The New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC) today issued the following statement around E2Tech’s gubernatorial forum “Heat of the Moment: Plans from State Officials, Energy Companies, and Maine's Next Governor.” The NECEC statement calls for Maine’s next governor to embrace and expand the state’s clean energy policies to ensure the expansion of clean energy.

“Maine is at a tipping point when it comes to clean energy and the policies set by the next governor and state leadership over the next four years are critical to securing the state’s path to a future where renewable energy can provide Mainers with more reliable, cheaper and cleaner energy,” said NECEC President Peter Rothstein.

Maine spends $6.3 billion a year on energy, with $5 billion leaving the state to pay for fossil fuels from other parts of the world. Meanwhile, Maine residents struggle to heat their homes every winter, especially when oil and natural gas prices are high. Moving away from these fuels in order to develop clean resources that are available locally would not only allow Mainers to feel more secure in terms of their energy supplies, but would also enable the state to create jobs and exports, growing the state’s economy.

“It is critical that the next Maine governor embrace and expand the state’s clean energy policies to support the sector’s continued growth and to develop new energy markets that will drive innovation, scale clean energy in a cost-effective manner and advance a more resilient 21^st century energy system.”

Homegrown clean energy has expanded substantially in Maine in recent years. According to a report from the Maine Technology Institute, the sector grew nearly 12 percent from 2007 to 2012, one of the fastest growing sectors in Maine. A separate E2Tech study found that Maine’s clean technology sector has an annual statewide impact of an estimated $2.3 billion in economic output, supporting 20,401 full- and part-time jobs, and $689 million in labor income.

In July NECEC released Empowering New England with Clean Energy, an original white paper outlining a compelling vision for the potential for clean energy growth, and critical clean energy policies that the next governors must support to ensure that the clean energy sector continues on its current path to becoming New England's next dominant innovation industry. Read the report here.

About NECEC (New England Clean Energy Council and the NECEC Institute)

NECEC is a regional non-profit organization representing clean energy companies and entrepreneurs throughout New England and the Northeast through programs and initiatives that help clean energy businesses at all stages of development to access the resources they need to grow. NECEC includes the New England Clean Energy Council, which is the lead voice for hundreds of clean energy companies across New England, influencing the energy policy agenda and growing the clean energy economy, and the NECEC Institute, which leads programs that support Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Cluster and Economic Development and Workforce Development. NECEC’s mission is to accelerate the region’s clean energy economy to global leadership by building an active community of stakeholders and a world-class cluster of clean energy companies.