 2007, the City of Portland was redesignated as in attainment of meeting all national ambient air quality standards. CNG buses reduce ozone-forming pollution by more than 30 percent relative to a new diesel bus engine and by over 45 percent relative to diesel buses built before 1990. A CNG bus also emits 90% less harmful particulate matter than a conventional diesel bus and is more than 98 percent cleaner than older diesel buses. They are also much quieter. Portland currently has a fleet of 13 transit buses, and part of its school bus fleet all powered by CNG.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Station
 Maine Clean Communities Clean Cities Coalition has a goal of displacing petroleum and improving local air quality by developing a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling infrastructure. A grant of $147,500 from the Department of Energy, through the PUC’s Maine State Energy Program, helped Greater Portland METRO obtain permits and partner commitments to develop a publicly accessible CNG fueling station that can be used by area motor vehicle fleet operators. The station has been sized to accommodate a full fleet of 25 CNG transit buses plus several additional vehicles from other fleets. It features dual compressors for redundancy (this being the first and only CNG station in Maine) and an uninterruptible power supply for expedited restart in the event of a power failure.
 Fleet Conversion
The Maine Clean Communities grant of $192,500 from the Department of Energy, through the PUC’s Maine State Energy Program, is also in partnership with Greater Portland METRO and worked to reduce demand for petroleum and improve local air quality by facilitating the conversion of local fleets from diesel or gasoline to cleaner burning natural gas. The grant provided the incremental cost of five (5) of the first thirteen (13) new Compressed Natural Gas low-floor transit buses for the Greater Portland METRO. MSEP Special Project funding was critical to the success of creating Maine's first CNG powered fleet.
METRO fleet’s average fuel consumption is 32 gallons of diesel per day per bus. The amount of diesel to be displaced by the five grant related buses will therefore be on the order of 56,000 gallons per year based on 350 operating days. The amount of natural gas that will be used instead will be approximately 7.5 million standard cubic feet per year.
For More Information
Please contact Please contact Shirley Bartlett at Shirley.Bartlett@maine.gov, Efficiency Maine Program Manager at the Maine Public Utilities Commission, at (207) 287-3318 or Steve Linnell, the Coordinator for the Maine Clean Communities, Greater Portland Council of Governments, at (207) 774-9891 or by email at: slinnell@gpcog.org.
Maine Clean School Buses
 Through the Public Utilities Commission ’s Maine State Energy Program, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in Collaboration with Maine Clean Communities and Portland Public Schools was awarded a $96,810 Department of Energy grant for the incremental cost of three compressed natural gas school buses for the City of Portland's Public School System (PPS).
By using the METRO CNG Fueling facility, Portland's school buses are helping build a sustainable alternative fuel market through the public and private Clean Cities partnership. School buses purchased with DOE funds also display a Clean Cities decal to increase awareness and acceptance of alternative fuels in the community.
According to fleet data provided by PPS, the replacement of three diesel buses with CNG displaces approximately 7,221 gallons of petroleum per year. Annual natural gas consumption for the three CNG buses is in the vicinity of 974,835 SCF.
For More Information
Please contact
- Shirley Bartlett, Efficiency Maine Program Manager at the Maine Public Utilities Commission, at (207) 287-3318 or by eMail at Shirley.Bartlett@maine.gov
- Lynne Cayting, the Mobile Sources Section Chief at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, at (207) 287-7599 or by eMail at lynne.cayting@maine.gov
- Steve Linnell, the Coordinator for the Maine Clean Communities, Greater Portland Council of Governments, at (207) 774-9891 or by eMail at slinnell@gpcog.org.
Industrial Maintenance / Energy Management Technology Program
This initiative, funded through the U S Department of Energy’s Special Projects Grants, developed a post secondary degree program in Industrial Maintenance/Energy Management Technology piloted at two community colleges in Maine - Northern Maine Community College (NMCC) and Southern Maine Community College (SMCC). Both colleges are fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges with a primary mission to prepare students for immediate employment or further higher education.
This initiative relied on a consortium of eleven partners that includes the two community colleges and industry representatives from the two regions of the state served by the colleges. It will also include the Partnership for Environmental Technology Education (PETE), the Maine Department of Education, Department of Education - Applied Technology Centers - Voc Tech, and the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) Maine State Energy Program. Direct industry involvement helped ensure that the programs and courses developed are relevant to specific industry needs and that program graduates are prepared for future employment in the manufacturing industry.
The new curriculum emphasizes industrial energy efficiency, alternative energy use, optimizing system controls, along with productivity improvement and will be customized to address specific regional industry needs. Based on a national projection, most firms can achieve a minimum 20 -30% decrease in energy use with appropriate energy efficiency techniques and technology that represents significant reduction. A new cadre of trained energy technicians and/or training of existing workforce are needed to assist in the reduction of energy use, assuring the most energy efficient operation and maintenance of the energy systems.
Million Solar Roofs - Solar for Maine Churches - COMPLETED
Maine has more sunlight in the winter than the rest of the Northeast and has an enormous potential for widespread adoption of solar energy technologies.
Objectives
From spring through November 2005, Efficiency Maine contracted with the Maine Energy Investment Corporation to implement the project “Solar for Maine Churches”. This project was funded by the Maine State Energy Program trough a small grant from the US Department of Energy’s “Million Solar Roofs” program, and sponsored jointly by Maine Interfaith Power and Light and the Maine Council of Churches.
With the active outreach and assistance by outreach partners Anne D. Burt (MCC) and Christine James (MeIPL), six SMC workshops were completed by November 2005. These 2-part workshops presented an overview of solar thermal and solar electric systems to Maine congregations, with an emphasis on the societal and conservation benefits of solar energy. Site-specific information gathered from site assessments and information concerning the Governor’s Solar Incentive Program and federal tax credits gave congregations the information they needed to make informed decisions about solar energy options for their buildings.
While, individual congregations are assessing the potential of solar for their houses of worship, as of the end of 2005, two of the seven participating congregations had active efforts underway to implement a solar energy solution for their congregation.
For More Information
Please contact Shirley Bartlett, the Efficiency Maine Program Manager at the Maine Public Utilities Commission, at (207) 287-3318 or by eMail at shirely.bartlett@maine.gov.
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