An Act To Create the Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1659
Committee: Energy, Utilities and Technology
Sponsors: ZEIGLER, CARNEY, CUDDY, DODGE, FECTEAU, GROHOSKI, KESSLER, MILLETT, SACHS, BENNETT
Amends: 35-A MRSA §10104, 35-A MRSA §10128

Legislative Document
No. 1659
H.P. 1230
House of Representatives, May 5, 2021
An Act To Create the Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability 
Accelerator
Received by the Clerk of the House on May 3, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Energy, Utilities and Technology pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative ZEIGLER of Montville.
Cosponsored by Senator CARNEY of Cumberland and
Representatives: CUDDY of Winterport, DODGE of Belfast, Speaker FECTEAU of 
Biddeford, GROHOSKI of Ellsworth, KESSLER of South Portland, MILLETT of Waterford, 
SACHS of Freeport, Senator: BENNETT of Oxford.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  35-A MRSA §10104, sub-§13 is enacted to read:
13.  Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator.  The trust shall administer 
the Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator under section 10128.
Sec. 2.  35-A MRSA §10128 is enacted to read:
§10128.  Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Accelerator" means the Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator, a 
dedicated, specialized finance entity under the trust that:
(1)  Is designed to drive private capital into market gaps for goods and services 
producing low or zero greenhouse gas emissions;
(2)  Uses finance tools to mitigate climate change;
(3)  Does not take deposits;
(4)  Is funded by government, public, private or charitable contributions; and
(5)  Invests in or finances projects:
(a)  Alone; or
(b)  In conjunction with other investors.
B.  "Alternative fuel vehicle project" means any project, technology, product, service, 
function or measure that supports the development or deployment of alternative fuels 
used for electricity generation, alternative fuel vehicles and related infrastructure, 
including infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations, and that does not include 
the combustion of fossil fuels.
C.  "Climate resilient infrastructure project" means any project that builds or enhances 
infrastructure so that such infrastructure:
(1)  Is planned, designed and operated in a way that anticipates, prepares for and 
adapts to changing climate conditions; and
(2)  Can withstand, respond to and recover rapidly from disruptions caused by these 
climate conditions.
D.  "Demand response project" means any project, technology, product, service, 
function or measure that changes the usage of electricity by retail customers from 
normal consumption patterns in response to:
(1)  Changes in the price of electricity over time; or
(2)  Incentive payments designed to induce lower electricity use at times of high 
market prices or when system reliability is jeopardized.
E.  "Electrification" means the installation, construction or use of end-use electric 
technology that replaces existing technology based on fossil fuel consumption.
F.  "Energy efficiency project" means any project, technology, product, service, 
function or measure that results in the reduction of energy use required to achieve the 
same level of service or output obtained before the application of the project, 
technology, product, service, function or measure.
G.  "Fuel switching" means any project that replaces a heating system or industrial 
process using fossil fuels with a system or process that uses a different fuel and 
achieves lower net greenhouse gas emissions.
H.  "Greenhouse gas" has the same meaning as in Title 38, section 574, subsection 1.
I.  "Microgrid" means a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources 
within clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity in a 
larger electrical grid and that can connect to and disconnect from the larger grid to 
operate in either grid-connected or isolation mode.
J.  "Qualified projects'' means the following kinds of technologies and activities that 
are eligible for financing and investment from the accelerator:
(1)  Renewable energy generation, including:
(a)  Solar, wind and geothermal projects;
(b)  Projects using small-scale hydropower that produce 30 megawatts or less 
of electricity;
(c)  Projects using ocean and hydrokinetic power generation;
(d)  Projects using fuel cells to store energy; and
(e)  Projects powered by nonhazardous organic biomass and anaerobic 
digestion of organic waste;
(2)  Building energy efficiency, fuel switching and electrification;
(3)  Industrial decarbonization;
(4)  Grid technology such as storage to support clean energy distribution, including 
microgrids and smart grid applications as described in section 3143;
(5)  Agriculture projects that reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, including 
reforestation, afforestation, forestry management and regenerative agriculture;
(6)  Clean transportation, including battery electric vehicles; plug-in hybrid electric 
vehicles; hydrogen vehicles; other zero-emissions fueled vehicles; related vehicle 
charging and fueling infrastructure; and low-emissions mass public transit;
(7)  Climate resilient infrastructure projects; and
(8)  Any other key areas identified by the board as consistent with the mandate of 
the accelerator as described in subsection 3.
K.  "Renewable energy generation" means electricity created by sources that are 
continually replenished by nature, such as the sun, wind and water.
