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Project Updates for collection: Monarch Butterfly projects
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Progress meeting with F&S
Associated Project(s):Izabelle met with Morgan and Brent at F&S today.
- She shared that they met with Professor Mike Ward from NRES and get some advice, including herbiciding the full area, and possibly splitting the area in two for a pathway through the site for walkers. To herbicide the full area, they are going to talk with Professor Ward a bit more and send us a plan for the herbiciding process. Morgan said we will need a week to approve the plan, to make sure we have the reporting requirements handled correctly.
- They will also talk with Housing about their plans, to communicate with Orchard Downs residents appropriately.
- Red Bison has agreed to let them use the shed in the Arboretum and share tools.
large sign frame arrived
Associated Project(s):The large sign frame for the Bee Campus signage was delivered to campus today.
CUSTOM DOUBLE CANTILEVER DISPLAY (45 DEG)
Vendor: @03979410 DRM INDUSTRIES CORPORATION
Workorder: 10845244-001
New compost tumbler at NSRC!
Associated Project(s):Happy St. Patrick’s Day! In an effort to be more “green” today and every day, we now have a compost tumbler on the west side of the National Soybean Research Center, thanks to SSC funding. This is the first publicly-accessible compost drop-off on campus!
Please feel free to take advantage of this opportunity to sustainably dispose of your fruit/vegetable scraps (without stickers), tea bags, coffee grounds/filters, eggshells, shredded paper etc. While this 60-gallon compost tumbler is housed at the NSRC building, this drop-off opportunity is available to all. Simply unscrew either end of the tumbler and drop your items inside. Attached are several photos of the location and setup, as well as a list of the acceptable/unacceptable items.
The end-product will ultimately be used to fertilize a pollinator garden at NSRC. More details to come.
Attached Files:F&S March 2021 Insider: Solar Farm 2.0 & Geothermal Energy
Associated Project(s):In its March 2021 edition, the F&S Insider addressed two of UIUC's innovative sources of energy: Solar Farm 2.0 and Geothermal Energy. The story highlights the origin, installation, and wide array of benefits stemming from the projects.
To read this story in-depth, please see the attached file below.
Progress meeting
Associated Project(s):Izabelle, Morgan, and Brent met to discuss progress on the Meadow at Orchard Downs. Izabelle is going to select the preferred tools to purchase, and meet with Morgan on site on Sunday, 3/14/21, to put stakes around the outline of the first section to work on. Brent is going to get a work order set up to be able to place orders.
Solar Farm System Inquiry
Associated Project(s):Attached is an email chain where William Pellico of the DOE Facility Fermilab in Batavia, IL inquires about the impact of UIUC's solar farm.
A Federal Renewable Energy Certificate Guide is also attached below.
Newsgazette Mailbag about campus renewables
Associated Project(s):Renewable energy at the UI "How much power is each of the renewable (University of Illinois) sources generating? How many houses can each provide power for? Are there plans to add more than what we currently have? How many years does it take for the cost of each to be paid off? We have a growing interest in this and many homes now also have this."
Morgan White, the UI's associate director of Facilities & Services for sustainability, has all your answers.
As for power generation, she said that the UI's "on-campus solar arrays are now capable of producing over 25,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) per year and we purchase an additional 25,000 MWh/year from an off-campus wind farm in Illinois.
"For a more comprehensive answer:
"The (Illinois Climate Action Plan) 2020, objective 2.3.1 is: 'Use at least 140,000 MWh/year of clean power by FY25.' This objective is about clean power, which is different from clean thermal energy. As of 2020, there are three types of clean power options being pursued or used on campus.
"1. Solar Energy on Campus: installing solar photovoltaic panels on campus property
"2. Wind Energy on Campus: installing wind turbine generators on campus property
"3. Power Purchase Agreements for Clean Energy: purchasing solar or wind power from off-campus
"FYI, Solar Farm 2.0 is projected to produce 20,000,000 kWh/year. It began production at the end of January, so there will only be 5 of 12 months production in the FY21 totals (this current fiscal year)."
As for the number of houses each can provide power for, White said, "At Facilities & Services, we use the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) for the average power use in an American home. It currently says, 'In 2019, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,649 kilowatthours (kWh).”
"Thus, the FY20 clean power use on campus (30,635,993 kWh) was the equivalent of the power needed for 2,876 houses. Once Solar Farm 2.0 is operating for an entire year, that will be about 50,000,000 kWh/year of clean power use on campus, which is the equivalent to the power needed for 4,717 houses."
And about whether more generation will be added, she said: "The recently released Illinois Climate Action Plan 2020 (iCAP 2020) includes a goal for increasing clean power use to 140,000 MWh/year by FY25. We are currently having internal discussions at the University of Illinois about initiating a large off-campus solar power purchase agreement to meet this goal. We are also continuing to pursue clean thermal energy solutions, such as geothermal. Additionally, large construction projects on campus are required by the state law to be LEED certified, and this will often entail the addition of clean energy systems for individual buildings."
