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Despite climate goals, state rebates for electric vehicles are running on empty • Maine Morning Star

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Despite climate goals, state rebates for electric vehicles are running on empty • Maine Morning Star


For every 200 new car registrations in Maine, around 13 of them are for electric vehicles. 

This is up from 2020, when fewer than three out of every 200 newly registered cars were either battery powered or plug-in hybrids. But the state wants to see that number climb even higher. 

The state’s newly updated climate action plan, known as Maine Won’t Wait, set a goal of having 150,000 light-duty electric vehicles on Maine roads by the start of the next decade. This year, there were fewer than 17,500. 

With a ways to go to achieve that goal, the climate plan outlines ideas for encouraging people to ditch their internal combustion engine vehicles for those that produce no or low tailpipe emissions. However, one of the incentives the state has used in recent years to promote that transition has run dry without any current plan to bring it back. 

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“To further increase the number of EVs on the road, Maine must continue to offer attractive EV rebates and expand the dealer network offering rebates, especially in rural communities,” the climate action plan reads. 

But those rebates will need more money to continue. In mid-November, Efficiency Maine had to stop issuing rebates — except for those designated for low-income customers — because it exhausted the $13.5 million it had to fund the program since it started in 2019.

That money came from a variety of sources including payouts from multiple legal settlements and money allocated by the Maine Legislature, said Executive Director Michael Stoddard. The 2022 state budget included $3.5 million for the program. 

State policymakers are considering next steps to provide incentives for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, said Jackie Farwell, spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and Future, which is directed by Maine Climate Council co-chair Hannah Pingree. The next session of the Legislature, during which lawmakers will need to pass a new biennial budget, will start in early January with Democrats in control of both chambers. 

“The ambitious but realistic EV goals in the updated climate action plan are built upon comprehensive modeling that incorporates a range of factors, including, but not limited to, the availability of rebates,” Farwell said. 

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She added that as the state expands its charging infrastructure, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are becoming more popular in Maine. Both vehicle types can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially in a sprawling, rural state like Maine, where transportation accounts for nearly half of carbon emissions.

Given that, a draft report from the Governor’s Energy Office outlining how the state can meet its clean energy goals said that electrifying transportation is “essential for meeting Maine’s clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals.”

About the state EV rebates

Efficiency Maine’s EV rebate program offered up to $2,000 for the purchase of a new battery electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid to Mainers of any income. The rebate amount increased to $7,500 for low-income consumers and included an option to get some money back for purchasing a used hybrid or electric vehicle.

In order to receive the low-income rebate, the purchaser must be part of a household currently receiving other benefits, such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or MaineCare. 

There was also previously a third rebate category for moderate-income households that included individuals making less than $70,000 and couples earning less than $100,000 a year, but that also has been cut. 

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Rebates for low-income drivers will continue because the money earmarked specifically for those hasn’t run out yet. One of the $5 million settlement awards specified that a quarter of the money be used for low-income rebates. 

More low- and moderate-income drivers have accessed rebates in recent years, but they still only accounted for 17% of state EV rebates in 2024, according to the state’s updated climate action plan. The vast majority of EVs were purchased by higher income households. 

The life of the rebate program was always dependent on the demand, Stoddard said. Efficiency Maine forecasted the funding would last through June 2025, but he said demand accelerated in the past six months so the money went faster than expected. 

Stoddard posits that this could have happened because electric vehicles have become increasingly affordable and more models came onto the market, giving drivers more options to weigh against traditional gas-powered cars. 

Future of EV rebates in Maine

Going forward, Efficiency Maine has proposed what Stoddard described as a “modest budget” for EV rebates in its three-year strategic plan that still needs approval from the Public Utilities Commission. The proposal gradually increases from about $2 million next year to $4 million in fiscal year 2028. 

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A 2021 clean transportation roadmap from the Governor’s Energy Office and the Office of Policy Innovation and the Future estimated that a low-income EV rebate program would require $11 million to $28.8 million per year through 2032.

If the rebate program is replenished, Stoddard said he expects Efficiency Maine to place a greater emphasis on low- and moderate-income customers who may face more barriers to purchasing an electric vehicle even as sticker prices come down. 

“I think our programs, if they are able to continue in the future, will become more focused on specific segments of the marketplace that are slower to adopt this equipment,” Stoddard said.

Rebates aren’t the only option

Incentives can be helpful in getting people to start using new, unfamiliar technology. As for the EV rebates, Stoddard said they have encouraged car dealerships to add more electric vehicles to their inventory and stirred up interest in early adopters to try these new cars. 

