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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Energy Incentive Programs, Virginia

Updated December 2011

What public-purpose-funded energy efficiency programs are available in my state?

Virginia has no public-purpose-funded energy efficiency programs.

What utility energy efficiency programs are available to me?

Dominion Virginia Power has recently initiated a slate of energy efficiency programs, including two commercial/industrial offerings that may be attractive to federal customers:

  • The Lighting Rewards program provides per-unit rebates for a wide selection energy-efficient lighting equipment ranging from screw-in CFLs ($1.50 per lamp) to pulse-start metal halides ($30 per fixture) to advanced lighting controls.

  • The HVAC Rewards program, similar to Lighting Rewards, offers prescriptive rebates for energy-efficient HVAC equipment. Products types covered are packaged rooftops (including heat pumps), packaged terminal AC/HPs, air- and water-cooled chillers, geothermal heat pumps (rated at 17 EER or above), and variable frequency drives.

Pre-approval is not necessary for either program, but applications must be submitted within 90 days of installation and Dominion needs to inspect projects for which total remuneration exceeds $10,000.

Customers of utilities that purchase power from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) may participate in TVA's EnergyRight Solutions for Business program, which offers a broad slate of prescriptive incentives (including ones for high-efficiency commercial kitchen equipment) as well as a custom program that incentivizes energy efficiency projects at $0.10/kWh of first-year savings (or 50% of total project cost, whichever is less), up to $200,000. They also provide free walk-through and cost-shared in-depth energy audits. New construction projects are not eligible.

Columbia Gas of Virginia's Warm Wise Business Saving Program offers rebates for a wide variety of energy-efficient gas space and water heating equipment, including commercial-scale boilers and water heaters. Low-flow pre-rinse spray valves and commercial clothes washers are also eligible for rebates.

What load management/demand response options are available to me?

The PJM Interconnection (PJM), a regional transmission organization (RTO), offers several demand response programs, two of which may be attractive to federal facilities:

  • The Economic Load Response program allows electricity users to provide load reductions in exchange for a payment based on hourly wholesale electricity prices. Participation is fully voluntary. Customers start by submitting load reduction bids through their curtailment service provider (any existing PJM member, such as their utility, a third-party electricity supplier, or a specialty CSP) of at least 100 kW into the day-ahead energy market. Participants whose bids are accepted are paid for their load reductions based upon the day-ahead, hourly electricity market prices (the day-ahead "locational marginal price," or LMP). Reductions are figured based on a customer baseline load (CBL), which is essentially the average load levels for the same hours in four of the facility's previous non-responding days. Regardless of which type of firm it is, the CSP will generally offer to split the revenues with the customer at a pre-determined percentage.

  • PJM's emergency "capacity" program allows demand resources to participate in PJM's Reliability Pricing Model (RPM) forward capacity market via a CSP. Participants pledge to either reduce their load by a specified amount (guaranteed load drop, GLD), or to a specific kW level (known as firm service level, FSL), within one or two hours of an event notification. Load reductions are mandatory and may occur up to ten times per year, lasting up to six hours per event. Penalties for non-compliance are substantial. Remuneration is based on the results of the annual RPM capacity auctions in various PJM regions. Remuneration levels for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 PJM years (which begin June 1, 2012 and June 1, 2013, respectively) for most of northeastern Virginia are high (in the $50,000-90,000/MW range), but for the rest of the state they are not nearly as attractive. Participants are also eligible to receive energy payments for actual reductions, if and when the program is called.

In both programs, participants can provide load reductions either through curtailing electricity use or operating on-site generation consistent with local environmental regulations and permits.

What distributed energy resource options are available to me?

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) provides information on programs that offer incentives for renewable distributed generation. The following program may be of interest to federal customers:

Through the Green Power Switch Generation Partners Program, TVA will purchase the output of a solar photovoltaic, wind, biomass, or small hydropower installation of up to 1 MW for ten years. The remuneration rates are $0.12/kWh above the retail rate for solar installations and $0.03/kWh above the retail rate for the other renewables. Purchases must be brokered by a participating power distributor (generally, utilities that purchase TVA power).

Are there energy efficiency programs sponsored by state government?

The Virginia Division of Energy administers a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. No programs are currently available to federal customers.

What additional opportunities are available to me?

Federal customers whose utilities have area-wide supply contracts through GSA (e.g., AGL Resources, Allegheny Power, Atmos Energy, Columbia Gas of VA, Dominion Virginia Power, Virginia Natural Gas, and Washington Gas Light Co.), may be able to take advantage of 3rd-party financed energy efficiency projects called utility energy services contracts (UESCs). Information is available on GSA's Energy Center of Expertise Library Page. Federal facilities should contact their account executive to determine the level of each utility's participation.

PJM (see above in the demand response section) now allows energy efficiency projects to participate in its forward capacity markets, based on its Reliability Pricing Model (RPM). To be eligible, EE projects must reduce load continuously by at least 100 kW during peak summer hours, and not be dispatchable. This load reduction can be bid into PJM's annual (for three years in advance) and "residual" (nearer-term) capacity auctions, and if selected will receive the auction clearing price. Interested customers can participate through energy service companies conducting ESPCs or utilities executing UESCs at their sites.