Mills, MTI launch $500K grant competition to spur clean energy development in Maine
Photos / Office of the Governor
In December, Gov. Janet Mills and Kwasi Kwarteng, the United Kingdom’s minister of state at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, signed agreements pledging collaboration between Maine and the UK on clean energy R&D. Maine is trying to further the R&D with the launch of a $500,000 grant competition.
The Governor’s Energy Office and the Maine Technology Institute are launching a $500,000 competitive grant program to fund clean energy startups, in an effort to spur job growth and reach the state’s goals for addressing climate change.
Gov. Janet Mills announced the Maine Clean Energy Innovation Challenge in a media event held Thursday, Earth Day, at the Montville headquarters of solar power company ReVision Energy.
The program will award at least two grants to companies for “innovative proposals aimed at developing advanced clean energy technologies or services” in Maine, according to the MTI website. Examples include projects related to energy generation, energy efficiency, clean transportation, energy storage, data or software for energy management and more.
However, selection criteria, timing and other details about the Innovation Challenge aren’t available yet.
As part of the state’s plan to mitigate climate change, Mills has pledged that Maine will increase workforce development and be home to 30,000 clean energy jobs by 2030.
“With the Maine Clean Energy Innovation Challenge, we are stepping up our support for clean energy entrepreneurs to help them create these jobs and fight climate change at the same time,” she said in a news release.
But while Maine has adopted some of the nation’s most ambitious clean energy and climate goals, reaching them is another matter.
Investment in research and development, a key element in a technology-driven sector like clean energy, has ranked among the lowest in the nation. And Maine currently has among the fewest clean energy jobs per capita in New England, behind Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island, which all have some of the country’s most.
Vaughan Woodruff, director of the ReVision Energy Training Center, said, “We applaud the Innovation Challenge as a way to help a new generation of Maine companies thrive. The bold climate and clean energy actions by the Mills administration are driving demand for a new generation of professionals who can live and work here in Maine.”
Brian Whitney, president of the Maine Technology Institute, added, “If you are a clean energy company or entrepreneur ready to take the next step with your product or technology, we encourage you to visit our website for more about the Challenge.”
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