But state rebates are just one tactic, Stoddard said. There are other financial incentives such as federal tax credits and the functions of a free market bringing down the sticker price to make electric vehicles more comparable to their gas-powered counterparts. 

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Federal tax credits offer up to $7,500 for some new battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. However, there are eligibility requirements and income caps. There are also smaller federal tax credits available for the purchase of used electric vehicles. 

Maine’s climate action plan says the state should explore other means of making electric vehicles more affordable, such as broader access to financing and other tax incentives. 

Additionally, Stoddard explained that some consumers may also need the assurance that there will be sufficient fueling capability, so developing a network of public chargers can help people feel confident that they could travel around the state as they please with an electric vehicle. 

Maine has more than 500 public charging locations with more than 1,100 individual charging ports, according to a map from Efficiency Maine. Although most of them are concentrated in the southern part of the state, there are public chargers along the northern and eastern borders. 

The state is also investing more than $50 million to install 700 new charging ports by 2028. 

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Program doubles enrollment, expands to more Maine schools

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Program doubles enrollment, expands to more Maine schools


Central Maine Power is expanding its Union Trade Internship Program in 2026, increasing opportunities for Maine high school students to gain hands-on experience in the electric utility industry.

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A sign for Central Maine Power, a subsidiary of Avangrid

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CMP expands union trade internship program for Maine students

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Central Maine Power is expanding its Union Trade Internship Program in 2026, increasing opportunities for Maine high school students to gain hands-on experience in the electric utility industry.

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Updated: 11:47 AM EDT Apr 14, 2026

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Central Maine Power is expanding its Union Trade Internship Program in 2026, increasing opportunities for Maine high school students to gain hands-on experience in the electric utility industry.Now in its second year, the 10-week paid program will double enrollment, expand to additional schools in central and southern Maine, and broaden training to include both line and substation operations. The program will serve 10 students ages 16 and older, selected through a competitive recruitment and interview process in partnership with participating schools.The internship runs from June to August and includes classroom instruction at CMP’s training center in Farmingdale, along with supervised field experience alongside union crews. Students will learn foundational skills such as pole climbing, bucket truck operation, breaker and transformer maintenance, and the safe use of tools and protective equipment. Participants will not work on live electrical wires.The program is aimed at strengthening the workforce pipeline for skilled trades while giving students early exposure to careers in the energy sector and supporting partnerships between CMP and Maine schools.

Central Maine Power is expanding its Union Trade Internship Program in 2026, increasing opportunities for Maine high school students to gain hands-on experience in the electric utility industry.

Now in its second year, the 10-week paid program will double enrollment, expand to additional schools in central and southern Maine, and broaden training to include both line and substation operations. The program will serve 10 students ages 16 and older, selected through a competitive recruitment and interview process in partnership with participating schools.

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The internship runs from June to August and includes classroom instruction at CMP’s training center in Farmingdale, along with supervised field experience alongside union crews. Students will learn foundational skills such as pole climbing, bucket truck operation, breaker and transformer maintenance, and the safe use of tools and protective equipment. Participants will not work on live electrical wires.

The program is aimed at strengthening the workforce pipeline for skilled trades while giving students early exposure to careers in the energy sector and supporting partnerships between CMP and Maine schools.

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Carbon removal project supports Maine’s blue economy, broader marine health

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Carbon removal project supports Maine’s blue economy, broader marine health


Oceans absorb roughly 25 to 30 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that is released into the atmosphere. When this CO2 dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, making the water more acidic and altering its chemistry. Elevated levels of acidity are harmful to marine life like corals, oysters, and certain plankton that rely on calcium carbonate to build shells and skeletons.

“As the oceans absorb more CO2, the chemistry shifts — increasing bicarbonate while reducing carbonate ion availability — which means shellfish have less carbonate to form shells,” explains Kripa Varanasi, professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “These changes can propagate through marine ecosystems, affecting organism health and, over time, broader food webs.”

Loss of shellfish can lead to water quality decline, coastal erosion, and other ecosystem disruptions, including significant economic consequences for coastal communities. “The U.S. has such an extensive coastline, and shellfish aquaculture is globally valued at roughly $60 billion,” says Varanasi. “With the right innovations, there is a substantial opportunity to expand domestic production.”

“One might think, ‘this [depletion] could happen in 100 years or something,’ but what we’re finding is that they are already affecting hatcheries and coastal systems today,” he adds. “Without intervention, these trends could significantly alter marine ecosystems and the coastal economies that rely on them over time.”

