Chicago has entered the second phase of its search for a private developer to upgrade much of its outdoor lighting infrastructure by issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for its Chicago Smart Lighting Project.

A total of 40 teams responded to the request for information (RFI) for the Chicago Smart Lighting public private partnership (P3) project.

The RFI was launched by the Chicago Infrastructure Trust, on behalf of the City of Chicago and the Chicago Park District, on September 17, 2015.

The preferred bidder will be responsible for the replacement of approximately 350,000 outdoor sodium vapor lights with energy saving light-emitting diode lights through the PPP model. The project scope will likely be completed in phases, and include the selection, procurement and financing of the design and installation of, among others:

• energy efficient lighting upgrades
• energy efficient lighting fixtures 
• system infrastructure replacements
• other technologies and services that either use streetlights as a platform or enhance their utility