WASHINGTON – The Alliance to Save Energy will honor the Efficiency Maine Trust on Wednesday as the winner of the 2020 Star of Energy Efficiency Award, celebrating its pioneering leadership in beneficial electrification, weatherization, and other programs that are helping to save Maine consumers and businesses billions of dollars in lifetime energy costs. Alliance Honorary Board Member Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will present the award in a virtual ceremony Wednesday evening.

“Since its inception 10 years ago, Efficiency Maine Trust has been an energy-saving champion on behalf of the people and businesses of our State. I was delighted to support this outstanding nomination by the Acadia Center,” said Senator Collins. “Thanks to Efficiency Maine’s innovation and expertise, Maine has emerged as a national leader in supporting energy efficiency. In a state where low-income households face significant costs to heat their homes, Efficiency Maine is focused on ensuring that our most vulnerable citizens are warm, safe, and healthy.”

As the independent administrator of Maine’s efficiency programs for the past decade, the Trust has supported tens of thousands of efficiency projects annually across the state that have saved consumers and businesses $1.5 billion to $2 billion in lifetime energy costs while helping to advance climate goals. The Trust also has focused on helping low-income households overcome high energy burdens through enhanced incentives and significantly extended program benefits to hard-to-reach sectors.

Additionally, the Trust has emerged as a national leader in beneficial electrification. Executive Director Michael Stoddard will explore success factors of a program that incentivized tens of thousands of high-efficiency heat pumps and heat pump water heaters during the Alliance to Save Energy’s inaugural Active Efficiency Forum on Wednesday. The Forum will precede the award reception and feature the launch of a new, comprehensive resource for maximizing the grid benefits of beneficial electrification.

“As we look to the future of energy efficiency, we know that strategies such as beneficial electrification will be critical for saving consumers money, creating a more resilient grid, and reducing carbon emissions,” said Clay Nesler, Interim President of the Alliance to Save Energy. “Efficiency Maine Trust is ahead of the game, showing us how we can bring new opportunities to the table to achieve real grid benefits. We are thrilled to recognize their work.”

“We know we need beneficial electrification at a massive scale throughout the U.S. in the next 10 to 20 years,” said Stoddard. “The sustained, rapid growth in Maine’s heat pump sales is powerful evidence that the right mix of incentives and marketing can play a pivotal role in achieving that transition, while creating jobs and reducing carbon emissions. This award is a validation of the strategic choices Maine has made on electrification and the tireless work of hundreds of small businesses that market and install heat pumps and other efficient technologies in our state. On their behalf, we are deeply honored to receive this award and hope it will lead to many more discussions about how these programs can be scaled up across the country.”

About the Alliance to Save Energy

Founded in 1977, the Alliance to Save Energy is a nonprofit, bipartisan alliance of business, government, environmental and consumer leaders working to expand the economy while using less energy. Our mission is to promote energy productivity worldwide – including through energy efficiency – to achieve a stronger economy, a cleaner environment and greater energy security, affordability and reliability.

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