Energy Awareness 101: Renewable Energy

October is Energy Awareness Month — a nationwide initiative to help individuals and communities understand how they can use energy more wisely. By becoming more energy aware, you can reduce your energy use, lower your utility bills, and contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment.

This month will consist of four newsletters that will highlight and discuss renewable energy, energy efficiency, electrification, and energy tips for renters.

Renewable Energy 101

What is Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy is energy that comes from a source that won’t run out. These sources are natural and self-replenishing such as sunlight, wind, water, heat from the inside the Earth’s crust (geothermal), and biomass.

Renewable energy sources replenish in a humans lifetime, while fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, are non-renewable resources because they take hundreds of millions of years to form. Even better, renewable energy sources usually have a low or zero carbon footprint, meaning they don’t produce greenhouse gas emissions like fossil fuels do.

Renewable Energy Sources

Solar ☀️

Fun Fact! Did you know that the amount of sunlight that hits the Earth in one hour could supply the worlds energy for a whole year?

Solar energy is the most available renewable energy source and can even be harnessed in cloudy weather. Solar technologies (like solar panels) convert sunlight into electrical energy, this process is called “the photovoltaic effect.” Any solar energy that is captured through a photovoltaic technology can power everything from homes, businesses, cars, small appliances, and more! Solar panels have become more affordable and are often the cheapest form of electricity.

Wind 💨

Fun Fact! Egyptians used wind energy to propel their boats along the Nile River.

Electricity generated from wind energy is the most common form of renewable electricity in United States. This energy source is harnessed by wind turbines. When the wind blows, it pushes against the blades of the turbine, making them spin. The blades are connected to a generator inside the turbine. As the blades turn, the generator also turns, and this creates electricity. The generator sends the electricity through transmission lines to the power grids.

Hydropower💧

Fun Fact! The Bridge Street Dam generated hydropower for Sparhawk Mill until 2014.

Hydropower is electricity that’s generated by either damming or diverting a body of water to harness the power its movement. A dam or canal holds back the water, and once the water is released it flows through the dam or canal into turbines which are connected to a generator. Similar to how wind energy is captured, the generator also turns and creates electricity, which feeds into to the power grid.

Geothermal Energy🔥🌍

Fun Fact! Maine is currently researching geothermal energy networks, which is a system that shares sources of heat or cooling across multiple buildings via buried pipes.

Geothermal energy comes from the natural heat inside the Earth. Wells are drilled deep into the Earths crust to reach underground reservoirs of hot water and steam. This hot water or stream is brought to the surface and used to spin a turbine, which is connected to a generator that produces electricity. Geothermal systems are the most efficient way of heating and cooling your home, they are inexpensive to operate but expensive to install.

Biomass Energy 🌱

Fun Fact! Did you know that all the organic matter from Yarmouth Transfer Station is used to create biomass energy at Agri-Cycle.

Growing things like trees and plants collect energy from the sun. When the organic matter decomposes or is burned, that heat (biomass energy) is used to boil water and creates steam, which spins a turbine. The same process occurs as the others ways electricity is created. Turbine, generator, electricity!

How you can Support Renewable Energy

Consider joining a voluntary program called Maine Green Power, that supports local renewable energy by purchasing renewable energy certificates. This program can be used from electricity providers such as Central Maine Power and Versant.

There are many third party green energy suppliers that you can subscribe to to ensure your electricity is coming from a renewable energy source.

Community solar is also option, similar to third party energy suppliers, community solar projects are subscription based and give you discount credits on your utility bill.

Installing renewable energy sources such as solar panels is always a great option to power your house or business without connecting to third party energy suppliers.

Advocating for policy, stay informed about State Policies like Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard for cost effective renewable energy technologies, which mandates a growing percentage of electricity from renewable sources.

Efficiency Maine still has incentives for renewable energy solutions that you can take advantage of before they go!

Renewable Energy in Maine

As of 2023, 67% of Maine’s electricity is sourced from renewable energy sources.

Fun Fact! Maine’s largest single sourced renewable energy is hydropower.

Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) establishes the minimum portion of electricity sold in Maine that must come from renewable energy sources.

In 2019, Governor Mills signed legislation that increases Maine’s RPS to 80% by 2030. This year, Governor Mills increased Maine’s RPS to 90% by 2030 and established a new Clean Energy Standard (CES), which aims to achieve 100% clean energy by 2040.

Clean Energy are alternative sources of energy that aren’t renewable but have low to zero carbon emissions that are generate when used such as nuclear power. CES allows Maine to take advantage of all sources of clean and renewable energy to achieve its 2040 goal.