The payback period for each of these systems varies widely due to several factors, she said.
"For example, the geothermal system for the Campus Instructional Facility is projected to pay for itself in 28 years, while Solar Farm 2.0 is saving money in year one," said White. "For local projects off-campus these programs are very helpful: the Solar Urbana-Champaign program typically finds solar installations to pay for themselves in six or seven years, and the Geothermal Urbana-Champaign program typically finds a geothermal system at a residential home can pay for itself within 10 years."
https://www.news-gazette.com/toms-mailbag/toms-mailbag-feb-12-2021/artic...
Seed Mix Approved for Solar Farm 2.0
Associated Project(s):University Landscape Architect Brent Lewis approved the attached seed mix for the Solar Farm 2.0 project.
Attached Files:Meeting with project leader and F&S
Associated Project(s):Izabelle Jaquet met with Morgan White and Brent Lewis at F&S to talk about the steps forward for the meadow at Orchard Downs project. Izabelle is the project leader, in the RSO, From the Ground Up, which meets weekly on Sundays. She had previously talked with Jamie Ellis (from INHS) and Eric Green (the RSO's advisor), after taking over the project when Nicole Gamble left campus.
We shared related files, including the attached file Brent had from a discussion with Housing back in 2019. We also discussed possible opportunities for collaboration, with groups like Red Bison and the Master Naturalists. There is also a possiblity that From the Ground Up may request a scope change to focus on a smaller section of the low-mow zone and a schedule extension due to the difficulty with coordianting events during the pandemic.
Izabelle is going to work with her group to finalize their list of proposed plants, reach out to potential collaborative partners, and identify who should be included in a follow up call with F&S and INHS in late February.
Attached Files:Local Solar projects shared at CCNet brownbag
Associated Project(s):CCNet hosted several local solar panelists in January 2021. This Zoom meeting was also shared via Facebook Live:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=429039901765435&ref=watch_permalink
- Scott Tess for Solar Urbana-Champaign (https://www.growsolar.org/solar-urbana-champaign/)
- Lauren Barchi, with Nexamp, for community solar (https://www.nexamp.com/community-solar)
- Jim Bustard, with Parkland College (https://www.parkland.edu)
- Morgan White University of Illinois solar projects (https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/.../solar-energy...)
- Sushanth Girini for University of Illinois Solar Farm 2.0: https://fs.illinois.edu/.../utilit.../production/solar-farms
Join the CCNet mailing list to gain access to the Zoom and stay connected. http://eepurl.com/g8IM
(video link corrected on 2-2-2021)
Scope Change for Pollinator Awareness Sign
Associated Project(s):The following scope change was submitted to SSC for the Pollinator Awareness Sign:
Originally, there were no signs at all on campus showing how pollinator friendly the campus is. Now there are four; and the University is now considered part of Bee Campus USA. Now we want to add a bigger sign outlining the bee campus student organization, progress the campus has made, and changes the university implemented to be more pollinator friendly. This sign will include an acknowledgment of the SSC funding for the signs and for several of the pollinator friendly plantings around campus.
The funding does not need to be increased, but we are requesting a schedule extension of one year. The design of the sign is anticipated to take at least one month, so that students can assist with the content development, then the sign will be ordered, and since it may be winter –time when the sign is ready for installation, we may not be able to install it until the spring thaw. Please approve an extension to May 2021.
Read the Scope Change in its entirety in the attached files below.
Attached Files:Article: Rapid Decline of News Coverage for Pollinators
Associated Project(s):Craig Chamberlain, a Social Sciences Editor for Illinois News Bureau, released an article highlighting the lack of coverage dedicated to bees in mainstream news. Supporting his article with a study from researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, it was found that the amount of attention dedicated to "pollinator population topics" has significantly declined over several decades.
Read Chamberlain's article through Illinois News Bureau or the PDF in the attached files!
Sol Systems Blog about SEE Fellows student project
Associated Project(s):Sol Systems published a blog today sharing information about the collaborations with the UIUC Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Fellows program, the campus-wide minor in sustainability.
"This past week, two groups of students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign presented to Sol Systems regarding their findings through the university’s sustainability minor capstone course. The students conducted an emissions audit for supply chain and land-usage for the university’s second utility-scale solar project, Solar Farm 2.0, a 54-acre, 12.3 MW dc system on the Urbana campus that is being developed by Sol Systems. The presentation and partnership served as part of Sol’s sustainability initiatives and acts as the foundation for building Sol’s framework for future and current solar project developments...."
