Maine policymakers were compelled to address the need for a long term plan for energy independence when oil climbed to nearly $5 per gallon in 2008, meaning the average home was spending over $4000 for heat. High and volatile energy costs were not just threatening the poor and the elderly, they were threatening everyone.

A governor’s task force was created and legislative leaders created the Joint Select Committee on Maine’s Energy Future to develop a long-term, comprehensive response.

Opportunity Maine wanted to turn the energy crisis into an economic and workforce development opportunity and we crafted model legislation creating an economy-wide energy efficiency, renewable energy and workforce development strategy to make our built environment at least 30% more efficient, create thousands of good jobs, and cut energy bills for residents and businesses. The three main bills under consideration pushed generally in the same direction, although they varied in scope and scale.

After a long and robust legislative debate, a final consensus bill was drafted and passed with broad bipartisan support.

Reinforcing the impact a comprehensive new energy jobs initiative could have on Maine is a new report from the Pew Center on Climate Change that job growth in the clean energy sector was seven times faster than job growth overall in Maine. See MPBN Story