REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) Design Services for District Heat Distribution System Issued by the City of Montpelier, Vermont Department of Planning and Community Development Responses Due: August 12, 2011, 3:00 PM Please submit 5 paper copies of your complete proposal, including the cost proposal, and one digital version to: Gwendolyn Hallsmith Director of Planning and Community Development City of Montpelier 39 Main Street Montpelier, VT 05602-2950 802-223-9506 phone 802-223-9524 fax I. INTRODUCTION The City of Montpelier, in coordination with the State of Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services upgrade and expansion of their central heat plant, and with technical and financial support from the U. S. Department of Energy is proposing to construct a district heating system in the City of Montpelier. To this end, the City of Montpelier, Vermont is seeking an experienced firm to provide final design, bid specifications for the pipes, customer heat Exchanges, building conversions, and commissioning of the proposed district heat distribution system for district heat the City is building. The successful respondent to this Request for Proposals (RFP) will bring to Montpelier deep experience in the engineering design, cost estimation, and optionally organization, finance and operation of district heating systems for communities similar in size to Montpelier. A complete description of the project can be found on the city s web site: http://www.montpelier-vt.org/community/99.html. II. PROJECT CONCEPT The City envisions that the Montpelier District Heat Distribution System will be built in calendar year 2012. The base-line elements of the system will be: Construction of a buried, insulated, piped hot water distribution system serving the heating and domestic hot water needs of buildings in the downtown of the city, including City Hall, the Fire Station, Police Station, the Union Elementary School, and Montpelier High School; Customer connections to the system, and the conversion of Union Elementary School from steam to hot water heat, Coordination with the State of Vermont on their design for the district heat plant, from which the State s low/moderate pressure steam will be used to generate hot water for distribution to the City; Design of the heat exchange system, which will be built as part of the State of Vermont s district heat plant; Page 1
Design with provisions to simplify and ease future system expansion to serve other parts of the downtown; and Designed with high reliability, ease of maintenance, and low operational costs. The principal goal of the City is to benefit public and private building owners though lower, stable heating costs over the long term. It is expected that the project will provide broad economic development and environmental benefits for all members of the Montpelier community, and for the Central Vermont region of which it is a part. A close working relationship with the State of Vermont, the owner and operator of the district heat plant, which they will be rebuilding and expanding, is essential. The new plant will have capacity sufficient to meet both the State and City s needs, reduce air emissions, and increase optimization of biomass as a fuel source. III. PROJECT FUNDING FOR THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM The City currently has bonding authority from the voters for a total of $2,750,000, and has secured a grant from the Department of Energy for $8,000,000, of which $2,193,218 is dedicated to the distribution system, and a $1,000,000 grant from the Clean Energy Development Fund. This is the total funding for the design and construction of the distribution system. IV. PROJECT SCHEDULE Action Responsible Party Estimated Date Issue RFP City Council July 15, 2011 RFP Deadline Bidders August 12, 2011 Review RFP Responses District Energy Committee, City Council, and Staff August 12-24, 2011 Award Contract City Council August 24, 2011 Final Design complete Consultant October 31, 2011 Bid documents issued City Council November, 2011 Construction bids due Bidders December, 2011 V. REQUIRED SCOPE OF WORK AND SERVICES The required scope of work and services in this solicitation are provided in two parts; services that are required and services that are optional. The work and services listed below are those which shall be provided by all applicants. Other optional work and services are discussed in a separate section of this RFP (Section VII.). 1. Work cooperatively with the City to refine project design concepts: Geographic extent of the first phase of district heat distribution, and the identification of key customers; Final routing of district heat mains; Type of district heat piping to use, with preference for European-style welded thin-wall steel with integral foam insulation; Page 2
