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Municipal

Infographic demonstrating energy-efficient electrical machines powering a municipal.

Maine municipalities are often faced with budget pressures and high operating costs to maintain older municipal buildings that house town offices, public works garages, fire stations, and wastewater treatment facilities. Energy efficiency is a great way for municipalities to save energy and money, and improve comfort, safety, and maintenance costs in the process. Efficiency Maine offers incentives for energy efficiency upgrades.

  • Click here to learn more from our Municipal Resources Information Sheet.

  • Click here to view a copy of our Energy Efficiency for Municipalities and Schools webinar slides. 

Opportunities

Funding Opportunity Notice (FON) for Municipal Buildings

Efficiency Maine is seeking applications for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and water heating projects in municipalities with less than 10,000 residents. Click here for more information.

Solutions

Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC)

  • Municipalities can save money and increase equipment reliability by making energy-efficient choices when installing or replacing heating, cooling or ventilation (HVAC) equipment. Efficiency Maine offers incentives for:

    HVAC Solutions

    • Ductless Heat Pumps
    • Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Systems
    • Heat Pump Rooftop Units (RTUs)
    • Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs)
    • And more

    Click here to learn more. 

Lighting 

  • Municipalities can save by upgrading exterior lights (including parking lot and wall-mounted flood lights) and interior lighting (including overhead fixtures and screw-in LEDs). High-efficiency fixtures and lighting controls can enhance aesthetics while decreasing cost. Efficiency Maine offers incentives for interior and exterior high-efficiency lighting solutions including:

    Lighting Solutions

    • LED Retrofit Kits
    • New LED Fixtures
    • Exterior Lighting
    • And more

    Click here to learn more.

Electric Vehicles 

  • Qualifying battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are eligible for instant and mail-in rebates at participating dealers or by purchasing them directly from the manufacturer. 
    Click here to learn more. 

Water Heating

  • Municipalities can reduce water heating costs by upgrading to high-efficiency water heating systems and choosing a system that meets each building’s needs.
    Click here to learn more. 

Plug Loads

Managing plug loads is another significant electricity-saving opportunity for Maine towns. Consider purchasing ENERGY STAR® certified equipment when next updating office equipment, which is 30-75% more efficient than standard equipment. In addition, there may be opportunities to power down some equipment when not in use in public safety buildings, garages, and other facilities. Learn more about managing plug loads with ENERGY STAR®.

Water and Wastewater Treatment

Water and wastewater treatment facilities require significant energy to power pumps, run aeration systems, exchange air, and control other operations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. According to the US EPA, water and wastewater treatment accounts for 35% of a typical municipal energy budgets. To help reduce these costs, Efficiency Maine’s custom program offers incentives a wide variety of tailored energy efficiency projects, including:

  • Variable Frequency Drives for motors
  • Combined Heat & Power (CHP) Systems
  • High-efficiency pumping and aeration equipment
  • Automated controls

Custom Solutions

Don’t see your energy solution listed above? Efficiency Maine also offers incentives for customized, site-specific energy solutions, including building envelope upgrades, combined heat and power installations, and more. Click here for more information on the Custom Program.

Municipal Lease

This finance initiative of the Efficiency Maine Green Bank is designed to help municipalities and schools afford the remaining project cost after an Efficiency Maine rebate. Participants can finance these co-pays through a non-debt finance vehicle known as a “municipal lease.” The Efficiency Maine Green Bank pairs Efficiency Maine program participants with private, Maine-based lenders that provide this type of financing. Click here for more information. 

Get Started

Find a Qualified PartnerReady to upgrade your facility with high-efficiency equipment and appliances? Work with an Efficiency Maine Qualified Partner in order to be eligible for these incentives. See our Qualified Partner video for more information on this process.

Click here to find a Qualified Partner working near you. If you work with a contractor that is not yet a Qualified Partner, urge your contractor to find out more information here. As part of the project approval process, you will accept the C&I Prescriptive Program’s Terms and Conditions. 

If you’re interested in getting started with an energy efficiency project in your business but don’t know where to start, you can sign-up for a virtual customer consultation here.