AUGUSTA -- Regulations under consideration by a new state agency may soon help Maine make good on promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions by investing in energy efficiency and new low-carbon technologies.

Maine is one of 10 Northeast states participating in the first mandatory market-based effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the system, large power plants must buy state-issued pollution allowances to burn fossil fuels and release carbon dioxide.

The first electronic auction of carbon allowances took place in September and generated nearly $3 million in revenue -- money that will be placed in a new fund called the Energy and Carbon Savings Trust.

Proceeds from auctions will be spent on programs that reduce the use of electricity or fossil fuels, which in turn, reduces greenhouse gas emission. Low-carbon initiatives also include use of efficiency and renewable sources, such as solar and wind power.

Conservationists, energy users and other stakeholders in the rule-making process attended a public hearing on Wednesday at the Maine Public Utility Commission office in Augusta.

Tom Tietenberg, a trustee of the Energy and Carbon Savings Trust, said the allowance auctions will generate between $15 and $20 million a year to be used to fund efforts that promote energy efficiency in Maine.

"What we heard this morning was fine-tuning," Tietenberg said Wednesday after listening to public testimony about the new regulations. "It wasn't about broad-stroke issues, but portions of it that need to be refined in some ways."

The trustees plan to bring a final draft of the regulations to the Legislature next month.

Dylan Voorhees, of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said the primary goal of the program is to make reducing global warming as cheap as possible by using energy efficiency to save people money.

The program also will reduce fossil fuel consumption and provide economic benefits to Maine's economy.

"The rules as they now stand do a good job meeting the statutory requirements," Voorhees said at the hearing. "I think (the trustees) are doing a good job. Right now, the challenge they have is budgeting with voluble amounts of money from year to year."

Steve Hinchman, a Conservation Law Foundation attorney, said it was the decision of the Legislature that climate change is one of the most significant threats to Maine and the world. He said climate scientists give the world 10 years to significantly reduce carbon emissions in order to avoid a rapid climate shift.

"The trust should focus on programs and projects that can start up quickly and deliver the deepest cuts in greenhouse gas emissions," Hinchman said. "The money should be given out to programs that endure over time and are very energy intensive."

"For example, upgrades to energy-efficient technology at municipal sewage plants -- which use enormous amounts of electricity -- can produce significant energy savings and a major aid to town budgets."

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com