Retrofits and renovations needed in public buildings to access district heat. Incorporate municipal and / or state standards with design of restoration, erosion & sediment control, traffic control, etc. The design plans should identify work limits and the consultant will need to develop pay items for all of this various work. Verify heat loads of buildings and analytic work of previous studies. It is be the Consultant s responsibility to understand individual building heat loads and aggregate community-wide loads. Work with the City to develop a plan for system expansion over time. 2. Provide all district heating system design services (including heat exchange system, district heat piping, customer interface packages, public building retrofit) and line-item budget estimates for the construction of the district heat distribution system. These design services will include a progressive review process with the City for preliminary plan development during which any subsurface investigation shall be conducted, permitting is begun, and utility locations and any necessary right-of-way easements are identified (60%). At completion of the preceding work, the retained consultant will review with the City the work products and address any comments the City may have. It then moves to the final stage plan development when the utility agreements are arranged, right-of-way is negotiated, and the City has a second opportunity to review the plans and specs (85%). When technical specifications are complete, any necessary permits obtained, ROW and utility clearance and any corresponding plan and specification amendments are completed and included in the contract documents, this represents the final 100% design plan, specifications and bid documents. 3. Prepare a project implementation schedule. 4. Take the technical lead, working with the City, in preparing any permit applications. 5. Prepare bid documents for construction of the district heating system and assist City with the construction of the district heating system. Act as the City s advisor in reviewing bids and selecting the construction Contractor(s). This includes: A) Construction Bidding Services: (1) Prepare an engineer s estimate of probable construction cost. (2) Prepare an itemized unit bid form with coinciding measurement & payment information consistent with industry standard methods for inclusion with the contract documents. (3) Prepare contract documents to include plans and specifications and make available to prospective contractors for purchase. (4) Provide bid advertisement to be used for newspaper and contract reporting publications allowing for a period of not less than three weeks for the bid period. (5) Answer questions from prospective bidders during the advertisement period and issue formal written responses as formal contract addenda. (6) Schedule and attend a pre-bid meeting for prospective bidders at the project site. Page 3
B) Pre-Construction Services: (1) Schedule and oversee a contract signing/preconstruction conference and provide meeting minutes. (2) Review and provide comments and/or approval of all shop drawings. C) Construction Services: (1) Develop for City approval a quality control plan for construction including a materials sampling (including X-rays of the welded joints) and testing frequency list. Oversee testing services and other services necessary to ensure quality control of the work performed. (2) The retained Consultant shall be available during the construction period to respond to design interpretation questions and shall remain responsible for the correction of errors, omissions, and to provide clarifications of design intent. D) Commissioning Services: (1) Define commissioning requirements. An independent commissioning agent shall be paid for by the construction contractor and shall be approved by and report to the system designer. Design should include best practices such as providing valve ports for on-the-fly insertion of flow meters for calibration as well as backup in case of failure of permanent meters. VI. PROJECT DELIVERABLES The following items are to be provided to the City: 1. Electronic copies of the design files in AutoCAD 2009 or earlier format to be used for preparing easement plans by the City of Montpelier. 2. Three sets of paper copies of the final design plans. 3. Two working sets of the contract specifications. 4. One executed set of the contract documents. 5. One copy of all shop drawings with review comments. 6. Electronic copy of the record drawings in AutoCAD 2009 or earlier format (if option for service selected). 7. One paper copy of the record drawings (if option for service selected). The following items are to be provided to the City and the State: Six sets of paper copies of the final design plans for the heat exchange system and two digital versions of this information are to be provided. Three of the paper copies and one digital version shall be provided to the City and three paper copies and on digital version shall be provided to the State. VII. OPTIONAL SCOPE OF WORK AND SERVICES The following options should be included as separate cost items in the proposal: 1) Design of the conversion of the Union Elementary School heating system from steam heat to hot water. Page 4
