There's a heat pump revolution happening in Maine. Already over 100,000 of the 600,000 homes in Maine have heat pumps, and their plan is to be over 300,000 by 2027. One out of every 14 heat pumps in the U.S. is going to Maine, though it is only 0.42% of the US's population. We talk to Andy Meyer, Senior Program Manager at Efficiency Maine, to learn how they've done it, and how it's saving Maine residents a lot of money, even in a cold-weather climate.

Resource

• Efficiency Maine website

Lincoln Nebraska may not be the first city that comes to mind when you think of climate action, but maybe it should be. We interview Kim Morrow, Chief Sustainability Officer for Lincoln, about some exciting city programs, including EV infrastructure, an innovative approach to Rental Rehabilitation using Tax Increment Financing (TIF), heat pump rebates, and biochar as well as their efforts on the EPA's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants.

Resources

• Resilient Lincoln web page (Resilient Lincoln is the name of the Mayor's priority initiative that involves implementing the Climate Action Plan)
• Lincoln's Vision for a Climate-Smart Future (this is the background study behind the Climate Action Plan)
• Climate Action Plan
• EV Readiness Plan
• Press release regarding the Rental Rehabilitation Program
• Heat pump incentive program
  • Press release announcing the program
  • Heat pump incentive program web page
  • Lincoln Electric System Sustainable Energy Program
• Lincoln Biochar Initiative
• Local Food Plan

There's a lot of exciting things happening in the world of geothermal power. We explore geothermal in general and examine a novel approach leveraging groundwater to substantially reduce the footprint needed. We interview Darcy Solutions CTO Dan King about how their technology is being used by some cities to provide carbon free heating and cooling.

Resources:

• Darcy Solutions website
• Water Well Journal explanatory article