Ameresco Case Studies Advancing Boulder's Climate Action Commitment with IoT Solutions
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Advancing Boulder's Climate Action Commitment with IoT Solutions

Ameresco
Functional Applications - Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS)
Sensors - Environmental Sensors
Buildings
Cities & Municipalities
Facility Management
Maintenance
Asset Lifecycle Management
Smart City Operations
The City of Boulder has set ambitious targets in its Climate Action Plan, aiming for an 80% reduction in emissions from city buildings by 2030, and striving to become a net-zero city by 2035. To achieve these goals, the city needed a Facilities Master Plan (FMP) that would align with these targets and address the city’s aging building portfolio. The city partnered with Ameresco to quantify and baseline building performance in terms of environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and financial stewardship. The city's facilities portfolio, comprised of 75 facilities and approximately 1.8 million square feet of gross floor area, required a long-term capital plan and a quantification of the deferred maintenance.
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The customer in this case study is the City of Boulder. The city has a strong commitment to environmental sustainability, as evidenced by its ambitious Climate Action Plan. The plan calls for significant reductions in emissions from city buildings, with the ultimate goal of becoming a net-zero city by 2035. The city has a large facilities portfolio, consisting of 75 facilities and approximately 1.8 million square feet of gross floor area. The city is also committed to social responsibility and financial stewardship, and it sought to align its Facilities Master Plan with these principles.
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Ameresco utilized the AssetPlanner® software solution to develop capital lifecycle needs, analyze operational expenditures over a 3-year period, and calculate the total cost of ownership (TOC) for each of the city’s facilities. This comprehensive needs analysis became a key component of Boulder’s acclaimed facilities master plan (FMP). Various strategies were modeled against a “do nothing” scenario to communicate impact and alignment to city goals. Ameresco also worked with the city on waste diversion as part of a redevelopment project, recycling and reusing materials from a former hospital building site set for deconstruction. Ameresco proposed seven individual energy conservation measures (ECMs) across 31 sites, including LED lighting upgrades, solar PV systems, smart heating and hot water systems, and loft insulation.
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The partnership with Ameresco allowed the City of Boulder to establish a long-term capital plan and quantify the deferred maintenance of their facilities portfolio. The use of the AssetPlanner® software solution provided a comprehensive needs analysis, which was a key component of Boulder’s acclaimed facilities master plan (FMP). The FMP included portfolio tiering, a decision development model that incorporates objective scoring and tiering of facilities against six guiding principles to prioritize them for strategic direction. The city also set a national example of preservation of embodied energy through adaptive reuse, exceeding its own sustainable deconstruction ordinance requirements by achieving nearly 90% waste diversion in a redevelopment project.
80% targeted reduction in emissions from city buildings by 2030
Approximately 1.8 million square feet of gross floor area included in the deferred maintenance assessment
$550 million current replacement value of assets total cost of ownership modeling
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