2) Design for the heat exchange interface for private customers who choose to hook up to the system. 3) If the firm making a proposal is commonly engaged in providing project finance, or is interested in taking on the business of operating the distribution system, the ability to provide capital or other operating support should be stated in the response to this RFP. Also, the proposer may suggest innovative ways to raise additional public or private funds for project construction. VIII. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL There is no fixed proposal format. The required elements which must be included for a response to be considered complete are listed below: Description of proposing firm (company, location, address, contact person, contact information, number of employees, branches other than proposing location). Description of corporate experience in district energy relevant to Montpelier. A description of the experience and qualifications of all personnel that will contribute to the project. (Please provide a work sample). Sub-consultants on this proposal, and their roles, key individuals and their qualifications. Other similar projects carried out by your firm (with reference contact information). Description of the project carried out by your firm most closely matching this one (with reference contact information). Please describe how you plan to use the information on preliminary design, customer identification, and pipe routing that we have developed to date. Does your firm, members of your team, or sub-consultants represent equipment that might be used in the project? Specifically what products? Provide company literature. An affirmation that the firm has read, understands and shall comply with the Department of Energy Special Terms and Conditions, which are attached. A description of the proposed approach to be used to accomplish the design objectives, scope of work and services, and to produce the work product outlined in Section 2 of this RFP. A timeline for the engagement, including the appropriate starting and ending dates of specific activities. The names of three references drawn from past clients or associates, including a description of relationship to reference, address, e-mail, and telephone number for each. IX. COST PROPOSAL The cost proposal shall be submitted as separate document with the technical proposal. Include a composite schedule by task of direct labor hours, direct labor cost per class of labor, and total cost of each task. The prime and each sub-consultant shall be included in the composite schedule. The proposal shall also include a not to exceed total, all-inclusive maximum proposed price to Page 5
perform all of the services described in this RFP, including all direct and indirect costs, as well as the proposed manner of payment and/or payment terms. The City will not be responsible for expenses incurred in preparing this proposal (RFP) and such costs should not be included. All technical proposals received by the City of Montpelier are public records. X. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Five (5) copies of both the technical and cost proposals must be submitted in hard copy to the address listed at the top of the RFP. In addition, electronic submissions either by e-mail or on a CD are also required. The electronic submission can be sent to ghallsmith@montpelier-vt.org. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that their submitted proposal is complete. If a proposal does not provide complete information, the proposal may not be considered. XI. PROJECT INFORMATION There has been extensive work done on preliminary design, customer identification, and pipe routing, which is all available on the web site. Bidders should consult the City of Montpelier website for more information: http://www.montpelier-vt.org/page/449 Note: Items 1-8 and the parts of Item 9 that are to be installed in the heat Exchange room at the district heat plant will be designed by the bidder, and purchased and installed by the operators of the district heat plant. District Heat System Elements (1) Pumps* (2) Pressurization System* (3) Expansion Tank(s)* (4) Controls* (5) Water treatment* (6) Heat Exchange(s) with Heating Plant* (7) Main power feeds and panels to be provided by Heating Plant* (8) Motor Control Centers* (9) Main Piping, valve and service connections.* (10) Customer connections (a) Service lines to customer; (b) Heat Exchange Interface Unit; (c) Conversion of Union Elementary School from steam to hot water heat. * The consultant will work with the State of Vermont s consultants on these elements. Water pressure: The Consultant shall design the appropriate water pressures for the specific project to provide a system which functions though a spectrum of pressure condition and can be constructed and operated economically. The following minimum standards shall apply: minimum return pressure = 25 psig; minimum differential pressure at end-user install = 8 psig. Steam pressure: The steam pressure to the heat Exchanges will be controlled to 50-55 psig. Page 6
Water Temperature: The Consultant is responsible for designing a system that delivers the appropriate water temperature and delta T to the user to provide adequate heat transfer to the user hydronic systems and overall system efficiency. (1) In general it is desirable to have a water temperature between 195 and 200 F to accomplish this with typical US hydronic systems. (2) The delta T through the consumer installation will typically be approximately 65 F. Network Losses: Network losses can represent a significant impact on the efficiency of the system and should be minimized. The design should indicate the network losses, where possible, and these should be kept below a maximum of 5% at peak, and up to 20% for the summer load. Piping All piping shall meet the appropriate US standards and codes and also consider and reference the requirements of the most current European standards for district heat systems including: EN253 Pre-insulated bonded pipe for hot water district heating EN 448 Pre-insulated fittings EN 488 Pre-insulated valves EN 489 Joint kits EN 13941 Design and installation Main Distribution Piping Requirements (a) Leak detection monitoring (b) Preinsulated