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The Portland Development Commission last week expanded the possibilities for an upcoming renovation of Memorial Coliseum by issuing a request for proposals to explore the potential for a shared heating and cooling system for the coliseum and other buildings in the district.

The project could be a showpiece for the feasibility of district-wide energy. However, 鈥渢he timing may be too tight for the coliseum to be able to tie in to the district energy system,鈥� said Sarah Heinicke, director of the Lloyd eco-district.

Memorial Coliseum soon will undergo a major renovation, including energy-efficiency retrofits to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold standards as well as upgrades to seating, lighting, concessions and finishes. Boilers and chillers also will be replaced, regardless of whether they can fit into a district-wide energy plan.

The RFP was issued now with recognition that significant time and money would be saved if a thermal energy system were installed during the renovation. The system could be added later, but Heinicke said it would be a 鈥渉uge miss鈥� if the Memorial Coliseum were not hooked up to district energy during the remodel.

If the project were to move forward as outlined in the RFP, Memorial Coliseum would be the first building hooked up to the shared energy system. Later, the Rose Garden arena, the Oregon Convention Center and other Lloyd District properties could be connected as well.

Heinicke noted that she spoke about the shared energy project with stakeholders involved in establishing the eco-district, but added that the project is mostly the work of the city of Portland and the PDC.

鈥淚t would have gone on with or without the eco-district being established,鈥� Heinicke said. She added the proximity of the Rose Garden arena, the coliseum and the convention center to each other has been 鈥渁 key aspect of how people have thought about the Lloyd District being ripe for an eco-district.鈥�

Chris Oxley, general manager of the Rose Garden arena, said that the RFP presents an opportunity for a tangible project inside the nebulous eco-district concept.

鈥淚t hasn’t really been done on this scale, particularly in an entertainment or sports entertainment district,鈥� Oxley said.

In Portland, district heating and cooling systems were implemented for Oregon Health and Science University, Portland State University and the Brewery Blocks.

Oxley considers the RFP process as a chance to gauge interest from companies that perform district energy projects and determine whether one would be feasible in the Lloyd District.

A district energy system uses one or more centralized thermal energy plants to heat or cool multiple building through a system of underground hot or chilled water pipes. Plants can use a variety of technologies, including waste energy and alternative fuels; the PDC has not decided which would fit best in the Rose Quarter.

The RFP asks proposers to recommend a system type, comment on feasibility and a timeline for a project, and suggest a plan for development, construction, ownership and management.

The PDC would prefer that a private party invest in, own and operate the system without a need for financing or capital investment from the agency or the city, but that is merely a preference at this point, PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman said. If the system were owned privately, then owners of the coliseum, the convention center and the Rose Garden arena would pay for heating and cooling as they would through a normal utility.

Proposals are due by 4 p.m. on Aug. 29. An optional pre-submittal meeting is scheduled for Thursday.