Since 2015, Virginia has received $42.5 million from the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and $10.7 million from the State Energy Program (SEP), resulting in the following benefits:

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7,302 Homes Weatherized

Virginia reduced energy costs and improved health and safety in 7,302 homes.*

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859 Jobs Created or Retained

The State Energy Program creates or retains one job for every $12,500 invested.*  

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39.7 Million Square Feet of Building Space Retrofitted

Since 2015, Virginia has installed energy efficiency upgrades in 610 buildings.* 

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Connected with 54,948 People About Energy Efficiency Installations

Virginia held 1,264 workshops, webinars, trainings, or outreach events since 2015.* 

* Findings from a National Evaluation of the State Energy Program and a National Evaluation of the Weatherization Assistance Program. 

States report outcomes of State Energy Program and Weatherization Assistance Program formula (annual) fund activities to DOE on a quarterly basis. The metrics above are outcomes of formula-funded activities since 2015.

The SCEP Project Map highlights the annual formula and competitive funding for WAP and SEP.

Virginia's State Energy Program at Work

Virginia’s statewide C-PACE Program

In 2020, the General Assembly authorized Virginia Energy to sponsor a statewide C-PACE Program for local governments to participate in rather than creating their own. Virginia Energy competitively selected the Virginia PACE Authority, with technical support from Slipstream to design and administer the statewide program. The statewide program launched in September 2022 and is optional for local governments. It operates alongside programs localities choose to operate independently of it. It is anticipated that the statewide C-PACE program will expedite access to C-PACE financing to building owners by providing a standard program across localities that choose to participate. By reducing time, costs and administrative hurdles, Virginia’s statewide C-PACE program seeks to provide faster and more equitable access to capital for building owners, particularly in smaller jurisdictions. To learn more about the statewide C-PACE program, visit Virginia PACE Authority. Virginia has 7 localities in the Statewide PACE program.

Mid-Atlantic PACE Alliance

In addition to sponsoring the statewide C-PACE program, Virginia Energy is supporting the expansion of C-PACE in Virginia through its involvement in the Mid-Atlantic PACE Alliance (MAPA). Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, MAPA is a collaboration between Virginia Energy, the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment, the Maryland Clean Energy Center and other industry and non-for-profit partners with the goal of accelerating the implementation of C-PACE programs and projects in the region.

Energy Savings Performance Contracting

Since 2001, Virginia Energy's Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC) program has worked with state agencies and other public bodies to enter into a contract with energy service companies to significantly reduce energy costs. The end result is for the improvements to pay for themselves in offset energy costs. In June 2021, the program celebrated over $1 billion in energy savings across the Commonwealth. In 2022 the total contracts equaled $55.8 Million. Visit Virginia’s Energy Performance Contracting website for additional detailed information, forms and documents, and case studies.

Demand Response

Demand Response programs pay facilities to reduce energy load during times of grid stress or high energy prices. Sometimes, the demand for energy outpaces the grid's ability to supply it, causing brownouts or blackouts. Instead of producing more energy at great expense to consumers and the environment, the grid operator can offset the imbalance by reducing the amount of electricity being consumed when demand exceeds supply.

The Commonwealth of Virginia selected CPower Energy Management as the Curtailment Service Provider (CSP) to deliver Demand Response programs. This program is available to state agencies and public localities that are willing and able to reduce electrical load when grid reliability is threatened. Virginia Energy and CPower work together to meet sustainability goals. Virginia Energy manages the program through CPower to help the state come closer to meeting its sustainability goals and support the programs that benefit Virginia’s citizens every day.

Virginia's Weatherization Assistance Program at Work

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development is the managing agency of Virginia's Weatherization Assistance Program. Virginia subcontracts with 15 nonprofit agencies to provide weatherization services to the state’s low-income residents.

Virginia is home to Community Housing Partners' Research and Training Center, one of the first IREC Accredited training providers in the nation. CHP’s facility is one of 12 legacy national weatherization training centers. 

