Town of Kittery Receives Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Award for $800,000

An innovative regional initiative called the Southern Maine Energy Navigator Pilot Program just received grant funding from the federal government. Key features of the three-year initiative are personalized guidance and support for homeowners in navigating complex incentive programs available from the state of Maine. Residents of five towns – Kittery, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells and Ogunquit - will be eligible for the multi-municipal program, which is expected to begin in 2024. The $800,000 funding for the initiative has been awarded to Kittery, the lead applicant for the grant, by the US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), one of only 12 communities nationally. The initiative is a partnership among the five towns along with the Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC) and York County Community Action Corporation (YCCAC). Greater Portland Council of Government is providing 3-4 Americorps Fellows to serve as the Energy Navigators, offering young people a workforce development opportunity to become energy professionals. 

The Energy Navigators will receive training to become experts in home energy solutions. The Navigators will conduct community outreach to connect with homeowners. They will identify needed upgrades, answer questions, help complete eligibility criteria, submit paperwork, and make sure homeowners have the tax forms needed to obtain the 30% federal tax credit. While the Energy Navigators’ guidance will be available to anyone, regardless of income, funding for upgrades will be reserved for low and moderate income homeowners.

According to SMPDC’s Sustainability Coordinator Karina Graeter, “It’s proof that regional collaboration on climate works.”

Graeter says that pairing homeowners with Energy Navigators is expected to reduce energy costs for Southern Maine homeowners immediately and that the pilot project is expected to significantly impact low-and-moderate income homeowners who face substantial energy burdens. It also includes the $500,000+ from the Southern Maine Energy Fund, which will be used to provide instant rebates to defray upfront costs required for existing rebate programs and subsidies to low- and moderate-income homeowners to minimize the total cost of energy upgrades. Says Graeter, “This program is intended as an experiment that will hopefully prove that a larger regional Energy Navigator Program will be impactful by increasing the number and diversity of homeowners completing energy upgrades.”

According to Kendra Amaral, Kittery Town Manager, “Maine homeowners have long struggled with high energy expenses, driven by escalating electricity prices, aging housing infrastructure, and a reliance on fuel oil for heating. To address this, Maine has introduced substantial incentives for home energy efficiency upgrades and set ambitious heat pump adoption goals. The landmark Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also introduced new tax credits of up to 30% for energy efficiency upgrades.”

Amaral continues, “However, Maine homeowners face significant barriers in accessing these incentives to reduce energy costs. Homeowners have little assistance when it comes to navigating complicated and ever changing incentive programs. Upfront capital requirements are another barrier, as many homeowners are already strained by high energy costs and don’t have the funds available to pay first and receive a rebate later. Meanwhile, stringent prerequisites for existing low- and moderate-income assistance make it difficult for disadvantaged homeowners to qualify and receive the support they need.”

SMPDC’s Graeter, who wrote the grant and will oversee the program, says, “The program will unlock access to existing Maine and federal incentives by providing one-on-one support. It bridges the gap between existing incentives and true upgrade costs. And, while the short term goal is to reduce energy use and energy costs, the long term goal is to reduce community wide greenhouse gas emissions and lessen our contribution to climate change. A common action identified in the towns’ climate action planning processes has been an incentive program for weatherization and heat pumps. However, as small communities with strained municipal staff and limited funds, SMPDC saw this as an opportunity to create a regional initiative where we could leverage our collective efforts to have a bigger impact. We are fortunate that the EECBG funding came along at the perfect time to make this initiative possible.”

A unique aspect of this program is the partnership with York County Community Action Corporation, a longstanding community social service organization that has successfully administered energy and home repair programs for both MaineHousing and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. All funding eligible projects will be completed by YCCAC. Says Jackie Watson, YCCAC Director of Energy Services, “This results in a much simpler process for low and moderate income homeowners because our organization and the Energy Navigators will process the required paperwork and figure out how to combine incentives so that each homeowner can potentially access additional resources. It also means that YCCAC will be able to look holistically for homeowners to identify who might be eligible for other programs and help connect them to those resources for things like home repairs, other energy programs, and transportation.”

To learn more about the EECB Grant, please click here.