- In The News
- October 2024
Maine Wire: Heating Oil Use Declines 6% as Mainers Adopt Subsidized Electric Heat Pumps
October 7, 2024
Maine Wire describes the impact of Maine’s efforts to spur high-efficiency heat pump adoption across the state.
“According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the share of Maine households using oil as their primary source of heat dropped more than six percent between 2022 and 2023, the largest decrease since at least 2010.
In 2010, about 70 percent of Maine households were reliant on oil as their primary heating source compared to just over 50 percent in 2023.
Gov. Janet Mills (D) connected this change to the rise in heat pump usage during her administration.”
…
“In 2023, Mills touted that Maine had met her goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps in the state two years ahead of schedule.
In light of this, she instituted an updated benchmark of having an additional 175,000 heat pumps installed by 2027.
‘Since taking office, Governor Mills has prioritized action against climate change in Maine through reducing carbon emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, and making Maine communities more resilient to climate effects,’ the Mills administration said of the accomplishment in a press release.
Shortly thereafter, the United States Climate Alliance — of which Mills is a co-chair — announced a new commitment to increasing heat pump usage nationwide four-fold by 2030.”
About the Alliance
Launched in 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the U.S. federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28 percent by 2025, 50-52 percent by 2030, and 61-66 percent by 2035, all below 2005 levels, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to advance innovative and impactful climate solutions to grow the economy, create jobs, and protect public health, and have a long record of action and results. In fact, the latest data shows that as of 2023, the Alliance has reduced its collective net greenhouse gas emissions by 24 percent below 2005 levels, while increasing collective GDP by 34 percent, and is on track to meet its near-term climate goal of reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
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