Maine watching other states on thermal energy credits
By Darren Fishell, BDN Maine.
As other New England states add incentives for heating systems that use renewable energy sources, Maine’s top energy official said he’s taking a wait-and-see approach.
Massachusetts and New Hampshire have both added thermal energy to their renewable portfolio standards, which in Maine provides a subsidized market for electricity generators using renewable power.
Renewables advocates in the Northeast point to heating as a prime area of opportunity in the region’s cold climates. Patrick Woodcock, head of the Governor’s Energy Office, said during a Jan. 21 forum in Hallowell he thinks adding thermal energy “could have huge benefits.”