APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 23, 2021 358
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE
_____
H.P. 1230 - L.D. 1659
An Act To Create the Maine Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator
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
established under subsection 2.
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. "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.
D. "Electrification" means the installation, construction or use of end-use electric
technology that replaces existing technology based on fossil fuel consumption.
E. "Energy efficiency project" means any project, technology, product, service,
function or measure that results in the reduction of energy use required to achieve the
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same level of service or output obtained before the application of the project,
technology, product, service, function or measure.
F. "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.
G. "Greenhouse gas" has the same meaning as in Title 38, section 574, subsection 1.
H. "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.
I. "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 as long as such a project provides 95% or greater efficiency for
upstream and downstream passage for diadromous fish species present
downstream of the project;
(c) Projects using ocean and hydrokinetic power generation;
(d) Projects using fuel cells to store energy; and
(e) Projects that are biomass generators fueled by wood or wood waste, landfill
gas or anaerobic digestion of agricultural products, by-products or wastes;
(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) 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; and
(6) Any other key areas identified by the board as consistent with the mandate of
the accelerator as described in subsection 3.
J. "Renewable energy generation" means electricity created by sources that are
continually replenished by nature, such as the sun, wind and water.
K. "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.
L. "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.
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 M. "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; and
(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 as a dedicated, specialized
finance program designed to drive private capital into market gaps for goods and services
producing low or zero greenhouse gas emissions and use finance tools to mitigate climate
change; that does not take deposits; that is funded by government, public, private or
charitable contributions; and that invests in or finances projects alone or in conjunction
with other investors.
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;
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 (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. For any project exceeding $100,000 in total costs that is financed in whole or in
part by the accelerator, the accelerator shall ensure that, for those portions of the project
that are funded by the accelerator, any workers employed by contractors and
subcontractors conducting construction work on those portions 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.
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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.
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