Potential applicants: Businesses, Industries and Residents 

This statute allows any county, city, or town to exempt or partially exempt energy efficient buildings from local property taxes. Eligible buildings are those that:

• Exceed the energy efficiency standards prescribed in the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code by 30 percent;
• Meets or exceeds performance standards of the Green Globes Green Building Rating System of the Green Building Initiative;
• Meets or exceeds performance standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System of the U.S. Green Building Council;
• Meets or exceeds performance standards or guidelines under the EarthCraft House Program; or is an Energy Star qualified home.

Learn how you or your family can save on utility bills, get support to purchase electric vehicles and energy-saving appliances, and access the economic opportunities of the clean energy future. Clean Energy for All | The White House.

The IRS Taxpayer Resource Hub has information on applying the tax credits available through the Inflation Reduction Act.

Potential Applicants: Low-income homeowners and renters 

The Weatherization Assistance Program provides funds to reduce the heating and cooling costs for low-income families and to ensure their health and safety.  The program provides repairs and improvements to home heating and cooling systems as well as providing for the installation of energy-saving measures in the house.

For more information about this program, visit the Department of Housing and Community Development.

Potential Applicants: Customers of Charlottesville Gas

Homeowners or property owners who heat with gas are eligible for a $200 tankless water heater rebate and up to $100 toward the purchase and/or installation of the programmable thermostat.

Potential applicants: Residential customers of Columbia Gas of Virginia WarmWise Home Savings Program

Cash back rebates are available for qualifying energy-saving upgrades such as furnaces, windows and ENERGY STAR smart thermostats. Also, a free online Home Savings Evaluation along with a free energy efficiency kit is available. Cash rebates for energy saving upgrades are given for the following:  

• High efficiency gas furnace, 90 percent AFUE or higher
• High-Efficiency windows, doors and skylights consistent with ENERGY STAR specifications for the North-Central climate zone  
• ENERGY STAR Smart Thermostat

Potential Recipients: Small businesses, homeowners refinancing and soon-to-be homeowners

If your small business is looking for loans to retrofit facilities, purchase energy efficient equipment, utilize energy efficient construction, buy alternative fuel for vehicles, or to implement other efficient ideas, there maybe be help from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Although the SBA does not make loans, it does guarantee them. SBA loan programs 7(a) and CDC/504 could offer some assistance. For information on SBA loan programs visit the SBA's webpage on loan programs.

Potential Applicants: Commercial, multifamily, and nonprofit buildings

Several localities across the Commonwealth have established or are currently developing C-PACE programs.

C-PACE is an innovative way to finance clean energy and resiliency projects on commercial, multifamily, and nonprofit buildings (excluding condos and properties with less than five dwellings). The loans are designed to be long-term (up to 20+ years) secured by a lien that has a priority status equal to a tax assessment, thus senior to a mortgage lien. By setting up a C-PACE program, a locality can enable private sector loans for 100 percent of total project costs by placing a special assessment lien on the property that the owner repays over time as part of his/her tax or utility bill.

To learn more about C-PACE, check out the resources page for opportunities.

Potential applicants: Businesses, industries and residents

This statute allows any county, city, or town to exempt or partially exempt solar energy equipment from local property taxes. Eligible technologies include passive solar space heat, active solar water heat, active solar space heat, solar thermal electricity, and photovoltaics. Certified solar energy items are defined as any "property, including real and personal property, equipment, facilities and devices that use solar energy that would otherwise require a conventional source of energy."

Potential applicants: Businesses and industries

This statute allows any county, city, or town to exempt or partially exempt generating equipment that is used to convert from oil or natural gas to wood, wood waste, or any alternative energy source for manufacturing, or any cogeneration equipment, from local property taxes.

Potential applicants: Businesses and industries

This statute allows any county, city, or town to exempt or partially exempt certified pollution control equipment and facilities, including equipment used to grind, chip, or mulch trees, tree stumps, underbrush, and other vegetative cover for reuse as a fuel, from local property taxes.

Potential applicants: Commercial, industrial and utility facilities

There are two tax credits available for businesses and other entities like nonprofits and local and tribal governments that purchase solar energy systems (see the Homeowner’s Guide to the Federal Tax Credit for Solar Photovoltaics for information for individuals):

• The investment tax credit (ITC) is a tax credit that reduces the federal income tax liability for a percentage of the cost of a solar system that is installed during the tax year.
• The production tax credit (PTC) is a per kilowatt-hour (kWh) tax credit for electricity generated by solar and other qualifying technologies for the first 10 years of a system’s operation. It reduces the federal income tax liability and is adjusted annually for inflation.

 A more detailed can be found at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Potential applicants: State and local government entities, tribal governments, land-grant colleges and universities, rural electric cooperatives and public power entities

USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy for agricultural producers and rural small businesses through the use of grants and loan guarantees.

Grants and loan guarantees may be used to purchase renewable energy systems (including systems that may be used to produce and sell electricity), and to make energy efficiency improvements. Eligible renewable energy projects include wind, solar, biomass and geothermal; and hydrogen derived from biomass or water using wind, solar or geothermal energy sources. REAP incentives are generally available to state government entities, local governments, tribal governments, land-grant colleges and universities, rural electric cooperatives and public power entities, and other entities, as determined by the USDA.

Potential Applicants: Commercial and industrial facilities

The renewable electricity production tax credit (PTC) is a per kilowatt-hour (kWh) federal tax credit included under Section 45 of the U.S. tax code for electricity generated by qualified renewable energy resources. The PTC provides a corporate tax credit of 1.2 cents/kWh for electricity generated from landfill gas (LFG), open-loop biomass, municipal solid waste resources, qualified hydroelectric, and marine and hydrokinetic (150 kW or larger) sources. Electricity from wind, closed-loop biomass and geothermal resources receive as much as 2.3 cents/kWh. The PTC is phased down for wind facilities and expires for all other renewable energy technologies commencing construction after Dec. 31, 2016.

Net metering is a billing mechanism that credits consumers who generate their own electricity. These consumers are billed for their net energy use. This is a financial incentive but does not fall under a grant or tax incentive. Virginia's current net metering law covers residential systems up to 10 kW and commercial systems up to 500 kW. Eligible technologies include solar, wind and hydropower systems intended primarily to offset part or all of a customer's requirements for electricity. Enrollment is open on a first-come, first-serve basis until the rated generating capacity owned and operated by customer-generators in the state reaches one percent of each electric distribution company's peak load for the previous year.

Read the Net Metering regulations for more information.