piping (c) Twin piping assemblies preferred for efficiency and installation cost savings. (d) Ability to add new customers on the main lines in the future and designed to minimize associated costs. Service Piping (a) Twin piping preferred (b) Preinsulated piping Freeze Protection: The Consultant shall propose proven design and operations approaches to protecting the system from freezing. The combination of pre-insulating the lines, adequate cover, maintaining water flow, keeping the water temperature elevated during the winter, and heat tracing are general practices in climates similar to Montpelier s. Consumer Interface The consumer interface is the piping and equipment installed between the district heat main supply and return piping and the hydronic system serving the end user. The requirement is for a standardized modular approach to minimize installation costs and streamline maintenance. The interface shall include the following: (1) Indirect Heating Required there will be no direct connection between the District Heat main lines and the consumer hydronic system. (2) Fully automated billing and reporting of energy consumption by user required. (3) Heat Exchange Interface Unit: For city buildings, the consultant may be responsible for designing an adequately sized heat Exchange unit to transfer the heat energy from the District Heat Distribution System to the consumer hydronic system. This unit essentially replaces the boiler in the existing hydronic system. This unit shall be include the following: Page 7
(a) Energy Meter interfaced to the Energy Center control and data acquisition system. (b) Heat Exchange (c) Controls (4) Standard shop built heat Exchange interface units will be provided for the majority of the units. The exception is the larger scale installation for the few large hydronic systems where standard components will be utilized where practical. (5) Domestic Hot Water: The Consultant will assess alternatives for providing domestic hot water for users. These alternatives include providing DHW with the existing oil boilers, or designing a supplemental hot water generator for the summer months. Network section valves to facilitate working on pipes, including preventative maintenance, routine maintenance and minor and major repair, phasing, and adding customers. Information System. The system shall include a comprehensive information management system which allows operators to understand the condition and status of the District Heat Distribution System at all times. The system shall have capacity to record data and indicate warning and alarm conditions. Electrical, Control Panel and Controls. The Consultant will work with the State of Vermont to provide the design of a system for control that is fully automatic and provides for continuous, reliable operation of the District Heat Distribution System under all operating conditions. Permit and Code Compliance. The Consultant shall be responsible for working with the City to secure all permits. The Consultant shall design a system in compliance with any local, state, and federal codes. Bid Documents: The Consultant will work with the city to prepare the bid documents for construction based on the final design. These bid documents may contain information about project phases for which we would request discrete pricing. XII. SITE VISIT Applicants are encouraged to visit Montpelier prior to submitting the application to familiarize themselves with the area being served. An informational meeting for applicants will be held on July 22, 2011 at 2:00 pm in the Montpelier City Hall. The City reserves the right to require interviews with all finalists once the proposals are reviewed. XIII. SELECTION PROCESS & CRITERIA Knowledge and Skill Requirements: All applicants must demonstrate their qualifications and relevant experience, as detailed in the above sections of the RFP. In addition, the following knowledge and skills will be helpful. 1. District Energy: Knowledge of district energy building and infrastructure construction, experience in district energy projects. 2. Federal and State of Vermont Energy Projects: Knowledge of federal and state guidelines associated with energy projects. Knowledge of Vermont permitting, regulatory, and reporting requirements. 3. Energy Development Expertise: A proven track record managing complex development projects. Page 8
Evaluation of Proposals: The staff at the City of Montpelier and our elected and appointed boards and commissions will evaluate the proposals with regard to the proposed services, and the experience and qualifications of the firm. Specifically, proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria: Prior experience with and demonstrated knowledge of district energy (35%); Proposer s understanding of the work to be performed and proposed approach to the project (35%); Extent to which proposal personnel meet or exceed the Knowledge and Skills Requirements (20%); Proposed timeline (10%); Additional value may be assigned for responses to the optional scope and service items. Selection Process: City staff will independently evaluate each proposal. The highest evaluated proposer(s) may be invited to discuss their proposal(s) and qualifications with staff prior to awarding the contract. The City of Montpelier will make the final consultant selection and reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to negotiate with more than one firm at the same time. Page 9