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Project Updates for collection: Campus Sustainability Tour

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  1. Red Oak Rain Garden Monthly Newsletter: March 2021

    Associated Project(s): 
    ICECF Grants
    Red Oak Rain Garden

    Each month, the Red Oak Rain Garden (RORG) Team produces an e-newsletter to keep supporters updated on everything that is happening in the garden. In the March 2021 e-newsletter, the team highlighted RORG's participation in podcasts, partnerships for grants, volunteer opportunities, and more!

    To read their March 2021 newsletter, please see the attached file below.

    Attached Files: 

  2. F&S March 2021 Insider: Solar Farm 2.0 & Geothermal Energy

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Geothermal at the Campus Instructional Facility (CIF)
    Illinois Geothermal Coalition

    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.

    Attached Files: 

  3. Weekly Update: Things picking up, second staffer

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Things picked up a little on Thursday/Friday last week as the weather began to turn. We also had two drop-off repairs come in, a Kids Bike Giveaway donation, a bike sale, and a membership sale. Todd from TBP picked up some scrap, which was super helpful. I’m working on getting him a key so he can stay on top of our scrap pile.

    This week is projecting to be warmer and accordingly, I’ll bring on a second staffer for hours for Mon, Tues, Wed. I’ll make arrangements to grab some bikes from the warehouse, as well, since we’ve worked through our current bikes. Now we just need to sell them so we’ll have space for more.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 17
    Sales: $311
    Bike (refurb): 1 for $200
    Memberships: 1 for $30
    U-lock: 1 for $21
    Tire/tube: 4 for $15
    Misc: $45

     

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  4. Weekly Update - Fix-a-flat

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Fairly slow week even with the “warmer” weather. Had our first fix-a-flat class for the semester but no takers, unfortunately.

    This week I’ll finish up the Bike Center history piece for marketing and have a training scheduled with a new staffer on Thursday evening. I’ll pick up some more bikes as well since we’ve worked through all the bikes in the shop, already. We’ve exceeded designated capacity for bikes already but the more we build, the more we can sell when it gets warm—hopefully.

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 12
    Sales: $208
    Memberships: 4 for $120
    Misc: $52.50
    Tire/tubes: 3 for $22

     

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  6. Weekly Update: Bad weather slows down business

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Last week’s weather was brutal and thus, very slow for us.

    We made it through the bikes I picked up at the warehouse a week prior. A couple good ones and couple damaged-beyond-repair ones. Par for the course. Denver, a new volunteer, visited one day last week and worked his way through fixing up a bike. We got a couple bikes donated and then fixed up for the KBG (Kids Bike Giveaway)—can’t start too early! Some engineering students came in looking for parts for a class project to make some kind of small wheeled conveyance that moves like an inchworm? Something like that. Next time that happens, I’m giving out my contact info so they can follow up with the finished project—would be cool to have a collection of school projects that we helped out with.
    This week I’ve got some student staff interviews and new hire trainings to arrange, TBP meeting, NIRSA virtual conference, and will pick up more bikes. Saturday is going to break 50 degrees so maybe we’ll sell some bikes. The longer term forecast is trending warmer so we’ll see how that affects visit numbers.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 5
    Sales: $109

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  7. Newsgazette Mailbag about campus renewables

    Associated Project(s): 
    Use Clean Power
    Solar Farm 1.0
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
    LEED Certification
    Geothermal Urbana-Champaign
    Off-campus Solar Farm 3.0 PPA
    Solar Urbana-Champaign
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan
    Use Clean Thermal Energy

    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...

  8. Weekly Update: Bike Maintenance 101, Volunteer request, Cold and snow

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Mechanics Classes at the Campus Bike Center

    All, Last Wednesday we had our first  class of the semester: Bike Maintenance 101. We had one attendee, despite the bitter cold and snow, which was great. He seemed genuinely appreciative of the BC and our mission. We were able to use his bike as a tutorial of sorts for some of the basic repairs.
    We had a new-to-the-university student come in on Thursday who has a strong bike interest and background. He expressed interest in volunteering and becoming more involved—always a welcomed response!
    On Friday I grabbed 4 bikes from the warehouse and we will work those up this week. The cold and snow will keep things nice and quiet here, I’m sure.

