Keynote Address
Melanie Sachs
Maine House of Representatives District 102
Representing Freeport
Chair of Energy, Utilities and Technology CommitteeMaine Legislature
Rep. Melanie Sachs is serving her third term in the Maine House of Representatives.
Sachs grew up in New Sharon and graduated from Mt. Blue High School in Farmington. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Bates College in Lewiston and her master’s degree in science and social administration from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Rep. Sachs serves as chairwoman of the energy, utilities and technology committee which covers energy policy, including energy resources, wind energy development, biomass energy, hydropower, solar energy; efficiency and conservation; electric industry, including supply, transmission and distribution; natural gas industry; telecommunications industry, including telephone, Internet, broadband and cable television services; E-9-1-1; water and sewer utilities, including district charters; Public Utilities Commission; Office of the Public Advocate; Governor’s Energy Office; ConnectME Authority; and Efficiency Maine Trust.Featured Speakers
Nate Cronauer
Maine Solar Solutions
Growing up with plenty of Maine woods to explore, I saw the importance and interconnectedness of our natural environment from a young age. As I grew older and more and more of those woods were cut down, I felt a personal responsibility to help preserve and advocate for the people, plants, and wildlife that make our state so unique. After graduating with a degree in Environmental Planning and Policy from the University of Southern Maine, I sought to become involved with the decision making processes that affect our natural resources.
Renewable sources of energy present one of the most exciting and effective ways to decarbonize our energy infrastructure and address issues of climate change. I feel my role at Maine Solar Solutions allows me to do just that.
Education & Outreach Coordinator
ClimateWork Maine
Alan Caron
FounderAlan is the founder of ClimateWork Maine, which is an organization of businesses taking action on climate change and which includes some of the state’s largest businesses and a wider array of smaller ones.
Prior to that work, he was the founder and President of GrowSmart Maine, a statewide non-profit working on sustainable prosperity for Maine. He also wrote a weekly column for the Maine Sunday Telegram and is the author or co-author of two books: Reinventing Maine Government and Maine Next Economy.
Alan once served on the Freeport Planning Board, where he was chair for some years.
In his spare time, he is a builder of lakefront and waterfront homes – which is a sure way to forestall retirement. All of his buildings are super-insulated, heated entirely with heat pumps and have EV chargers. His most recent two homes, in the Mount Vernon region of central Maine, also have geothermal heat.
He grew up in Waterville, Maine, and has a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Management from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Scott Libby
Royal River Heat Pumps
Owner
Scott is Owner of Royal River Heat Pumps. With over 35 years of experience and training in the HVAC industry Scott decided to create a company that would be a place where he wanted to work; a Heat Pump Installation company that meets his high standards of quality, integrity and community. Scott enjoys golf, skiing and building science.
Andy Meyer
Andy Meyer is a senior program manager at Efficiency Maine. His responsibilities include residential weatherization, heating systems, appliances, and lighting. He has inspected hundreds of homes, was certified by the Building Performance Institute as a Building Analyst, is certified to handle heat pump refrigerant, and has a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College.
Senior Program ManagerEfficiency Maine
Mika Heming
Mika serves as phME’s retrofitMAINE Director, working to expand and guide the organization’s retrofitMAINE initiative. Previously, Mika served as the program manager for Flood Ready Neighborhoods in New Hampshire, a part of the UNH & NH Sea Grant, and spent five years in Alabama and Mississippi helping communities adapt to sea-level rise and other coastal hazards.
DirectorretrofitMAINE