A coalition of environmentalists and green businesses has announced a new citizens initiative to increase the amount of clean energy consumed in Maine.

The initiative, which the group wants to put on the 2012 ballot, would mandate that electric utilities invest in energy efficiency whenever it would reduce costs for ratepayers and require that 20 percent of Maine’s electricity comes from renewable energy sources like wind and solar by 2010. Maine already has set a goal of getting 10 percent power from renewables by 2017.

"We believe the Renewable Energy Standard has provided and will continue to provide an excellent business signal to investors that Maine is open for their renewable energy investment,” says Jeremy Payne, Executive Director for the Maine Renewable Energy Association.

In 2010, Maine’s three large wind farms—Mars Hill, Stetson (I & II), and Kibby—generated 486,683 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, which is roughly the amount of electricity used by 69,000 Maine households in a year. That's according to estimates provided by the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

The coalition's new group is called Maine Citizens for Clean Energy.

Photo of the Rollins Wind project in Penobscot County by John Lamontagne.