Boston Smart Utilities

Purpose

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (“BRA”) is requesting proposals to develop the Smart Utilities Vision (“SUV”): a consultant services contract that will yield engineering and policy recommendations for innovations in utility infrastructure that will result in enhanced social equity, resource efficiency, community resilience, and economic competitiveness. The SUV will yield recommendations for the future implementation of utility infrastructure such as water, energy, communications and transit infrastructure in the PLAN: South Boston Dorchester Avenue study area.

RFP Summary

The Boston Smart Utilities Project is intended to rethink the way utility infrastructure is designed and implemented in Boston, resulting in greater coordination, efficiency, and energy savings and yielding greater environmental and community resilience. The Boston Redevelopment Authority (“BRA”) is collaborating with a range of other City departments to identify inefficiencies in current infrastructure design and implementation processes and to propose new, more efficient and resilient design strategies for underground and overhead utility infrastructure. City departments collaborating with the BRA include the Mayor’s Office of Streets, Transportation and Sanitation, the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, the Mayor’s Office of Environment Energy and Open Space, the Department of Information Technology, Public Works Department, the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, and the Boston Transportation Department.

Goals/Objectives

The Smart Utilities Vision will yield engineering recommendations and policies to promote the construction of utility infrastructure that:- Is easier to build, maintain and upgrade
– Reduces costs for building owners and residents
– Increases community resilience
– Provides world-class services for residents and businesses
– Dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions

Tangible Work Products / Scope of Work

The City will pilot Smart Utilities in the PLAN: South Boston Dorchester Avenue study area (“Study Area”). Piloting the Smart Utilities Vision in this Study Area will set the stage for citywide policies that can be applied throughout Boston when roads are being reconstructed and when there is new demand for utility infrastructure.
District Energy + Microgrids
● Hot and cold-water distribution infrastructure
● Resilient, local, low carbon energy generation
● Electrical distribution infrastructure that can ‘island’ during grid outage

Smart Transportation
● Autonomous vehicles: hardware and software to enable the burgeoning market
● Smart Traffic Management: hardware (such as adaptive traffic signals) and software (such as mobile apps) to help make the flow of people safer and more reliable
● Electric Vehicles: hardware and software to enable market

Water + Wastewater
● Water re-use technologies: infrastructure to support building or district scale water recapture and re-use
● Space-heating generation: using sewage waste-heat recovery to feed low-cost, no carbon heating to buildings
● Green infrastructure: hardware to reduce loads on storm water infrastructure

Gigabit + High Speed Communications
● Conduit and Fiber: to increase competition in the marketplace and lower end-user costs
● Wireless Hardware: to support Internet of Things for utilities and personal devices
● Communications Protocols: software and standards solutions that enable secure communications for utilities and personal devices

Beneficial Links / Documents cited in RFP/ Specifications

o Boston Smart Utilities
http://www.bostonplans.org/planning/planning-initiatives/boston-smart-utilities-project

o BRA Website: Mission and Vision
http://www.bostonplans.org/about-us

o PLAN: South Boston Dorchester Avenue: Draft plan
http://www.bostonplans.org/planning/planning-initiatives/plan-south-boston-dorchester-ave

o Utility Planning Coordination in Boston
https://www.boston.gov/departments/public-works/about-public-works

o Smart Utilities Policy for Article 80 Development Review http://www.bostonplans.org/getattachment/7b87a301-95da-4723-b3a9-02bfebd1b109

o Smart Utility Standards http://www.bostonplans.org/getattachment/621dd21d-a080-4eb8-b8b7-08b92fef0633