Title
Resolution To Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Stantec Consulting Services Inc. for Geothermal Advisory and Design Services ($689,200.00)
Memorandum
The City of Ann Arbor has adopted aggressive climate, energy, and equity goals, inclusive of finding a pathway to sustainably heat and cool homes and businesses. One illustration of this work is that, in spring of 2023, City Council passed Resolution R-23-101, directing the administrator to negotiate a new heating franchise with interested providers, to initiate a responsible, careful transition to renewable energy choices for heat in Ann Arbor.
In preparation for this work, City staff released a Request for Ideas to see what suggestions technical experts and the public had regarding pathways to sustainably heat and cool the community. Seven responses were received along with dozens of public comments (see all ideas on the Sustainable Heating website). Nearly all submitted responses focused on development of a thermal energy network, with geothermal being a key component of designs.
Simultaneous with the release of the Request for Ideas, the City of Ann Arbor was notified that it had won a U.S. Department of Energy grant to design a district geothermal system in the Byrant neighborhood. This work is well underway and showing strong probability for success.
The combination of the City's aggressive sustainability goals as outlined in the A2ZERO plan, the charge from Council to pursue a sustainable heating franchise, public and technical comments endorsing the deployment and viability of thermal energy networks, and the City's successful U.S. DOE grant have culminated with City staff strongly recommending the City move forward with a more detailed analysis of the viability of large-scale geothermal and thermal energy networks in the City.
As such, staff prepared a request for proposals (RFP 23-65) in late fall 2023 to solicit bids for Geothermal Advisory Services. Specifically, this RFP requeste...
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