Community-Oriented Resilient Energy (CORE) Program Overview

Community-Oriented Resilient Energy (CORE) Subaward Program provides funding opportunities to local governments or community-based non-profit organizations for the development of energy resilience projects. This project builds upon Virginia's RACER program through DOE, the Virginia Energy Resiliency Study (VERS). The communities that participated in VERS provide a pipeline of model-engineered energy resilience hubs for development. Funding for this subaward program will be utilized for resilient energy upgrades such as distributed energy resources (DERs) including solar plus storage, mobile resilience solutions, and/or backup generation. Virginia is committed to assuring that all Virginians have access to affordable, abundant, and reliable energy. This federally funded program will enable Virginia to partner with eligible entities to limit the impact of disruptive outages that adversely impact our communities and critical infrastructure.


  • Total Amount Available: $400,000
  • Proposal Period of Performance: 12 months, up to 18 months if justified and approved
  • Proposal Amount: Proposals between $50,000 to $250,000 are allowed. The Virginia Department of Energy (Virginia Energy) may elect to partially award proposals at its discretion.
  • Eligible entities: Local government, community-based organizations/non-profits
  • Applications are due: 11:59pm, February 17, 2026

To Apply, Create Account and Log In Here

Link to Full Program Guidance: Here

Program Objectives and Metrics

All subaward proposals are required to meet one or more of the following objectives. Proposals should detail which objectives will be met and present metrics that will demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the program.

Objective #1: Increase Local Energy Resilience
Metrics: Example metrics to be evaluated include, but may not be limited to, the following:

  • Reduction in the negative impact of a power outage (outage readiness improvement)
  • Population served during emergencies
  • Increase in community or facility resilience capacity
  • Improved energy resilience of emergency or first responder facilities
  • Improved remote internet access

Objective #2: Advance Local Distributed Energy Deployment
Metrics: Example metrics to be evaluated include, but may not be limited to, the following:

  • Amount of distributed energy resources installed
  • Operational cost reduction (savings from project to be used beneficially for the local community)
    • ternet access

Objective #3: Build Local Capacity and Community Leadership in Resilience
Metrics: Example metrics to be evaluated include, but may not be limited to, the following:

  • Community/workforce training or education delivered
  • Participants reached (Example: Number of local workers, community volunteers, or students engaged/educated)
  • Local contracting and workforce participation
  • Community-driven planning outcomes (Example: Plans that include community input (surveys, stakeholder meetings, etc.).)
  • Completion of community resilience workbook.

FAQs

What types of projects are eligible?
This grant is open to a wide variety of resilience related projects, including solar plus storage, storage only (to be added to existing solar projects), mobile resilience solutions (such as mobile trailers with energy storage), and back-up generation. Please see the grant objectives and application for an understanding of what projects will be prioritized.

Can only one entity apply, or can there be two (or more) applicants?
Applicants may partner on this grant but there must be a prime applicant. This may make sense for localities that are supported by community-based organizations or mobile solutions that may support multiple localities.

Do applicants need to have a final project design and cost estimates to apply?
Yes, applicants must have a workable project design and strong cost estimates to be eligible to apply. Virginia Energy understands that final costs may vary slightly due to equipment availability and project timelines, but budgets must be finalized once a project is selected and under contract.

What is the timeline for selection?
Once the applications close, Virginia Energy staff will work diligently to select projects. We expect to score, select, and begin financial vetting and contracting within four to six weeks of the final deadline.


To Apply, Create Account and Log In Here

Link to Full Program Guidance: Here