L.  "Renewable energy project" means the development, construction, deployment, 
alteration or repair of any project, technology, product, service, function or measure 
that generates electric power from renewable energy.
M.  "System efficiency project" means the development, construction, deployment, 
alteration or repair of any distributed generation system, energy storage system, smart 
grid technology, advanced battery system, microgrid system, fuel cell system or 
combined heat and power systems.
N.  "Vulnerable communities" means:
(1)  Low-income communities, defined as any geographical unit for which the 
United States Census Bureau publishes sample data in which 30% or more of the 
population are individuals with low income;
(2)  Low-income households, defined as a household with annual income equal to, 
or less than, the greater of:
(a)  An amount equal to 80% of the median income of the area in which the 
household is located, as reported by the federal Department of Housing and 
Urban Development; and
(b)  Two hundred percent of the federal poverty line.
(3)  Communities of color and tribal communities, which include any 
geographically distinct area in which the population of color is higher than the 
average population of color of the State.
2.  Establishment.  The Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator is 
established under the trust and is administered by the trust.
3.  Mandate.  The accelerator shall help this State combat the causes and effects of 
climate change through the rapid deployment of mature technologies and the 
commercialization and scaling of new technologies by maximizing the reduction of 
greenhouse gas emissions in this State for every dollar deployed by the accelerator, 
including by:
A.  Providing financing support for investments in low-emissions and zero-emissions 
technologies and processes in order to rapidly accelerate market penetration;
B.  Catalyzing and mobilizing private capital through public investment and supporting 
a more robust marketplace for clean technologies, while minimizing competition with 
private investment;
C.  Enabling communities affected by climate change to benefit from and afford 
projects and investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
D.  Providing support for workers and communities affected by the transition to a low-
carbon economy; and
E.  Causing the rapid transition to a clean energy economy without raising energy costs 
to end users and seeking to lower costs when possible.
4.  Finance and investment.  The following provisions govern the finance and 
investment activities of the accelerator.
A.  The accelerator may provide finance and investment services, including but not 
limited to:
(1)  Originating, evaluating, underwriting and closing financing and investment 
transactions in qualified projects;
(2)  Partnering with private capital providers and capital markets to attract co-
investment from private banks, community development financial institutions, 
investors and others in order to drive new investment into underpenetrated markets, 
to increase the efficiency of private capital markets with respect to investing in 
greenhouse gas reduction projects and to increase total investment caused by the 
accelerator;
(3)  Managing the accelerator's portfolio of assets to ensure performance and 
monitor risk;
(4)  Ensuring appropriate debt and risk mitigation products are offered; and
(5)  Overseeing prudent, noncontrolling equity investments.
B.  The accelerator may provide capital to qualified projects in the form of:
(1)  Debt financing;
(2)  Credit enhancements, including loan loss reserves and loan guarantees;
(3)  Aggregation and warehousing;
(4)  Equity capital; and
(5)  Any other financial product approved by the board.
5.  Zero-emissions fleet and related infrastructure financing program.  The 
accelerator shall explore the establishment of a program to provide low-interest and zero-
interest loans, up to 30 years in length, to any school, municipal planning organization or 
nonprofit organization seeking financing for the acquisition of zero greenhouse gas 
emissions vehicle fleets or associated infrastructure to support zero greenhouse gas 
emissions vehicle fleets.
6.  Project prioritization and requirements.  The following provisions govern project 
prioritization and requirements.
A.  While investing in projects that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, the accelerator 
shall maximize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in this State for every dollar 
deployed by the accelerator.
B.  The accelerator shall ensure that 40% of its investment activity is directed to serve 
vulnerable communities.
C. The accelerator shall ensure that workers employed by contractors and 
subcontractors in construction work on projects over $100,000 in total cost, financed 
all or in part by the accelerator, are paid wages not less than those prevailing on similar 
construction in the locality.
7.  Administration.  The following provisions govern administration.
A.  The accelerator may be capitalized with federal funds available from a national 
clean energy and sustainability accelerator and may accept other federal funds as 
available.
B.  To sustain operations, the accelerator shall manage revenue from financing fees, 
interest, repaid loans and other types of funding.
C.  The accelerator shall create a publicly available annual report that describes the 
financial activities, greenhouse gas emissions reductions and private capital 
mobilization metrics of the accelerator for the previous year.
D.  The accelerator may not accept deposits.
E.  The accelerator may accept and use philanthropic funds.
SUMMARY
This bill creates the Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to support the 
development of clean energy and sustainability projects and infrastructure through 
providing financing support, including loans, loan guarantees and other financial and risk 
mitigation products.  The accelerator is administered by the Efficiency Maine Trust.