Read the full post online at https://www.solsystems.com/groundwork-for-solar-sustainability/.
Solar Farm construction update for November 2020
Associated Project(s):F&S Management Engineer, Sushanth Girini, provided an update on the Solar Farm 2.0 construction progress. One key point is that 65% of the panel installation is complete as of 11/23.
Points regarding the progress:
- Currently the project is working on installing all the panels on the posts. As of Nov. 23, 2020, Sol Systems completed 258 out of 399 rows of panels, so approximately 65% of panel installation is complete.
- The pads have been poured and all major equipment placed (inverters and transformers), currently working on wiring the whole network. The mechanical in service (construction complete without inspection & commissioning) date is Dec 16th 2020 as per current schedule.
- Received all panels on site, racking equipment and all major equipment such as inverters and transformers, awaiting the switchgear delivery, which is due on 11/30.
- Working with U of I's F&S Waste Management team to achieve a zero waste goal for this project by recycling all the boxes and other materials.
- Every employee who works on site is checked for temperatures before entering the site as a safety precaution against covid-19.
Thank you,
Sushanth Girini
Fall 2020: iSEE Quarterly Update (iQ)
Associated Project(s):The Fall 2020 iSEE Quarterly Update (iQ) was released with the following message from Madhu Khanna, the Interim Director of iSEE:
Dear Colleagues,
Attached, please find attached the Fall 2020 “iQ” – the quarterly update from the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE).
It has been two months since I became interim director of ISEE. It has been exciting to see ISEE bring in multimillion-dollar research grants, launch a new research initiative in regenerative agriculture, and help coalesce sustainable agriculture research on our campus during this period.
Our Certificate in Environmental Writing has engaged students in making insightful contributions to a new issue of Q Magazine. We have also expanded our opportunities for education and scholarly discourse with several online events, including those on nuclear energy and geothermal energy research.
We formally launched the new Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP 2020) on Oct 20, 2020. This ambitious plan is the result of the hard work of campus sustainability folks who worked hand-in-hand with Facilities & Services and incorporated the vision of hundreds of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and community members into a plan for the next five years and beyond — all the way to carbon neutrality no later than 2050!
I am so grateful to Evan Delucia for his efforts over the first seven years as the first director of our Institute. He has left iSEE as a vibrant part of the Illinois community, and I am working with our outstanding ISEE staff to expand upon the work already begun — as evidenced in this six-page update.
Please take a quick look at those updates and more in “iQ.” For more regular news, please sign up for our E-newsletter at https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/5031776.
Wishing you a successful end to the fall semester,
Madhu
Attached Files:F&S Executive Director Dr. Mohamed Attalla talks Solar Farm 2.0 on The Solar Podcast
Associated Project(s):Dr. Mohamed Attalla, the Executive Director of Facilities and Services, recently spoke on the Solar Podcast about the progress made at the University of Illinois in regards to green energy with the addition of Solar Farm 2.0. Dr. Mohamed Attalla was alongside Pedro De La Barra, the Project Manager for Sol Systems, as they discussed the working relationship between the University and those at Sol Systems. Solar Farm 2.0 is expected to be producing solar energy in early 2021.
Please see the link below to listen to this podcast!
https://fs.illinois.edu/resources/newsroom/2020/10/28/podcast-dr.-attalla-joins-the-solar-podcast
October 2020 construction progress
Associated Project(s):For this month's progress, the fence has been installed and the statistics are as follows:
191 rows with motors and partial torque tubes.
103 with all torque tubes and ready for panels.
79 rows of panels.
These numbers are included in each other, i.e., the 103 is included in the 191 and the 79 is included in the 103.
Thank you,
Sushanth Girini
Management Engineer,
Facilities & Services,
UES-Utility Distribution, UIUCSolar Farm 2.0 in F&S Quarterly Report
Associated Project(s):SOLAR FARM 2.0 CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY
Construction started on the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign’s Solar Farm 2.0 in August, with a commercial operation date expected for early 2021. The new 54-acre, 12.1 megawatt (MWdc) solar array is located north of Curtis Road, between First Street and U.S. Route 45, next to the Village of Savoy. Once completed, the solar farm will produce 20,000 MWh annually, almost tripling the university’s existing on-site renewable energy generation. Through a combination of utility-scale installations, integrated facility rooftop arrays, and wind power purchase agreements, clean power usage at the U of I will increase to more than 52,000 MWh per year, which is over 10 percent of the campus electrical demand. Faculty have already identified research projects that will use the Solar Farm 2.0 installation, primarily related to the pollinator-supportive plants under and around the panels.Inovateus Solar included Solar Farm 2.0 in their newsletter!
Associated Project(s):Please see the attached newletter, published by Inovateus Solar, that includes a piece on the University of Illinois' Solar Farm 2.0.
Attached Files: