Need Your Group To Take Motion On Bold Local weather Objectives? Observe What Maine Does – CleanTechnica – Uplaza

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I reside in Florida, the place the governor has banned talking the phrases “climate change” — effectively, at the very least on the subject of governmental affairs. In response, a neighborhood meteorologist has vocalized his dismay. We on the bottom know what’ll occur subsequent to Steve MacLaughlin — he’ll be out on his ass. It’s the way it works right here in Florida, the Sunshine State that’s drowning as a result of coastal and septic flooding. Maine, alternatively, now presents climate-related, interdisciplinary skilled improvement for native training suppliers to use to companion with a community-based group.

What a distinction 1500 miles makes.

A metropolis in Maine is within the course of of creating a local weather fund that can draw from renewable power credit on its photo voltaic tasks. The State of Maine has labored with the feds to supply sensible siting for offshore wind to guard proper whales, launched a super-sized battery storage facility, checked out harnessing tidal energy for island communities, promoted battery storage for its electrical grid, and put in increasingly more warmth pumps in residences and companies than most wherever.

And that’s solely the beginning for Maine and its local weather agenda. Florida Governor DeSantis, disgrace on you.

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Maine Local weather Motion NOW! (MCAN) shaped in early 2019 to extend the influence of Maine’s main local weather motion organizations. In 2020 Governor Janet Mills introduced Maine’s Local weather Motion Plan. It contains all kinds of suggestions to create new jobs and scale back air pollution, together with sharp will increase in electrical automobiles (EVs) and residential warmth pumps, further help for renewable power tasks, help to enhance neighborhood resilience, and packages to guard pure and dealing lands throughout the state, which act as crucial carbon sinks.

Here’s a sampling of the local weather actions by which Maine is presently engaged. It’s fairly inspiring.

Local weather fund: Portland, Maine needs to help its local weather targets, however sustained funding is crucial to fulfill these targets. A proposed ordinance in Portland would set up a brand new 2025 local weather fund utilizing cash primarily from the sale of renewable power credit, or RECs, from city-backed photo voltaic tasks akin to on the Portland Worldwide Jetport and on the previous metropolis landfill. Proceeds from the sale of RECs would quantity to about $300,000 to $400,000 a 12 months — a great begin on many local weather actions. As reported by native impartial journalist Annie Ropeik, Portland’s fund may very well be used to pay a advisor to write down grants that would usher in federal funding. The cash may assist pay for consulting work on emissions-cutting or resiliency tasks, local weather grant-related prices or native matches, neighborhood micro-grant packages for climate-friendly enhancements, or different bills for town sustainability workplace.

Vitality storage: Houston-based Plus Energy is starting development on the Cross City 175 MW/350 MWh battery storage set up on the Gorham Industrial Park. When accomplished by mid-2025, it is going to be one of many largest power storage amenities in New England. The $100 million-plus challenge will characteristic 156 containers unfold throughout 5 acres with lithium iron phosphate batteries inside. One use for this battery storage is to alleviate congestion on southern Maine’s constrained electrical grid by absorbing and storing extra power as extra photo voltaic and wind comes on-line.

Warmth pumps: As soon as the folks of Maine realized they might save a substantial sum of money by switching to a warmth pump, they started putting in them in document numbers. The truth is, Maine blew by its unique goal of 100,000 warmth pumps by 2025 two years forward of schedule, and now Maine has set a brand new goal, one which plans to see one other 175,000 warmth pumps put in throughout the state by 2027. Warmth pumps are able to go mainstream throughout the US to interchange the fossil gasoline techniques ​“that we’ve used for the last 100 years,” stated Michael Stoddard, government director of Effectivity Maine.

Siting for offshore wind with proper whales in thoughts: The Last Wind Vitality Space (WEA) recognized for potential offshore wind improvement within the Gulf of Maine is essentially positioned away from habitats of upper significance to endangered North Atlantic proper whales. This sensible siting resolution will assist the business advance responsibly on this new offshore wind area. That is essential as a result of offshore wind improvement must keep away from and reduce harms to marine mammals and different species throughout improvement, together with by mitigation measures that scale back the chance from vessel strikes, noise air pollution, and habitat disturbance. Offshore wind is one hazard to proper whales: they’re are additionally being burdened by underwater noise air pollution and experiencing common malnourishment, ailing well being, and impaired copy, all whereas preventing to adapt to local weather change.

Vitality resilience: Eastport, Maine, sits 7 miles off the coast. The bridged island, related to the mainland by a single causeway, faces highly effective Atlantic Ocean winds and is inclined to disruptive energy outages. Unstable energy and excessive power prices had been among the many power resilience challenges that introduced Eastport to the Vitality Transitions Initiative Partnership Challenge (ETIPP) in 2021. ETIPP researchers analyzed the potential for incorporating tidal power and photo voltaic arrays to generate microgrid energy and the battery power storage system necessities to retailer this renewable power. Funding from the US Division of Vitality’s Energizing Rural Communities will help the set up of extra renewable power sources and a regional microgrid in Eastport.

Local weather training: The state says that local weather training is a vital element of supporting Maine’s local weather initiatives and targets. Maine is satisfied that local weather training can foster a technology of Mainers who’re able to tackle the world’s challenges and help all its communities. This pilot program shall be awarding grants for high-quality skilled improvement designed and carried out in partnership with community-based nonprofit organizations. Grant awards shall be accessible to all native training suppliers all through the state for pre-Okay by grade 12, with this system giving precedence to functions that serve traditionally underserved by local weather training communities.

Last Ideas About Maine & Its Local weather Motion Management

Peyton Siler Jones, the Portland-based interim director of sustainability with the Nationwide League of Cities, stated inventive approaches are important to creating long run funding streams for native local weather work. “Figuring out how to have those savings not just go to the general fund, but go to a special climate fund to continue to implement climate projects, is one example of an innovative solution,” she advised native reporter Ropeik. “It’s exciting to see that being something that can be scaled and replicated in smaller communities.”

A lot has occurred in just a few years. Mills signed an government order calling for a “clean transportation roadmap” to attain the state’s local weather plan purpose of accelerating the variety of EVs on the highway in Maine by 2030. Local weather Air pollution Discount Grant functions closed final month; recipients will implement greenhouse fuel emission discount and sequestration tasks with awards starting from $2 million to $500 million. On Earth Day, 2024, White Home representatives visited Scarborough and introduced $10.5 million in federal grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation that can fund tasks in York, Cumberland, and Washington Counties, together with $1.4 million for marshes, that are a pure barrier in opposition to storms however want room emigrate.

It took the help of key legislative leaders in Maine for MCAN and its associates to carry local weather motion actuality to the state stage and get essentially the most progressive local weather laws handed by any state at the moment. Many constituent teams are working alongside Mills’ administration to make Maine power impartial and internet zero by 2030.