That’s a wrap on Electrify Everything! South Portland’s beneficial electrification rebate program aimed at assisting low- and moderate-income residents with adopting more efficient, cleaner electric technologies for their homes, transportation, and lawncare equipment.

The city awarded $262,000 in rebates to 317 participating South Portland households over 10 months. Funding for this program came from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Highlights

South Portland awarded $262,000 in rebates to 317 households participating in the Electrify Everything! program. Courtesy photo

Launched on Sept. 1, 2022, at a time when heating fuel and gasoline prices were at record highs, South Portland’s Electrify Everything! design was simple; help low- and moderate-income residents adopt more efficient, cleaner, electric technologies to help save money, feel more comfortable in their homes, and to reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions.

The city provided rebates on electric vehicles, electric lawn care equipment, e-bikes, heating and cooling systems, and home weatherization. Through Electrify Everything! South Portland residents with a household income up to 100 percent of area median income (e.g. below $111,700 for a family of four) were eligible to receive up to $2,000 per household in rebates, on top of other federal and state (Efficiency Maine) rebates; 317 South Portland households took advantage of the rebate program for the installation or purchase of the following:

Air source heat pumps: 92

Hot water heat pumps: 19

Air sealing: 1

Insulation: 23

Electric vehicles (all- electric and plug-in hybrids): 13

Electric bikes: 89

Electric lawn mowers: 132

Electric leaf blowers: 35

Electric string trimmers: 37

In South Portland, 19 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions come from residential buildings, and 32 percent come from transportation – totaling more than 50 percent of our community-wide greenhouse gas emissions. Our climate action plan, One Climate Future, identifies beneficial electrification, or replacing direct fossil fuel use with electricity in a way that reduces overall emissions and energy costs, as a key strategy.

By offering beneficial electrification rebates directly to residents for electric home heating systems, vehicles, and lawncare equipment – paired with an electric grid that is increasingly run on renewables – we can make significant progress toward becoming carbon neutral. Although Electrify Everything! has ended, ongoing projects and other rebates available at the state and federal levels will continue to help us reach our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

Questions or comments about Electrify Everything! may be directed to South Portland Sustainability Director Julie Rosenbach at jrosenbach@southportland.org.

Our Sustainable City is a recurring column in the Sentry intended to provide residents with news and information about sustainability initiatives in South Portland. Follow the Sustainability Office on Instagram @soposustainability.

Steve Genovese is an AmeriCorps/Greater Portland Council of Governments Resilience Corps fellow serving in the South Portland Sustainability Office through September 2023. He can be reached at sgenovese@southportland.org.