Search Climate Insights Directory

Catawba College, a private liberal arts institution in North Carolina, has become one of only 13 colleges in the United States to be certified carbon neutral. Through a long-term partnership with RMI, the college is implementing a District Energy and Modernization (DEM) project that integrates geoexchange systems, solar energy, and high-performance building standards to eliminate fossil fuel dependence and address deferred maintenance.

This briefing by RMI argues that revitalizing old industrial sites using net-zero energy (NZE) design can drive urban economic development, improve resident quality of life, and reduce citywide carbon emissions. It highlights the advantages of 'district scale' redevelopment and provides several US-based examples of NZE projects transforming former manufacturing and steel sites into sustainable mixed-use communities.

This briefing by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) proposes an integrative business model for developing net zero energy (NZE) or ultralow energy districts. The model aims to make NZE developments life-cycle cost neutral or better compared to business-as-usual (BAU) scenarios by utilizing an Integrated Energy Services Provider (IESP) to manage energy systems, financing, and performance requirements, thereby reducing upfront costs for parcel developers and lowering energy bills for tenants.

This 2011 fact sheet explains district energy systems, which use central plants and underground pipes to provide efficient heating and cooling to clusters of buildings. It highlights the role of combined heat and power (CHP) and renewable energy in these systems, noting that while over 700 such systems exist in the U.S., high upfront costs and policy gaps remain barriers to further expansion.

This report, prepared by the Stockholm Environment Institute and partners for the City of Seattle, develops a 'Carbon Neutral' scenario to demonstrate a pathway for the city to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The analysis focuses on 'core' emissions—buildings, transportation, and waste—where the city has the most direct policy influence. The scenario suggests that aggressive implementation of efficiency and fuel-switching strategies could reduce per capita GHG emissions by 90% by 2050 relative to 2008 levels.