Downtown Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Matching Program
Downtown Wytheville Incorporated works closely with small businesses throughout our district to assist in creating a sustainable and supportive business environment. Since the pandemic, a common challenge facing our local small businesses has been the rising cost of doing business, particularly the skyrocketing utility bills. This challenge is even more pronounced in a Main Street district where most historic buildings are not designed with modern materials to minimize energy costs. To address these concerns, Downtown Wytheville, Inc. is proud to announce that it has been awarded a Virginia Business District Resurgence Grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development and Virginia Main Street for the explicit goals of stabilizing and reducing utility costs for tenants of these historic downtown buildings to make the district more business-friendly and capable of supporting a thriving small business ecosystem.
In the pursuit of these goals, this program is designed to accommodate different levels of projects addressing energy efficiency and utility costs allowing businesses to take advantage of both major investments which significantly reduce these utility cost burdens, and smaller investments that still can make tangible improvements to these lowering costs. Downtown building owners can apply to this program to help offset energy-saving investments that can range from small efficiency upgrades to large-scale investments like solar or wind arrays. These incentives can be stacked with additional support including grants, financing, utility company rebates, and the expanded federal tax credit for renewable energy projects. The long-term utility cost savings must be passed along to the small businesses occupying these buildings, and if the building is currently empty, these upgrades could act as a valuable incentive to attract new tenants in an effort to increase overall sustainability.
Incentives in this program fall into three levels of support depending on the scale of the project and investment
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The highest level project with the largest impact on energy costs offering incentives to add renewable energy infrastructure onto buildings. These projects are given funding priority and can include solar or wind generation arrays and associated battery storage options. These projects could qualify for a 1:1 match up to $10,000 contingent upon adhering to program guidelines.
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The second highest priority projects focusing on major upgrades to historic buildings that achieve significant energy efficiency upgrades. These could be weatherization, high-efficiency heat pumps and/or water heaters, and other large-scale efficiency upgrades. These upgrades are eligible for a 1:1 match up to $5,000 contingent on adherence to the program and undergoing a building energy assessment.
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The third level focuses on low-level energy efficiency improvements that are more affordable and easier to install but still provide energy savings. These could include LED lights, high efficiency light fixtures, automated dimmers, programmable thermostats, smart energy control devices, smart shades, motion sensors, electric vehicle charging stations (open to public use), and other small-scale efficiency upgrades. These upgrades are eligible for a 1:1 matching program up to $2,500 contingent on adherence to program guidelines.
This program runs from January through December 2024 and applications are accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis until funding is expended. This is structured as a pilot program and high interest in this program could result in similar programs supporting these goals continuing beyond this grant. For more information about this program, check out the program outline document attached below or contact either Todd Wolford or Charlie Jones.