Energy & Emissions

Energy Resilience Plan 

SMPDC is developing an Energy Resilience Plan for southern Maine, funded by a $400,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration. The Energy Resilience Plan is a response to needs identified through the Climate Action Planning (CAP) Cohort project. 

Frequent power outages from weather-related disasters are a significant hazard in Maine, incurring large costs to the region’s businesses and public works departments. At the same time, increasing electrification and renewable energy are creating a greater demand on our electric grid.

The plan, informed by a stakeholder group and community engagement, will lay out specific actions that the region, local governments, and businesses can take to strengthen our region’s electric grid. 

Southern Maine Energy Navigator Pilot

The Southern Maine Energy Navigator Pilot is a three-year partnership between SMPDC, the RSRP pilot communities, and York County Community Action Corporation (YCCAC).

The program will pair homeowners with Energy Navigators who will provide personalized guidance and support in navigating weatherization and electrification incentive programs. It also includes $500,000 in funding for additional incentives to low- and moderate-income homeowners to minimize the total cost of energy upgrades.

This project is funded with an $800,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Competitive Program.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories

A greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory is an important tool for municipalities looking to reduce GHG emissions and adapt to a low-carbon future. An inventory helps a municipality:

  1. Understand ongoing activities and major sources of emissions
  2. Identify areas to focus emission reduction efforts
  3. Establish goals and track progress towards those goals
  4. Facilitate decision-making about future policies and strategies

 

SMPDC developed an inventory protocol to assist member municipalities with creating community-wide GHG inventories. A community-wide GHG inventory estimates the amount of GHG emissions associated with community sources and activities, meaning those of a municipality’s residents, workforce, visitors, and economy.

While relevant to most small cities and towns, the protocol takes special consideration of the data sources and emissions factors applicable to Maine communities. The protocol is standardized and simplified so that inventories produced using this protocol may be compared across communities and used to evaluate the impacts of emission reduction strategies in future years.

The protocol guide provides step-by-step guidance on:

  1. What emissions to include in your inventory
  2. Where to find the necessary emissions data and
  3. How to calculate or measure the impacts of those emissions

and also includes:

  • The difference between community-wide and municipal GHG inventories
  • Indicators for tracking climate action progress
  • Ways to scale the inventory up or down, based on community needs and applicability

 

Read the full GHG Inventory Protocol here. 

 

Have questions or interested in learning more? Contact SMPDC Sustainability Division Director Karina Graeter (kgraeter@smpdc.org). SMPDC staff are available for support, as well as to assist communities with completing a GHG inventory on a contract basis.