Wrapped up in what looks like a developer’s attempt to sweeten a deal to some skeptical neighbors is a big idea that could change the way Maine looks at energy.

Former governor and current wind power developer Angus King is making an offer to the residents of Highland Plantation that if they accept the construction of a 39-turbine wind farm on their ridge-tops, his company would give them a $6,000 energy efficiency grant for their homes to be used any way they choose.

One option could be to buy, through a company partnering with King’s, thermal storage home heaters, which would be powered by wind-generated electricity sold at a discount price for a long-term fixed contract. Those who buy the units would get electric home heat for a price equal to oil at $1.60 a gallon.

Highland Plantation residents who accept the deal and install the heaters could dramatically reduce their energy costs by reducing their need for oil.

There are not many people in Highland Plantation and most of them heat with wood, of which there is an ample local supply. Few are likely to take advantage of the offer to buy the thermal units with their energy grant.

So what’s the big deal?

It’s that Maine is among the most oil-dependent states in the nation, despite not having a single well here, which creates a significant economic vulnerability.

Although almost none of our electricity is generated from oil, 90 percent of our energy use results from home heating and transportation. Every time the price of gasoline increases by a dollar, $1.2 billion leaves the state’s economy, and can’t be spent locally to support jobs here.

NEW USES

One way to reduce our dependence on oil would be to use electricity for things that we currently do not, which is how the Highland Plantation project could provide a model.

If Mainers could buy discounted electricity at night, when demand is low and its value is lessened, and use it to heat up a thermal storage unit (basically a high-density ceramic block inside a super-insulated box) they could save money heating their homes and reduce — though not eliminate — their need for oil, gas or other fuel.

That nighttime electricity needn’t come from wind, but there are characteristics of wind power usually cited as weaknesses that make it well suited to this use. Unlike a gas-fired power plant, which scales down its output to use less fuel at night, when demand is low, wind turbines turn whenever the wind blows.

In fact, since wind tends to blow more at night, when most people’s lights and television sets are off, it produces power when people need it least, the way electricity is currently used.

But if the use of electricity were expanded into home heating, and locally generated renewable energy from wind and hydro-electric turbines produced at night could be captured, Mainers could reduce their energy costs and reduce their vulnerability to oil price hikes.

As technology improves, this could also be used for plug-in electric cars (which would also likely be charged at night).

CHANGES NEEDED

For this to work, Maine will have to make some changes.

One would be regulatory, allowing utilities to offer a discount for nighttime electricity. Currently there is only one price, regardless of demand and time of day.

The second would be financial. For this idea to take off, there has to be an affordable way for a homeowner to take advantage of the lower rates without shelling out $3,000 per unit in cash.

A utility like CMP, or a quasi-state entity like the Finance Authority of Maine, could create a mechanism for the units to be paid for over time through the monthly electric bill.

The state could consider a tax break or some other mechanism to provide the incentive for homeowners to convert.

The last change will be one of attitude. Electrification will reduce our dependence on oil only if people are willing to change their ideas of how they heat their homes and get around.

The proposal in Highland Plantation, if it’s accepted, offers the rest of the state a window to how these ideas might work in a real-life application.

It may be a small project in relation to the state’s total energy needs, but it is a big idea, and one worth exploring more.