QCI Exam Test-Taking Tips from Community Housing Partners (CHP)

Between 2010 and 2023, Virginia weatherized an average of 707 homes per year with formula funds.

Success Stories

Virginia Takes Initiative

Better Buildings Initiative

More than 900 organizations are involved in the Better Buildings Initiative working to reduce energy and water waste and modernize the nation’s buildings and industrial facilities. Download the 2023 Better Buildings Progress Report for more information on the Initiative as a whole.

Better Buildings Challenge Partners

The cities of Alexandria, Norfolk, and Roanoke, as well as Arlington County, Alexandria City Public Schools, and Fairfax County Public Schools have taken on the Better Buildings Challenge, a commitment to reduce the energy use of their entire building portfolios by 20% within 10 years and are making progress toward their energy reduction goals. As of 2021, public-sector Challenge partners have cumulatively saved 133 trillion Btus of energy, $1.27 billion, and 1.5 billion gallons of water since the Challenge was launched in 2011.

Better Climate Challenge

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is challenging organizations to set ambitious, portfolio-wide GHG emission reduction goals. This new effort provides additional opportunities for peer exchange and technical assistance to meet the urgent call to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Fairfax County and Roanoke have joined the Better Climate Challenge, a commitment to reduce their portfolio-wide scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by at least 50% within 10 years. Fairfax County and Roanoke will pursue an energy efficiency target as part of this commitment, recognizing efficiency as a key driver of decarbonization.

Better Buildings Accelerators

In the past five years, SCEP has engaged nearly 100 partners in Better Buildings Accelerators. These Accelerators are designed to demonstrate specific innovative policies and approaches, which will accelerate investment in energy efficiency upon successful demonstration. Each Accelerator is a targeted, short-term, partner-focused activity designed to address persistent barriers that stand in the way of greater efficiency.

To learn more about other Better Buildings partners and solutions in the state of California and other states involved in the Better Buildings Initiative, check out the Better Buildings Partner map.

ESPC Accelerator Partners

The Commonwealth of Virginia helped catalyze public-sector energy efficiency investments of over $2.1 billion in Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC) from 2014–2016 as one of 25 state and local agency partners in the ESPC Accelerator. See demonstrated best practices in the ESPC Toolkit.

Sustainable Wastewater of the Future (SWIFt) Initiative

The counties of Fairfax, James City, King William, Middlesex, and York; the cities of Ashburn, Leesburg, Lorton, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Smithfield, Surry, and Virginia Beach; Hampton Roads Sanitation District, and Loudon Water committed to improving the energy efficiency of their participating water resource recovery facilities as part of the Sustainable Wastewater Infrastructure of the Future (SWIFt) Initiative Phase 2. SWIFt Phase 2 is engaging wastewater treatment facilities in a voluntarily partnership to achieve 5% short-term and 25% long-term facility-wide energy savings and implement at least one next-generation technology (e.g., renewable energy, resource recovery, and advanced data management). SWIFt Phase 1 hosted 25 state, regional, and local agencies that engaged with more than 70 water resource recovery facilities in their jurisdictions and successfully reduced their total energy consumption by almost 7%, adopted best-practice energy management approaches now showcased in the​​​​​​​ Wastewater Energy Management Toolkit, and created plans to achieve 30% energy savings.

Working Groups

C-PACE Working Group

Arlington County, a partner in DOE’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Working Group, actively worked to develop or refine their C-PACE program with technical assistance from DOE, National Laboratories, and other subject matter experts. The C-PACE Working Group, which concluded in 2020, included more than 30 state and local participants working to learn about, launch, and refine C-PACE financing programs. Partners in the C-PACE Working Group achieved $70 million in C-PACE-financed investments in building upgrades.

For more information, see the C-PACE Working Group.

Publications, Resources, Helpful Links