Need Your Neighborhood To Take Motion On Formidable Local weather Targets? Comply with What Maine Does

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I dwell in Florida, the place the governor has banned talking the phrases “local weather change” — effectively, no less than in terms of governmental affairs. In response, an area 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 consequence of coastal and septic flooding. Maine, then again, 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 may draw from renewable vitality credit on its photo voltaic tasks. The State of Maine has labored with the feds to offer good 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 warmth pumps in residences and companies than most anyplace.

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 consists of 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, extra help for renewable vitality tasks, help to enhance group resilience, and applications to guard pure and dealing lands throughout the state, which act as important carbon sinks.

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

Local weather fund: Portland, Maine desires 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 vitality credit, or RECs, from city-backed photo voltaic tasks equivalent 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 yr — a superb begin on many local weather actions. As reported by native impartial journalist Annie Ropeik, Portland’s fund could possibly be used to pay a marketing consultant to put in writing 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, group micro-grant applications for climate-friendly enhancements, or different bills for the town sustainability workplace.

Power 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 will likely be one of many largest vitality 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 vitality as extra photo voltaic and wind comes on-line.

Warmth pumps: As soon as the individuals of Maine realized they may save a substantial sum of money by switching to a warmth pump, they started putting in them in document numbers. In truth, 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 switch the fossil gas programs ​“that we’ve used for the final 100 years,” mentioned Michael Stoddard, govt director of Effectivity Maine.

Siting for offshore wind with proper whales in thoughts: The Closing Wind Power Space (WEA) recognized for potential offshore wind improvement within the Gulf of Maine is essentially situated away from habitats of upper significance to endangered North Atlantic proper whales. This good siting determination will assist the business advance responsibly on this new offshore wind area. That is vital as a result of offshore wind improvement must keep away from and decrease 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 harassed by underwater noise air pollution and experiencing common malnourishment, unwell well being, and impaired replica, all whereas preventing to adapt to local weather change.

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

Local weather training: The state says that local weather training is an important 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 will likely be awarding grants for high-quality skilled improvement designed and carried out in partnership with community-based nonprofit organizations. Grant awards will likely be accessible to all native training suppliers all through the state for pre-Ok by grade 12, with this system giving precedence to functions that serve traditionally underserved by local weather training communities.

Closing Ideas About Maine & Its Local weather Motion Management

Peyton Siler Jones, the Portland-based interim director of sustainability with the Nationwide League of Cities, mentioned artistic approaches are important to creating long run funding streams for native local weather work. “Determining learn how to have these financial savings not simply go to the overall fund, however go to a particular local weather fund to proceed to implement local weather tasks, is one instance of an revolutionary resolution,” she informed native reporter Ropeik. “It’s thrilling to see that being one thing that may be scaled and replicated in smaller communities.”

A lot has occurred in a couple of years. Mills signed an govt order calling for a “clear transportation roadmap” to realize the state’s local weather plan objective of accelerating the variety of EVs on the street 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 Legislation that may 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 degree and get probably the most progressive local weather laws handed by any state at the moment. Many constituent teams are working alongside Mills’ administration to make Maine vitality impartial and internet zero by 2030.