Boulder Valley School District On Its Way To Net-Zero Energy

The Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) in Colorado is implementing a comprehensive energy strategy to reach net-zero energy and an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050. Supported by a $576.5 million bond approved in 2014, the district is utilizing deep retrofits, retrocommissioning, and new construction across its portfolio of over 50 buildings. In partnership with RMI, BVSD has adopted an integrative design process and a Sustainable Energy Plan (SEP) to reduce energy use intensity (EUI) from an average of 65 to less than 30 kBtu/SF. The initiative aims to save nearly $500,000 annually in utility bills and serve as a model for other U.S. school districts.

• The Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) aims for its portfolio of more than 50 buildings to be net-zero energy and achieve an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050.
• BVSD's Sustainable Energy Plan (SEP) targets a short-term energy reduction of 20 percent below 2008 levels by 2019 and a long-term average energy use intensity (EUI) of less than 30 kBtu/SF by 2050, down from a current average of 65.
• A 2014 voter-approved bond of $576.5 million funds capital improvements including deep retrofits for eight schools, retrocommissioning for 38 schools, and the construction of four new schools and three district support facilities.
• If all bond goals are met, the district expects to be 29 percent more efficient, resulting in nearly $500,000 in annual utility bill savings.
• Preliminary modeling for four new schools indicates an average energy savings of 67 percent and an EUI of under 30, which is significantly lower than the average 58.2 EUI for K-12 schools.

APA

RMI (2016). Boulder Valley School District On Its Way To Net-Zero Energy. https://rmi.org/resources/boulder-valley-school-district-way-net-zero-energy/

Chicago

RMI. Boulder Valley School District On Its Way To Net-Zero Energy. 2016. https://rmi.org/resources/boulder-valley-school-district-way-net-zero-energy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Boulder Valley School District On Its Way To Net-Zero Energy |date=11 February 2016 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/boulder-valley-school-district-way-net-zero-energy/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2016boulder, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Boulder Valley School District On Its Way To Net-Zero Energy}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2016}, month = feb, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/boulder-valley-school-district-way-net-zero-energy/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }