Maine Community Energy Redevelopment Program

The Maine Community Energy Redevelopment Program (MECERP), led by the Maine Governor's Energy Office (GEO) and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) is designed to foster economic development across Maine by providing high-quality technical assistance to projects that unlock community energy assets for economic development.

On October 22, 2024, the Mills Administration announced six communities in Maine will receive technical assistance through MECERP to support locally-determined revitalization projects at current and former industrial sites to create good-paying jobs, drive local economic development, and meet state climate and clean energy goals:

• The City of Auburn seeks to catalyze business attraction and industrial growth by creating a cohesive development vision for the land assets in or near the Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub Overlay. The Tech Overlay was created by the city to align commercial and industrial development with Maine’s state-level Forest Bioproducts Advanced Manufacturing Tech Hub designation by the Biden-Harris Administration.  

• The Town of Bucksport is conducting economic development planning for underutilized industrial land alongside the Penobscot River near downtown Bucksport. The project will focus on areas surrounding the existing thermal power station and transition to clean energy technologies, in partnership with power station owner JERA Americas. 

• The Town of Lincoln is developing a business plan to attract additional industrial anchor tenants to the growing Lincoln Technology Park, a 387-acre site formerly known as the Lincoln Paper and Tissue mill. The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded Maine a $147 million grant to deploy an 85 MW long duration energy storage system at one site within the park.  

• One North is working to redevelop a 1,400-acre site, the third largest industrial site in Maine, formerly occupied by the Great Northern Paper Company, in Millinocket. The site’s unique energy generation capacity positions it to offer affordable power to industrial users and catalyze new economic activity in the Katahdin region.  

• The Town of Wiscasset is conducting economic development planning for two large waterfront sites: the 33-acre Birch Point Peninsula, best known for the decommissioned Mason Station site, and the 297-acre parcel along Old Ferry Road across the road from the decommissioned Maine Yankee Nuclear Plant.  

• The Town of Yarmouth is assessing the feasibility and potential impact of alternative future uses for Wyman Station, an aging oil-fired power plant on Cousins Island that currently runs a few days a year during periods of high demand.

Successful projects supported through MECERP will bring together partners in the community to collaborate on implementation, help realize Maine’s economic development goals, have a high likelihood of qualifying for state and federal funding, and leverage underutilized or legacy electricity infrastructure.

MECERP Program Timeline

A. Applications Open

In early 2024, GEO, DECD and the state's consultant HR&A Advisors (together, "the project team") released a survey to solicit project ideas for the program. The survey closed in April 2024. The Project Team assessed proposed ideas for available electric capacity, economic development opportunity, and overall program fit before selecting projects to participate in the program. Eligible MECERP applicants included but were not limited to: local governments; quasi-public development organizations, such as economic development councils and regional planning organizations; universities; non-profit and community-based organizations; and for-profit entities.

B. Informational Webinar

An informational Zoom meeting on this program was held on on Monday, March 18. The meeting slides are available here. 

C. Project Selections

On October 22, 2024, the state announced the selection of six community projects to participate in the MECERP program. A limited number of additional projects may be eligible to participate in future rounds of MECERP. View the full project selection announcement here.

D. Community Public Forums

Selected communities will receive support to host an initial public forum. The first community forum will provide an overview of the program, a discussion of one or more visions for the project, and an inventory of potential project partners (e.g. relevant local government departments, economic development partners, and others). The Project Team will help selected communities identify and recruit anchor partners to lead the second public forum and project planning and implementation. 

The second community forum will solicit stakeholder feedback on a refined project vision as well as the structure of emerging partnerships that will implement the project. This forum will also seek to recruit additional local partners to fill any gaps in expertise or capacity.

E. Action Planning

The Project Team will support participating communities in drafting Action Plans. The Action Plan will include a project concept, business plan, funding/financing strategies, partner roles, offsite requirements, and a project implementation roadmap. The Action Plan will be a specific roadmap for securing public and private capital to implement the project.

The Project Team will also provide technical assistance and office hours related to economic development, needs assessments, market scans, financial feasibility studies, formation of capital stacks, federal funding applications, community engagement, partnership and project governance, and other needs throughout this process.

F. State/Federal Grant Application Support

The Project Team will assist participating communities in identifying and applying for state and federal grant opportunities based on the attributes of their project, geographic designation, and other criteria.

MECERP Background

Funded through the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan and led by GEO and DECD, this program is intended to create family-sustaining jobs while reducing carbon emissions, in line with State economic development and climate goals, including:

• The Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan;
• The Maine Won’t Wait Climate Action Plan; and
• The Maine Economic Development Strategy

The objective of this program is to support each participating community to develop a detailed action plan for projects consistent with the state’s climate and clean energy goals and be well-prepared to implement these projects. These projects are required to take place in areas where there is available electric grid capacity or underutilized grid infrastructure.

Project Goals

This program is supporting proposals* for new development or infrastructure deployment where underutilized electricity infrastructure exists (i.e. available electrical capacity on transmission or distribution lines) but will not fund project construction or development.

The following are examples of potential projects which may be considered:

• Redevelopment or adaptive reuse of unused or vacant industrial sites, including brownfield sites;
• Development projects across multiple sites that are close to each other or along a commercial corridor; and
• Already in-progress, but stalled, economic development projects with a nexus to underutilized electricity infrastructure.

Proposed projects must demonstrate the potential to advance Maine’s economic development, clean energy and climate goals, including but not limited to:

• Protecting and creating family-sustaining jobs in Maine’s growing and heritage industries;
• Bolstering small and medium-sized businesses;
• Creating “Hubs of Excellence” or clusters with ideal conditions for economic growth;
• Attracting and retaining talent; and
• Supporting Maine’s growing and heritage industries related to sustainable food sourcing, energy-efficient manufacturing and transportation, and clean energy.

* All projects selected through this program must comply with required state and federal permitting processes. The State’s role in this program is to provide technical assistance to assist communities to develop potential projects and identify potential funding sources.

Technical Assistance

The Project Team will identify promising ideas and provide economic development technical assistance to the selected communities, including but not limited to:

• Project concept development and community visioning;
• Site planning, financial analysis, community engagement, and partnership building;
• Support in identifying and applying for state and federal funding;
• Development of project governance team/strategy, and
• Development of action plans to increase competitiveness for grant opportunities. 

Get in Touch

Please direct specific questions about this program to geo@maine.gov. Sign up for the GEO newsletter and be sure to opt-in for updates on this program.