Maine communities get $2.4M in state funding for climate, energy projects
Some 54 communities across Maine will share $2.4 million in state grants for projects aimed at boosting climate-change readiness and energy efficiency.
The grants, announced Tuesday by Gov. Janet Mills, come through the Community Resilience Partnership, which has awarded nearly $8.5 million for projects in more than 150 communities since the state established the program in 2021.
“While Maine communities continue to recover from recent devastating storms, it’s vital that we strengthen vital infrastructure for future severe storms, expected to become more frequent with climate change,” Mills said. “These grants will help 54 Maine communities improve their resilience to intense storms and other impacts of climate change, reduce carbon emissions and boost energy efficiency.”
The latest grants follow severe storms in December and January that caused an estimated $90 million in damage to public infrastructure in Maine.
Communities receiving grants in the new round include Gouldsboro, which was awarded $50,000 towards the redesign and rebuilding of two roads that are essential to the town's working waterfront operations.
“The January storms damaged the causeway that connects the Corea Lobster Co-op to the rest of Gouldsboro and Maine. Keeping that causeway open is essential to Gouldsboro’s economic well-being,” said Bill Zoellick, chair of Gouldsboro's Climate Resilience Committee.
“The Community Action Grant funding through the Community Resilience Partnership enables Gouldsboro to undertake the engineering feasibility study we need to go beyond just patching the causeway. It gives us a way to find a solution that will be resilient as we prepare for sea level rise and bigger storms.”
Another recipient, Gardiner, will use a $50,000 grant to assess climate vulnerability within the city and its waterfront infrastructure, focusing on the locations hit hardest during the winter storms.
All 54 grant recipients are first-time awardees of the Community Resilience Partnership.
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