BIG STONE GAP, Va. — The Virginia Department of Energy said it received $1 million in funding to establish the Virginia Energy Resilience program, which it hopes will support disadvantaged communities, and assist other communities develop solar solutions.
“Virginians must have affordable and reliable energy,” said Virginia Energy Director Glenn Davis. “Businesses and families should not have to worry about whether the lights will turn on or if the heat will work during a major winter storm. This project is a great step toward easing those fears and ensuring resiliency.”
Virginia Energy said the program will first focus on offering planning assistance to 35 communities identified as 'historically disadvantaged' in order to develop energy resilience plans.
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The program will then focus on identifying 10 communities to assist with developing solar and battery storage installations that can serve as emergency shelters in the event of an outage.
Virginia Energy said James Madison University’s Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Energy, The Clean Energy States Alliance, Resilient Virginia, The Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia and Virginia Clean Cities were all partnering on this project.
Communities interested in participating or that have additional questions may contact Virginia Energy at resilience@energy.virginia.gov
