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Project Updates for collection: Living Lab Facilities / Programs

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  1. Solar Farm 2.0 construction update from Sushanth Girini at F&S

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0

    The Solar Farm 2.0 construction is on schedule to be in service by 1/28/2021. Currently the project is installing approximately 4,400 posts in ground for the panel foundations. One of key objectives is to complete the Golden Row* by end of this month. Once the golden row is completed, inspected, and approved, the construction will be in full force to reach completion. The university is scheduled to perform routine inspections and capture all the underground equipment GPS points for reference. A recycling plan is in place, and the project is coordinating with F&S Transportation to collect the recyclable waste. The installation of a utility switch on the east side of the farm is complete.

    Procurement: We have received all the racking equipment and about 80% of the solar panel on site. Transformers and inverters are scheduled to be delivered by end of Oct 2020.

    ~by Sushanth Girini, management engineer at F&S Utilities and Energy Services

     

    * Golden Row - is a single row of solar panel constructed by the construction crew. Once the project make sure all the connections are good and row is as per design, it gets approved. It's like a start of what's coming. Like a movie trailer!

  3. Design Constraint discussion with F&S and Researchers

    Associated Project(s): 
    Adaptive Aluminum Tensegrity Structure as a Bike Parking Canopy

    F&S staff met with the researchers to discuss the design constraints for installing the tensengrity structure for bike parking at Newmark Civil Engineering Lab (NCEL).  Dr. Ann Scychterz and Dr. Nishant Garg at CEE met with Stacey DeLorenzo, Brent, Lewis, Sarthak Prasad, and Morgan White from F&S on 9/22/2020. We discussed a few design constraints, such as staying out of the tree lines and height requirements for the proposed structure.  We also discussed the potential lifetime of the structure, various design shape options that may be incorporated, material selections, and maintenance plans.  The faculty will contact F&S again in early December.

  5. SWATeam charge letters

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan
    Topical iCAP Teams
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Energy iCAP Team
    Education iCAP Team
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Resilience iCAP Team
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Engagement iCAP Team

    Attached are the charge letters sent to each of the SWATeam members with the iWG copied, on September 16 by iSEE interim director, Dr. Madhu Khanna. 

    Attached Files: 

  6. Revolving Loan Fund: FY2020 Project Selection Results

    Associated Project(s): 
    Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
    Centralized Energy Efficiency Efforts
    Retrocommissioning (RCx)
    LED Campus

    7 projects were approved during the FY2020 Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) project selection. At this time, final scoring results were determined as well. F&S will be beginning these projects soon and will start assessing their correlated utility savings.

    Due to COVID-19, the voting process was conducted via email as opposed to meeting in person. As a result of the success in the virtual voting process, future selections are planned to occur in a similar fashion.

    Attached Files: 

  7. Article: Preservation of Century-Old Trees Near Siebel Center

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tree Campus Higher Education

    Julie Wurth, iSEE Communications Specialist, released an article highlighting the preservation of century-old trees during the construction of the new Siebel Center for Design. These trees are rooted in the university's early history and serve as "remnants of a windbreak that protected a vast experimental orchard planted there in the late 19th century by botanist Thomas Jonathan Burrill, a pioneer in plant pathology and the third University of Illinois President (1891-94)."

    Read the article as a PDF in the attachments or proceed to its posting in iSEE's News Releases!

    Attached Files: 

  10. Site visit with ISU VR Tour creators

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0
    ISEIF grants
    Solar Farm 1.0

    Sol Systems and F&S hosted visitors from Illinois State University today, to initiate development of a Virtual Reality tour of Solar Farm 2.0. The intention is to develop a walking path that will be repeated by the camerawoman at four key timeframes this fall: post installation, tracker installation, module installation, and electrical installation.

