The Business Instructional Facility was the first production rooftop solar PV array installed on a campus building.  There are 168 panels with 190 Watts per panel, for a total system size of 32kW.  The college has a website that shows the solar output of this system by day, and another site that shows the annual output.

See also, the individual arrays.

Biomass energy is produced from organic materials, such as wood chips or miscanthus.  The Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research (CABER) focuses on bioenergy systems research, and F&S Energy Services is reviewing options for integrating biomass fuel sources into campus energy production.

The new ECE building is designed to include Solar Panels on its roof. The panels will provide about 11% of the building's energy needs.  The infrastructure for connecting these panels to the building electric supply was included in the original design and construction costs for the full building, while the solar panels themselves were funded separately. This specific project is to have a series of photovoltaic solar arrays on the roof of the building with a 300 kW peak power rating, capable of generating an estimated 470 MWh of electricity annually.

Allerton Park was able to install a geothermal energy system at the Evergreen Lodge, with funding from the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  There are opportunities for future installations of geothermal energy, when funding allows.

Geothermal energy is thermal energy stored in the Earth that humans can extract, process and then use.  Geothermal energy is cost effective, reliable, and sustainable, but has historically been limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries.  Recent technological advances have expanded the range and size of viable resources, especially for applications such as home heating.  Geothermal wells release greenhouse gases trapped in the earth, but these emissions are much lower than those of fossil fuels.

Implementation of the Solar Research Test Bed is an important part of the research scope of the Illinois Center for a Smarter Electric Grid (ICSEG).  ICSEG’s research mission is to support the continuing development of the Smart Grid through research that tests and validates the trustworthiness (secure, reliable, private, resilient) of new components and systems that will be required to realize the full potential of the Smart Grid, and renewable energy systems such as wind and solar are critical to realizing this vision.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 6, objective 3, is "Utilize landfills with methane capture." Methane is one of the worst greenhouse gases, and this university has a number of methane producers on South Farms.  There are beef cows, dairy cows, sheep, pigs, horses, and chickens. One of the strategies listed in the iCAP to reduce agricultural emissions is to install a methane capture process for additional energy generation by 2020, with a pilot project by 2015.

The University purchases about half the electricity for campus through the wholly owned subsidiary of the University, Prairieland Energy Incorporated.  In the 2010 iCAP, we committed to being carbon-neutral by 2050.  The majority of campus emissions can be eliminated by implementing more sustainable practices and integrating renewable energy sources for the campus energy supply.  One option for integrating renewable energy sources is to purchase green power through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). 

One potential method for acheiving the 2015 iCAP goal for on-campus solar is to retrofit existing campus buildings with rooftop solar.  The amount of sun shine on each roof, the viability of the building itself, and the funding mechanisms all need to be reviewed and resolved for this idea to be implemented.  The viability for each building includes approval from the Architectural Review Committee, agreement of the building occupant facility leaders, and structural and electrical viability for the building.  As of 2016, the financial payback for solar photovoltaics is not strong enough to ea

The 20.8 acre Solar Farm on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign South Farms is a Power Purchase Agreement with Phoenix Solar South Farms, LLC, producing an estimated 7, 864 MWh/year of solar energy used solely by the Urbana campus.

The Idea Garden currently lacks access to electricity, making garden maintenance a challenge. Since the Idea Garden’s mission statement is “helping others learn to grow,” the volunteer-led team only wants sustainable infrastructure added to its garden.

The Student Sustainability Committee commissioned a solar photovoltaic study to determine viable buildings for the installation of solar arrays. The new solar arrays would complement the existing 3,700 square foot Solar PV array located atop the Business Instructional Facility that produces approximately 55,000 kWh/year and help define the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign as a leader in the greening of campuses nationwide.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 3, objective 3, is "Expand the purchase of clean energy. By FY20, obtain at least 120,000 MWh, and by FY25 at least 140,000 MWh from low-carbon energy sources.

A renewable portfolio standard, passed in 2007, has supported wind power in Illinois, which required 10% renewable energy from electric companies in 2010 and 25% by 2025. At the end of 2011, Illinois had 2743 megawatts (MW) of wind power installed. Illinois has the potential for installing up to 10,000 MW of wind generation capacity; in 2009, it ranked sixth among states for installed wind turbine capacity.

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to use green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional electricity use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,300 Partner organizations voluntarily using billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually.