Description

2012 Update: This program is no longer available. Act 637 of 2011 re-directed the use of the funds in the Voluntary Renewable Resources Fund and grants are no longer available. The information below is for reference only.

Maine’s Voluntary Renewable Resources Grants, supported by the state’s Voluntary Renewable Resources Fund and administered by the Efficiency Maine, provide funding for small-scale demonstration projects designed to educate communities on the value and cost-effectiveness of renewable energy. Maine’s Voluntary Renewable Resources Fund, a public benefits fund, was established in 2000 and is supported by contributions made by consumers on their electric bills. Applications for Renewable Resources Grants are available only during specified application periods; funding is made available when a certain amount has been collected as a result of voluntary contributions. In addition, Efficiency Maine used funds from the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to supplement this grant program in FY2011. 

Grants of up to $50,000 are generally available to Maine-based nonprofit organizations (including community-based nonprofits), electric cooperatives, quasi-municipal corporations and districts, schools, and community action programs. To qualify for grant funding, renewable-energy resources generally must (1) qualify as a small power production facility under Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules or (2) must not exceed 100 megawatts in capacity and use one or more of the following resources to generate electricity: fuel cells, tidal power, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, hydropower, biomass energy, and/or municipal solid waste used in a generator in conjunction with recycling. There is a 20% cost-share requirement for grant-funding.

The Renewable Resources Fund awarded 10 grants in October of 2007, 3 grants in January 2009, 11 grants in December 2009, and 10 grants in September 2010.