Governor Mills Announces Maine's Largest Yearly Drop in Heating Oil Reliance Since At Least 2010

MAINE, October 4 - Back to current news.

October 4, 2024

The share of Maine households reliant on heating oil decreased more than 6 percent from 2022 to 2023, continuing a downward trend since Governor Mills took office tied to record heat pump adoption, which is cutting energy costs while making buildings and homes more efficient

Governor Janet Mills today announced that the share of Maine households reliant on oil as their primary heat source fell by more than six percent between 2022 and 2023, the largest year over year decrease since at least 2010, according to new federal data.

The share of Maine homes using heating oil as their primary source of heating has steeply declined in recent years, down from over 70 percent in 2010 to just over 50 percent in 2023, according to the latest data (PDF) from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Since Governor Mills took office, heating oil reliance in the state has dropped nearly 16 percent. This latest decline is nearly three times greater than the year-over-year average since 2010.

Maine's decrease in heating oil reliance is strongly correlated with an increase in the use of high efficiency heat pumps for home heating, a direct result of the Mills Administration's efforts to expand access to the energy-efficient technology in Maine. With close to one-third of Maine's carbon emissions attributed to buildings, efficiency improvements to heating and cooling are a key strategy for reducing the state's greenhouse gas emissions.

"When I took office, I made it a priority to help Maine households transition away from expensive, imported fossil fuels for heating and adopt high-efficiency heat pumps, which reduce household energy costs while keeping homes comfortable year-round," said Governor Janet Mills. "I am proud to see those efforts paying off, with reliance on heating oil rapidly declining across Maine and more homes than ever adopting heat pumps for affordable heating and cooling. While Maine is still highly dependent on fossil fuels, we will continue to accelerate the transition to heat pumps by leveraging unprecedented clean energy investments by the Biden-Harris Administration."

"For decades Maine has sought to reduce our over-reliance on heating oil for home heating and this unprecedented decline demonstrates how investments in energy efficiency -- from incentive programs to workforce development -- are transforming Maine's economy by creating good jobs and cutting household energy costs," said Dan Burgess, Director of the Maine Governor's Energy Office. "While Maine still has more work to do to address its dependence on heating oil, recent progress is a sign that those investments are starting to pay off."

"Maine has set an example for how adoption of efficient, climate-friendly technologies like heat pumps can lead to measurable progress in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels," said Hannah Pingree, Director of the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and co-chair of the Maine Climate Council. "Maine people are taking action to protect our climate while saving money on their heating bills, helping to create jobs, and supporting new businesses."

"To have something work that quickly and that evenly across the house was phenomenal," said Marianna Casagranda, Freeport resident and heat pump owner. "It is a very different way of both heating and cooling that I've never had in any rented apartment or house. I've had radiator heat, I've had oil heat, but I've not experienced something this - it's really, really impressive."

Maine has achieved national recognition for its leadership in heat pump installations. In July 2023, Maine surpassed its goal of installing 100,000 new heat pumps two years early. Governor Mills then set an ambitious new target of installing another 175,000 heat pumps in Maine by 2027. Upon completion of this new goal, the number of heat pumps installed in Maine homes, businesses, and public buildings during her time in office would reach 275,000.

Maine has been and remains the most heating oil dependent state in the country, making it vulnerable to shifting global oil markets and burdening households with high energy costs. Oil and kerosene are some of the most volatile and expensive energy sources for home heating and have experienced significant price fluctuations in recent years with oil reaching nearly $6 per gallon and kerosene over $7 per gallon in 2022.

New federal funding opportunities promise to further expand access to heat pumps in Maine. In September, Governor Mills welcomed U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm to Maine to announce the launch of a new Home Energy Rebate program funded by a $36 million grant through the Biden-Harris Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). An additional $36 million to launch another IRA-funded heat pump rebate program is anticipated in early 2025.

This follows announcements in February and July for two other heat pump grants, including $10 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and between $45 and $72 million to Maine from a regional Climate Pollution Reduction Grant award to the New England states. This brings the total federal funding awarded to Maine for heat pumps in 2024 to over $115 million, with more funding in the pipeline.

Currently, there are nearly 700 registered installers across Maine helping residents transition to heat pumps. Since 2022, Maine has invested over $6 million in clean energy workforce development and innovation programs through the Clean Energy Partnership Program, an initiative of the Governor's Energy Office (GEO). This includes a recent announcement highlighting new and expanded programs in Biddeford, Portland, and Oxford Hills for training in heat pump installation and related energy efficiency skills.

The number of clean energy jobs in Maine surpassed 15,000, increasing faster in Maine than any other New England state, and the clean energy sector grew to contribute $2.31 billion to Maine's economy in 2022, according to an independent report released earlier this year by GEO. In May 2024, GEO launched the Maine Clean Energy Jobs Network, a new online clearinghouse that connects job-seekers with Maine-based clean energy employers and workforce training programs.

For more information on Maine heat pump rebate programs and other energy efficiency incentives, visit the Efficiency Maine website.