MAINE MONITOR • May 22, 2025
Six years ago, Gov. Janet Mills set a goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps, an environmentally friendly alternative to oil furnaces and gas boilers, by 2025. The state, now a national leader for heat pump adoption, met that goal two years ahead of schedule, and Mills set a new target: another 175,000 heat pumps by 2027. Maine needs skilled workers to reach this goal. But the state must employ more than 14,000 new workers to reach its goal of 30,000 clean energy jobs by the end of the decade. While the state says it remains dedicated to this goal, some in the industry worry federal funding cuts and tariffs could create challenges for the workforce development pipeline.