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Radio interview about geothermal and clean energy
Associated Project(s):Morgan White with Facilities and Services, Sustainability, spoke with Stevie Jay and Diane Ducey on May 10, 2021 on ESPN radio 93.5. They discussed the new Campus Instructional Facility geothermal system, other clean energy projects on campus, and the local Geothermal Urbana-Champaign program.
Geothermal data for ASHRAE
Associated Project(s):Facilities & Services and the Prairie Research Institute are going to share CIF geothermal information with an ASHRAE research study, looking into long-term temperatures for ground heat exchangers and comparing measurements with models commonly used in the industry.
Podcast: Morgan White Speaks About Solar & Geothermal
Associated Project(s):On May 10, 2021, Morgan White joined Stevie Jay Broadcasting to talk about renewable energy in the Champaign-Urbana community. In this 7 minute podcast, Morgan spoke about solar and geothermal energy initiatives by F&S and beyond!
Listen to the podcast in the attached files!
Attached Files:CIF geothermal in Research at Illinois newsletter
Associated Project(s):The largest geothermal energy system on campus came online last month at the Campus Instructional Facility, a $75M state-of-the-art building that will support transformative learning and teaching environments. The system has "enough capacity to handle the energy needed for approximately 30 American homes."
archived info - previous project description
Associated Project(s):When built, the University of Illinois Campus Instructional Facility (CIF) will be a four-story building dedicated to academic and classroom use. CIF will serve 31,000 students daily and will leverage sustainable design to decrease its carbon emissions. The ground source heat exchange system will consist of approximately 60 wells arrayed under the John Bardeen Quad. It will be designed to be expandable, with the ability to be connected to other buildings, allowing for multiple phases. This SSC grant covers approximately 13% of the cost of the geothermal system, and this building project is the first public-private partnership on campus. As the campus works towards being carbon neutral by 2050, this project will not only reduce UIUC’s reliance on fossil fuels, but pave the way for new construction projects to use geothermal systems on campus.
technical note
Associated Project(s):The CIF Geothermal loop has a mixture of 30% glycol to 70% water.
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.
RIPE Project feature on PBS NOVA Episode
Associated Project(s):Don't miss the Wednesday premiere of "Beyond the Elements: Life," a PBS NOVA episode that features the University's RIPE project. Steve Long, Lisa Ainsworth, Don Ort, and other scientists discuss their efforts to "hack" photosynthesis.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/beyond-the-elements-life/
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...
Geo Power Hour co-hosted by CCNet
Associated Project(s):Join CCNet for a special event this Monday, as we co-host a Geo Power Hour with the Geothermal Urbana-Champaign team.
Pre-registration is required:equipment installed
Associated Project(s):The geothermal heat pump is now installed at the Gable Home, at the Energy Farm. Professor Yun Yi will create an energy model, and Mark Taylor said, "I can work with one of my RA’s to draw up the system in a 3D model for use in presentations and papers."
The model is the “QE0930.”
useful articles
Associated Project(s):GeoVision Analysis Supporting Task Force Report: Thermal Applications—Geothermal Heat Pumps.
https://doi.org/10.2172/1507876
A Review of Geothermal Technologies and Their Role in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the USA
DTS Measurements at CIF
Associated Project(s):On Wednesday 01/13/2021, at 1:00 pm, Andrew Stumpf, Clarence Odom, and their team will conduct geothermal DTS measurements during a site visit.
equipment to be delivered soon
Associated Project(s):The supplier of the heat pump, Connor Company, has received it from the factory and will deliver it to campus on Friday, January 8, 2020. Lanz Inc. will then work to install the system.
Funding Award: Living Lab Platform for CIF geothermal
Associated Project(s):The SSC approved $9,318.16 in funding in Fall 2020 for a Living Lab Platform at the CIF. This project expires 12/16/2022.
Attached Files:- App - A Living-lab Platform Based on the Campus Institutional Facility Geothermal Project.docx
- Funding Letter - A Living-Lab Platform Based on the CIF Geothermal Project.pdf
- Display & Budget Explanations.pdf
- Site Permission Letter signed QK CO KM.pdf
- Step_2_Additional_Information_John Zhao.docx
- Step-2-Application_2020 _Zhao.docx
- Step-2-Supplemental-Budget-and-Timeline_2020.xlsx
F&S co-hosted a Geo-Power Hour for Geothermal Urbana-Champaign
Associated Project(s):12/15/20 Geo Power Hour on Zoom Co-host: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Facilities & Services
F&S co-hosted a Geo-Power Hour for Geothermal Urbana-Champaign
Associated Project(s):12/07/20 Geo Power Hour on Zoom Co-host: University of Illinois Extension Master Naturalists
F&S co-hosted a Geo-Power Hour for Geothermal Urbana-Champaign
Associated Project(s):12/01/20 Geo Power Hour on Zoom Co-host: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Facilities & Services
F&S co-hosted a Geo-Power Hour for Geothermal Urbana-Champaign
Associated Project(s):11/19/20 Geo Power Hour on Zoom Co-host: Champaign County Sustainability Network (CCNet)