South Portland’s one-megawatt solar array at the City’s capped landfill (929 Highland Avenue) came online in October 2017. ReVision Energy installed the 2,944 photovoltaic panels on the 34-acre former landfill, which is behind the City’s transfer station and new public services facility. (Photo: ReVision Energy).
How about committing your business to 100% clean energy?
With the climate crisis in full swing, a group of Maine businesses has launched a project called “On the Pathway to 100% Clean Energy.” ReVision Energy is helping get it kickstarted as a member of the “Leadership Circle” with ReVision’s co-owner Joel Alder on its advisory board. The overall message of the program is that every business can get on the pathway to 100% clean energy and decrease reliance on fossil fuels. Through simple, concrete steps such as weatherization, electrification, and solarizing, companies can start planning now for a clean energy future.
“You can start small,” explained Alder, “but the idea is that you get it started and build on it and keep going. Businesses can get on the right track now and think about it on a regular basis; the idea is that you don’t keep putting clean energy on the back burner.”
The project is simple to join via three steps:
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Sign a letter committing your business to the goal of 100% clean energy.
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Share your “first meaningful milestone.” Write down what you have done (or are about to do) to reduce fossil fuels and begin your journey to 100% clean energy.
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Outline a plan to eliminate all of your remaining emissions, over time.
There is no time limit, and no cost to join ‘On the Pathway to 100% Clean Energy.’ The website has a number of tools to help businesses with their planning, including an emissions calculator and various guidebooks. Once a business takes the pledge, they will receive recognition on the website and through the campaign’s publicity efforts.
“It’s a booster for companies who are on the campaign,” Alder explained. “Their customers will appreciate it, and it will bring them new attention from other climate-conscious consumers.”
The project is independent and non-political, and so far, it includes a dozen Maine businesses which have taken the pledge: Lamey-Wellehan Shoes, Scratch Baking Co., GWI, Geiger, FlowFold, Loohoo Wool Dryer Balls, ReVision Energy, Fiddlehead Designs Cabinetry, Wicked Joe Coffee, Wicked Leaf Tea, Green Clean Maine, and Spark Applied Efficiency. The Maine Climate Action Plan, developed in 2019, includes a call to the private sector to help fight the climate crisis through partnerships and leadership. As more businesses sign on, there will be ample opportunity to share best practices and gain from the experience of other businesses.
“One of the major goals of the project is to show that we have the potential to stop fossil fuel emissions from thousands of Maine businesses,” said Jim Wellehan, CEO of Lamey-Wellehan and also an ‘On the Pathway to 100% Clean Energy’ advisory board member. “Once a business’s owners have made the commitment, it may mean taking small steps in the first year, then ramping up, year after year. But that’s what it means to be ‘On the Pathway to 100% Clean Energy.’”
To learn more and take the pledge to 100% Clean Energy, check out the website:
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