Cities
Building the Electricity System of the Future: Fort Collins and FortZED
Fort Collins Utilities has been working to meet its clean energy goals including a flagship effort, called FortZED, to build a net-zero energy district in downtown Fort Collins. Fort Collins Utilities and its partners worked with the Electricity Innovation Lab (e-Lab) to design and carry-out a two-day charrette on November…
Developing Solar Friendly Communities: Permitting, Interconnection, and Net Metering: An Overview of Model Standards and Policy Design Criteria
Over the past several years, procedures and policies surrounding permitting, inspection, interconnection, and net metering of distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems have been the subject of extensive analysis and scrutiny, given their substantial contribution to solar costs. This ongoing period of critical analysis has produced a wide variety of process innovations…
City of Boulder Climate Action Plan Analysis Report
Rocky Mountain Institute worked with the City of Boulder to conduct a thorough analysis of Boulder’s demand side management programs. RMI examined 19 residential, commercial, and renewable energy programs using a modified utility cost test approach to determine their full lifetime emissions reductions and the cost/benefit ratio for each program.
Crystallized Pedagogy: Architecture as a Medium for Sustainability Education
The notion that human behavior is influenced by environmental conditions is not novel, though this dynamic is often overlooked and underappreciated in the construction of buildings and cities. Particularly in the field of sustainable or green building, focus is directed toward the impact of building-related human behavior on the environment.
Framework for Community Sustainability: Ten Ingredients for Long-Term Success
The Framework for Community Sustainability was derived from the experiences of North American communities that understand that community, economy, and environment are not competing interests, but complementary parts of a whole. This framework outlines the components of smart and sustainable community governance, suggesting how to weave sustainability into the public,…