Maine gets $10 million federal grant for heat pumps in mobile homes

Maine has received a $10 million federal grant to pay for the installation of high-efficiency heat pump systems in rural mobile and manufactured homes, state officials said Tuesday.

Approximately 675 households will benefit from the initiative, which is the result of a partnership between the quasi-state agency Efficiency Maine, the Governor’s Energy Office and MaineHousing.

The award from the U.S. Department of Energy comes after Efficiency Maine led a pilot program to transition residents of mobile and manufactured homes to heat pumps, helping homeowners to lower their energy expenses and curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Gov. Janet Mills announced the grant at F.W. Webb, a supplier of heat pumps in South Portland, along with U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree and representatives of the Governor’s Energy Office, Efficiency Maine, MaineHousing and others.

“Heat pumps are transforming the way Maine people heat and cool their homes,” Mills said in a statement. “Our nation-leading transition to heat pumps is creating good-paying jobs, curbing our reliance on expensive and harmful fossil fuels, and cutting costs for Maine families.

“With this new funding for a pioneering program, we will continue our effort to help folks across Maine, particularly those in rural Maine, stay comfortable and safe in their homes and save them money in the process.”

The Maine award is part of $336 million awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for 17 projects across 20 states and 30 tribal nations and communities.

The funds will support the installation of heat pump systems as well as expand workforce training for local installers to do the work.

Maine has been a national leader in heat pump adoption, with more than 115,000 installed since 2019.

The pumps extract heat from outdoor air or underground and transfer it inside – instead of heating a coil in a furnace, for instance. They also cool homes by pulling heat from indoors and dumping it outside or underground.

Heat pumps have been used for decades to heat homes, but have become more popular recently as policymakers and the energy industry look for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings that are a major source of carbon. They run on electricity and often replace oil or gas furnaces.

In July 2023, Maine surpassed its goal of installing 100,000 new heat pumps two years early. Mills then set a new target of installing another 175,000 heat pumps in Maine by 2027, bringing the number of heat pumps installed in Maine homes, businesses and public buildings during her time in office to 275,000.

Mills’ office said Tuesday that while overall reliance on heating fuel has decreased in recent years, Maine still remains the most heating fuel-dependent state in the nation, with 56% of households reliant on delivered fuel as their primary heating source.

Mobile and manufactured homes are especially subject to high and volatile prices for heating fuels because they are often equipped with external fuel tanks, which are largely filled with kerosene, or K1 fuel, supplies of which have experienced significant constraints and historically high prices in the past two years.

“Too many of Maine’s poorest households reside in older mobile homes heated with delivered fuels, many in the most rural parts of our state,” said MaineHousing Director Daniel Brennan in a statement. “They pay the most to heat their homes of anyone in the state.

“Replacing these homes’ heating systems with a more efficient whole-home heat pump will dramatically improve the quality of life for these homeowners, greatly reducing their energy burden and reducing the likelihood of frozen pipes and other destructive results of not having a safe and efficient heating system.