An Act To Establish the Wood Energy Investment Program
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0597
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: JACKSON, DUNPHY, VITELLI, WOODSOME, BERRY, GROHOSKI, STEARNS, WADSWORTH
Amends: 35-A MRSA §3210, 35-A MRSA §10128

Legislative Document
No. 597
S.P. 236
In Senate, March 1, 2021
An Act To Establish the Wood Energy Investment Program
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on February 25, 2021.  Referred to the Committee 
on Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by President JACKSON of Aroostook.
Cosponsored by Representative DUNPHY of Old Town and
Senators: VITELLI of Sagadahoc, WOODSOME of York, Representatives: BERRY of 
Bowdoinham, GROHOSKI of Ellsworth, STEARNS of Guilford, WADSWORTH of Hiram.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §3210, sub-§9, as amended by PL 2019, c. 477, §1, is further 
amended to read:
9.  Alternative compliance payment.  The commission shall allow competitive 
electricity providers to satisfy the portfolio requirements for Class I resources under 
subsection 3‑A, Class IA resources under subsection 3‑B and thermal renewable energy 
credits under subsection 3‑C through an alternative compliance payment mechanism in 
accordance with this subsection.
A.  The commission shall set the alternative compliance payment rate by rule, which 
may not be greater than $50, and shall publish the alternative compliance payment rate 
by January 31st of each year. In setting the rate, the commission shall take into account 
prevailing market prices, standard-offer service prices for electricity, reliance on 
alternative compliance payments to meet the requirements of subsections 3-A, 3‑B and 
3‑C and investment in Class I and Class IA resources and thermal renewable energy 
credits in the State during the previous calendar year.
B.  The commission shall collect alternative compliance payments to meet the 
requirements of subsections 3-A and 3-B made by competitive electricity providers and 
shall deposit all funds collected under this paragraph in the Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Resource Fund established under section 10121, subsection 2 to be used to 
fund research, development and demonstration projects relating to renewable energy 
technologies and to fund rebates for cost-effective renewable energy technologies.
C.  The commission shall collect alternative compliance payments to meet the 
requirements of subsection 3-C made by competitive electricity providers and shall 
deposit all funds collected under this paragraph in the Wood Energy Investment Fund 
established under section 10128, subsection 2 to be used to fund incentives and low-
interest or no-interest loans to businesses, municipalities, educational institutions and 
nonprofit entities in the State for the installation of new wood-derived thermal energy 
or cogeneration projects.
The commission shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted under this 
subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §10128 is enacted to read:
§10128.  Wood Energy Investment Program
1.  Establishment; purpose.  The Wood Energy Investment Program is established 
within the trust to provide incentives and low-interest or no-interest loans in consultation 
with the Finance Authority of Maine, established in Title 10, chapter 110, in order to 
strengthen the State's forest products industry and lower energy costs by increasing the 
efficient use of wood for energy production.
2.  Wood Energy Investment Fund.  There is established in the custody of the trust a 
special nonlapsing fund, to be known as the Wood Energy Investment Fund. The Wood 
Energy Investment Fund consists of the following:
A.  Sums the commission collects from alternative compliance payments made by 
competitive electricity providers to satisfy the portfolio requirements for thermal 
renewable energy credits established in section 3210, subsection 3-C;
B.  Funds that the trust may receive from the State or from the Federal Government or 
funds from other agreements whose purpose is consistent with this section;
C.  Principal and interest received from the repayment of loans made from the Wood 
Energy Investment Fund; and
D.  Interest earned from the investment of Wood Energy Investment Fund balances.
3.  Program details.  The trust, through the Wood Energy Investment Program 
established in subsection 1, shall provide incentives and low-interest or no-interest loans to 
businesses, municipalities, educational institutions and nonprofit entities in the State for 
the installation of new wood-derived thermal energy or cogeneration projects from the 
Wood Energy Investment Fund established in subsection 2.  The trust shall require Wood 
Energy Investment Program participants to substantially share in the cost of projects funded 
under this section.  The trust shall seek to maximize the Wood Energy Investment 
Program's impact per dollar of expenditure from the wood energy investment fund and shall 
set limits it determines prudent on the size of incentives.  The trust may not provide 
incentives or loans from the Wood Energy Investment Fund for the refurbishment or 
maintenance of existing facilities.
The trust shall develop activities promoting the Wood Energy Investment Program in 
consultation with the Finance Authority of Maine, established in Title 10, chapter 110.  The 
trust shall consult with the Finance Authority of Maine, when appropriate, in its decisions 
to award incentives and loans.  To the extent that funding is available, the trust shall offer 
technical assistance to eligible projects in a manner that is coordinated and consistent with 
other trust programs.
For purposes of this subsection, "new wood-derived thermal energy or cogeneration 
project" includes, but is not limited to, wood-fueled combined heat and power cogeneration 
boiler installations; colocation development that increases the efficient use of wood for 
energy production; conversion of fossil fuel-fired boilers to wood-fueled boilers or boilers 
using biofuels derived from wood; and the installation of new wood-fueled boilers or 
boilers using biofuels derived from wood.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Wood Energy Investment Fund and creates the Wood Energy 
Investment Program within the Efficiency Maine Trust.  The bill specifies that funds 
collected from alternative compliance payments made by competitive electricity providers 
to satisfy the portfolio requirements for thermal renewable energy credits must be used to 
fund the Wood Energy Investment Fund. It requires the trust to use funds from the fund, if 
there are any, to provide incentives and low-interest or no-interest loans for new wood-
derived thermal energy or cogeneration projects.  It requires that the trust consult with the 
Finance Authority of Maine, when appropriate, in the development of any Wood Energy 
Investment Program incentives and the distribution of money from the Wood Energy 
Investment Fund.  It prohibits the use of funds for incentives or loans for the refurbishment 
or maintenance of existing facilities.