     

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 5
    Sales: $262
    Bike (refurb): 1 for $200
    Membership: 1 for $30
    Misc: $31

    Thanks!

     

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  10. Weekly Update: Bike Maintenance 101

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Slow week, of course. Housekeeping abounded: student staff meeting, an interview, safety checks.

     

    This week we have our Basic Maintenance 101 class on Wednesday evening. Other than that, it’s business as usual. The extreme cold will likely keep people away but this week also marks a relaxing of COVID restrictions, so we’ll see how those two balance each other out.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 10
    Sales: $105
    Misc: $60

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  11. Local Solar projects shared at CCNet brownbag

    Associated Project(s): 
    Champaign County Sustainability Network (CCNet) [ARCHIVED]
    Solar Power on Campus
    Solar Farm 1.0
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Solar Urbana-Champaign

    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

    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)

  12. Weekly Update: Prospective student employees

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Things were uncharacteristically busy at the tail end of last week, highlighted by two prospective student employees coming in. They were both really excited by what we do here at the Bike Center. Always good to see enthusiasm and it was a nice glimpse of hopefully where we’ll be post-pandemic: fostering enjoyment, excitement and knowledge about bikes!

    Got a student staff meeting, interview, and bikes to build this week.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 14
    Sales: $371.50

    Memberships: 1 for $30
    Bike (refurb): 1 for $200
    Misc: $18

    Thanks!

     

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  13. Weekly Update: CBC Fix-it staion operational

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Not a whole lot to report: The Bike Center Fix It pump is operational and I’ll be meeting this week about marketing to get the word out. I got an email not 12 hours after visiting the new Flagg Hall covered bike parking asking if it was operational, funnily enough. Parking tagged the bike that was locked up out front of the Bike Center. It was probably a donation but doing our due diligence on that.

    This week student staff will start and we’ll work through some more bike builds.

     

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 6
    Sales: $59
    Memberships: 1 for $30
    Misc: $29

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  15. Weekly Update: Donations, moved from the old place

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Slow week, of course. An uptick in donations of parts/bikes. Got a nice hybrid Giant bike that is already fixed up and ready to sell.

    We are almost totally and completely moved out of our former garage home. It’s actually a lot of square footage in there once you remove all the stuff accumulated over the last 11 years or so!

    This week will be scheduling, semester prep, and more work to get the outdoor bike pump fixed up and operational for the few hearty winter cyclists.  

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 10
    Sales: $196
    Memberships: 2 for $60
    Bike (refurb): 1 for $120
    Misc: $16

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  17. Weekly Update - Word of mouth, Bike donations

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Pretty slow around these parts—per usual for this time of year.

    A story: A gentleman comes in on Wednesday looking for bikes. We get to talking and he’s volunteered at Working Bikes (the org we give abandoned bikes to) up in Chicago, he knows his way around a wrench. He buys a nice road bike and that was that. An hour later, he brings a friend back; she signs up for a membership. Two days later, same guy is back with another friend; he buys a membership, too. Says they’ll both be back on Monday to work on a bike. Word of mouth really is the best marketing.

    This week I’ll still be processing the donations from the kids bike event that were not kids bikes. We got a lot of adult-sized bikes that aren’t worth saving, unfortunately.
    The numbers:

    Visitors: 11
    Sales: $254
    Memberships: 2 for $60
    Misc: $4

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  18. Weekly Update: Happy New Year, Kids bike giveaway

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Happy New Year! The final week of the semester—and the two weeks preceding it—were a whirl of kid bike prep for our event, which took place on December 19th.
    Here’s a story CI Living did on the event:  https://www.wcia.com/ciliving-2/the-bike-project-hosts-kids-bike-giveaway/
    We gave away 40+ bikes in less than half an hour and our community really came through in providing those donations on such a short time frame.
    This week will be a lot of cleaning and organizing—kids bike parts are strewn every which way as we hustled to get the bikes finished—and an inventory once-over to see where we stand on parts and bikes.
    Thanks!
    The numbers:

    Visitors: 7
    Sales: $19

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  19. Funding Award: Living Lab Platform for CIF geothermal

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal at the Campus Instructional Facility (CIF)
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    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: 

  20. Sol Systems Blog about SEE Fellows student project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 2.0
    Sustainability Minor
    Independent Student Projects

    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/. 

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