  16. Archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0

    Construction of a new 54-acre, 12.1 megawatt (MWdc) Solar Farm has been approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees as the sole member of Prairieland Energy, Inc. Referred to as "Solar Farm 2.0," the new utility-scale array will be located north of Curtis Road, between First Street and Dunlap Avenue in Savoy. Solar Farm 2.0 will produce approximately 20,000 megawatt-hours per year (MWh/year), nearly tripling the university’s existing on-site renewable energy generation. Completion of this project will then grant the University of Illinois with the title of being the third-largest user of renewable power generated on-site for all higher education facilities in the entire country.

    Project Inception

    In April 2017, the Energy Sustainability Working Advisory Team (SWATeam) recommended that to increase our campus’ generation of solar power, either an extension should be built onto the original Solar Farm or additional solar panels be installed across campus rooftops. From there, the idea of Solar Farm 2.0 was born. In November of that same year, the Sustainability Council approved the concept of this new solar farm, and a site selection was completed during spring 2018. 

    In the summer of 2018, after discussions with our neighbors in Savoy, the Chancellor’s Capital Review Committee approved the location, and a request for proposals was initiated. Different vendors from across the nation submitted proposals and various designs for this new solar farm, with nineteen submissions in total. By May of 2019, Sol Systems of Washington, D.C. was chosen to complete the project. A twenty-year contract was negotiated, and the overall project is on track to be completed by the end of 2020.

    Project Overview

    Sol Systems will be responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance for Solar Farm 2.0, and like Solar Farm 1.0, the Urbana campus will use all the generated power.  The $20.1M contract is anticipated to save the university $300,000 in the farm’s first year compared to electricity purchased from the wholesale MISO market. Prairieland Energy will buy the solar energy at a fixed rate of $45.99 per MWh, while the University of Illinois will receive the associated renewable energy certificates (RECs) and the right to claim the use of clean energy.

    Pollinator Habitat

    Other innovative features of Solar Farm 2.0 include the incorporation of a pollinator habitat located beneath the panels. Indigenous plants will be planted throughout the farm to welcome local and migratory birds and insects. Specifically targeted towards butterflies and bees, Solar Farm 2.0 will be a welcoming environment for wildlife, as well as being a demonstration site for meeting the requirements of the Pollinator Friendly Solar Site Act. A landscaped buffer will also be included in the final design of Solar Farm 2.0, creating visual screening of the solar panels along the south edge of the farm bordering Savoy.

  17. Campus Bike Center added as a Shield pick-up location - Available from August 24, 2020

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bicycle Registration
    Campus Bike Center

    Campus Bike Center (51 E Gregory Dr., Champaign, IL 61820. Phone number: 217-300-4638) was added as the Shield pick-up location. Sarthak Prasad dropped off 250 Shields at the location to be picked up by bicycle users. This location will be available for Shield pick up from August 24, 2020. Due to the pandemic, the CBC will only accept visitors who make an appointment beforehand, so please call in ahead to more information. The Shields will be distributed at the front desk of the CBC's new location.

    We will replensih the Shields as needed.

  19. Campus Bike Center is moving!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    The Campus Bike Center is moving to a new location! The move is currently in progress while the shop is closed due to the pandemic. The Campus Bike Center will re-open on August 24, 2020, and they will only accept visitors on appointments. You can call in ahead at 217-300-4638 or create an appointment online - appointment system is under development. We will share the online appointment link as soon as the system is ready.

    The new address for CBC is: 51 E Gregory Dr., Champaign, IL 61820.

  20. Master Naturalist Native Tree and Shrub Sale

    Associated Project(s): 
    Tree Campus Higher Education

    Interested in expanding the use of native flora in your yard or garden? East Central Illinois Master Naturalists (ECIMN) is hosting a native tree and shrub sale. Our soil and climate have tested these plants for 8,000 years, it's a good bet they will work for you! The way it works is that you have August 1 - September 28 to research, plan, order, and pay for your selection of native trees and/or shrubs and we will have them available for pick up in October when it is the perfect time for planting. 

    https://extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/master-naturalist-native-tree-and-shrub-sale

    https://my.aces.illinois.edu/buy/index.asp?tab=3

     

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