Energy help on the way for small businesses in Aroostook

    CARIBOU — With funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Division, the Northern Maine Development Commission will soon be able to help small businesses address one of the most pressing issues now facing the northern Maine economy; the rising costs of energy.     USDA has awarded a Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) of $190,200 to help small businesses in northern Maine remain competitive. USDA defines small businesses and manufacturers as those rural businesses with fewer than 50 employees and gross revenues of less than $1,000,000.
    The grant will be used for a two-year Energy Efficiency Program targeted to help small businesses and small manufacturers offset costs related to improving the organization’s energy efficiency. NMDC will help small businesses and manufacturers obtain accurate information on their building’s energy use, available energy efficiency tools, and how to reduce energy-related costs. This will be accomplishes through the performance of detailed energy audits coordinated by NMDC and Efficiency Maine that will include Installed Cost and Return on Investment information for the proposed energy improvements.
    The need for energy efficiency in Maine, and particularly in Aroostook County, is well documented. A recent report called “Energy Efficiency, Business Competitiveness and Untapped Economic Potential in Maine,” points to specific energy issues for commercial and industrial businesses in Maine and concludes that because the Maine economy is such an energy-intensive economy, energy efficiency and conversion is “perhaps the single most effective action to enhance Maine’s business climate and economic competitiveness.” The report was a joint project of the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine.
    Brian Sutherland, Maine Manufacturers Extension Partnership coordinator, will be the primary contact person for the program, assisted by Brian Longstaff, senior planner and business development specialist.
     More information about this program is available by calling Sutherland at 498-8736, ext.2224 (Caribou) or Longstaff at 532-0644 (Houlton); or by e-mailing bsutherland@mainemap.org or blongstaff@nmdc.org.