YARMOUTH – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins on Monday praised the activism of Maine churches that are promoting individual conservation and working to bring so-called “green power” to Maine consumers.

Collins said conservation is the best short-term answer to the nation’s growing energy needs, and she said Maine Interfaith Power and Light Inc. has emphasized the importance of individual action.

She quoted from the book of Genesis, which says humans shall “have dominion over the fish of the seas and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

“In giving man dominion over the creatures of the Earth, God also gave man the responsibility for their safe stewardship. We must fulfill this responsibility with humility and commitment,” she told a group gathered at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church.

The event marked the anniversary of the Maine Interfaith Power and Light Inc., whose organizers believe protecting the planet is a moral issue that has taken a back seat to traditional church causes for far too long.

Earlier this month, the only program that sells electricity generated by renewable power sources in Maine announced it was no longer accepting customers. PureGreen Energy, operated by Energy Atlantic, had fewer than 100 accounts.

That leaves Maine Interfaith Power and Light as the only outfit seeking to supply so-called “green power” to Maine customers. It hopes to line up a supplier within nine months.

The Maine project was started by Episcopal leaders in California, whose Episcopal Power and Light has been delivering power since 1998. A similar project is under way in New Jersey.

Maine Interfaith Power and Light intends to unite parishioners behind the cause of improving the environment. Its board includes representatives of six faiths: Quaker, Jewish, Episcopal, United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist and Presbyterian, said Libby Moore, president of the board.

“Preservation of the Earth is one of the greatest issues facing people of faith in the 21st century,” said the Rev. William C. Imes, president-elect of the Bangor Theological Seminary.

Maine Interfaith Power and Light plans to serve as an aggregator for both residential and nonresidential customers interested in buying electricity generated from renewable sources like solar, wind and hydroelectric power, and from landfill gas and biomass.

“Our mission is to purchase electric power that has the least possible adverse effect on the earth’s environment,” Moore said.

So far, 1,026 households and 96 congregations have indicated that they would pay more than the going market rate to purchase green power through the Maine Interfaith Power and Light.

Maine Interfaith Power and Light’s goal is to sign up 20,000 homes and 400 religious institutions. To do that, half of Maine’s 800 churches and 20 percent of their member families would have to join.