A Guide to Energy Master Planning of High-Performance Districts and Communities

This guide was developed with partners throughout the United States to demonstrate how implementing district-scale high-performance strategies can be successful and scalable approaches to achieving deep energy savings that increase affordability, improve resilience, reduce emissions, and foster economic development.

High-performance districts…take advantage of the synergies available when energy consumption and production is considered at a district level rather than one building at a time.

This document serves as a framework for districts, campuses, and communities, illustrating an iterative process of building support for, planning, and implementing high-performance districts by engaging stakeholders, setting aggressive energy goals, completing technical and financial planning, and implementing a high performance energy master plan. The information in this guide is based on a 3-year U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy District Accelerator and a range of real-world examples of emerging high-performance districts.