The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognizes Downeast Correctional Facility, a minimum-security, reentry-focused correctional facility located in Machiasport, Maine, for achieving DOE 50001 Ready recognition.
Maine Department of Corrections (DOC), of which the Downeast facility is a part, began participating in 50001 Ready through a targeted corrections cohort organized by the Sustainable Correctional Infrastructure Partnership (SCIP) Accelerator, a voluntary Department of Energy initiative. Motivated by an executive order from the governor for the Lead by Example initiative, the agency aimed to identify energy efficiency pathways that would reduce the state correctional facilities’ carbon footprint while also reducing energy costs.
Supported through the SCIP cohort and coaches from the energy consulting firm VEIC, as well as resources from 50001 Ready, the Downeast Correctional Facility successfully implemented an energy management system that secured their 50001 Ready designation in September of 2022. Since achieving this status, the Downeast facility continues to benefit from having a structured process in place for managing energy, as well as looking at life cycle replacement costs for energy-consuming equipment, performing preventative maintenance, and routine system checks.
Now equipped with energy management experience and expertise, Maine DOC plans to take lessons learned through 50001 Ready implementation at the Downeast facility and apply them to other correctional sites in the state.
DOE’s 50001 Ready program, managed by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO), provides a self-paced, no-cost way for organizations to build a culture of structured energy improvement that leads to deeper and more sustained energy savings.
Learn more about how 50001 Ready helped Maine DOC’s Downeast Correctional Facility save energy.