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Varanasi and T. Alan Hatton, the Ralph Landau Professor of Chemical Engineering, Post-Tenure, at MIT, have been collaborating for years to develop methods for removing carbon dioxide from seawater and turn acidic water back to alkaline. In recent years, they’ve partnered with researchers at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center to deploy the method in hatcheries.

“The way we farm oysters, we spawn them in special tanks and rear them through about a two-week larval period … until they’re big enough so that they can be transferred out into the river as the water warms up,” explains Bill Mook, founder of Mook Sea Farm. Around 2009, he noticed problems with production of early-stage larvae. “It was a catastrophe. We lost several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of production,” he says.

Ultimately, the problem was identified as the low pH of the water that was being brought in: The water was too acidic. The farm’s initial strategy, a common practice in oyster farming, was to buffer the water by adding sodium bicarbonate. The new approach avoids the use of chemicals or minerals.

“A lot of researchers are studying direct air capture, but very few are working in the ocean-capture space,” explains Hatton. “Our approach is to use electricity, in an electrochemical manner, rather than add chemicals to manipulate the solution pH.”

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The method uses reactive electrodes to release protons into seawater that is collected and fed into the cells, driving the release of the dissolved carbon dioxide from the water. The cyclic process acidifies the water to convert dissolved inorganic bicarbonates to molecular carbon dioxide, which is collected as a gas under vacuum. The water is then fed to a second set of cells with a reversed voltage to recover the protons and turn the acidic water back to alkaline before releasing it back to the sea.

Maine’s Damariscotta River Estuary, where Mook farms is located, provides about 70 percent of the state’s oyster crop. Damian Brady, a professor of oceanography based at the University of Maine and key collaborator on the project, says the Damariscotta community has “grown into an oyster-producing powerhouse … [that is] not only part of the economy, but part of the culture.” He adds, “there’s actually a huge amount that we could learn if we couple the engineering at MIT with the aquaculture science here at the University of Maine.”

“The scientific underpinning of our hypothesis was that these bivalve shellfish, including oysters, need calcium carbonate in order to form their shells,” says Simon Rufer PhD ’25, a former student in Varanasi’s lab and now CEO and co-founder of CoFlo Medical. “By alkalizing the water, we actually make it easier for the oysters to form and maintain their shells.”

In trials conducted by the team, results first showed that the approach is biocompatible and doesn’t kill the larvae, and later showed that the oysters treated by MIT’s buffer approach did better than mineral or chemical approaches. Importantly, Hatton also notes, the process creates no waste products. Ocean water goes in, CO2 comes out. This captured CO2 can potentially be used for other applications, including to grow algae to be used as food for shellfish.

Varanasi and Hatton first introduced their approach in 2023. Their most recent paper, “Thermodynamics of Electrochemical Marine Inorganic Carbon Removal,” which was published last year in journal Environmental Science & Technology, outlines the overall thermodynamics of the process and presents a design tool to compare different carbon removal processes. The team received a “plus-up award” from ARPA-E to collaborate with University of Maine and further develop and scale the technology for application in aquaculture environments.

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Brady says the project represents another avenue for aquaculture to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation. “It pushes a new technology for removing carbon dioxide from ocean environments forward simultaneously,” says Brady. “If they can be coupled, aquaculture and carbon dioxide removal improve each other’s bottom line.”

Through the collaboration, the team is improving the robustness of the cells and learning about their function in real ocean environments. The project aims to scale up the technology, and to have significant impact on climate and the environment, but it includes another big focus.

“It’s also about jobs,” says Varanasi. “It’s about supporting the local economy and coastal communities who rely on aquaculture for their livelihood. We could usher in a whole new resilient blue economy. We think that this is only the beginning. What we have developed can really be scaled.”

Mook says the work is very much an applied science, “[and] because it’s applied science, it means that we benefit hugely from being connected and plugged into academic institutions that are doing research very relevant to our livelihoods. Without science, we don’t have a prayer of continuing this industry.”

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New York homicide suspect arrested in Maine

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WATERVILLE, Maine (WGME) — A 19-year-old wanted for homicide in connection with multiple gang-related shootings in New York has been arrested in Maine.

Police say they searched a home at 439 West River Road in Waterville on Friday around 11 a.m. and found 19-year-old David McCadney of New York.

According to police, McCadney was wanted in New York for second degree homicide in connection with multiple gang-related shootings.

McCadney was arrested and charged with fugitive from justice and is being held without bail at the Kennebec County Correctional Facility.

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McCadney is expected to be extradited back to New York at a later date.



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