Attached are the meeting minutes from the Zero Waste SWATeam meeting on 3/26. The agenda is as follows:

• ZW002 NERC Recommendation (+comments)
• ZW003 GreenerOffice Delivery Program
• ZW004 Reusable Dining Options (+comments)
• Roundtable Discussion (if necessary)

Meeting minutes for the Zero Waste SWATeam Meeting on 3/12 are attached. The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

• M. Liberman: NERC Recommendation
  • Is it ready?
  • Do you need support?
• T. Etchison: Reusable Dining Options Pilot
  • Update?
  • Do you need support?
• C. Steel: Adopt-A-Highway
  • Update?
  • Do you need support?
  • Are there any alternatives?
  • Can we make a recommendation that iSEE host their own event, which we help facilitate?
• C. Steel: Composting Program/Urban Canopy
  • Update?
  • Do you need support?
  • Are there alternatives?
  • Can we go a different direction with this local, closed-loop composting program idea?
• Roundtable Discussion
  • Removal of virgin paper from F&S stores/catalogues
  • Elimination of thermal paper receipts
  • Assessment of third party vendors footprint (single-use plastics, recyclable materials, etc) in the Union.
  • Student Waste Management Educational initiative.
  • Single-use plastics in vending machines.
  • Reuse of Surplus Goods
  • Battery Recycling

The Energy iCAP Team met on March 10th, 2021 to discuss next steps on a recommendation for a Comprehensive Energy Master Plan after F&S has published their Energy Management Plan that aims for a 50% reduction in energy utilization by 2026. The team also discussed recommendations for a Green Labs Program and ways to manage space usage on campus. Given how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed in-person activites and created a hybrid workforce, the team believes it will be important to study underused spaces on campus to reduce building-level energy use. 

Meeting minutes, agenda, and chat log are attached!

The meeting which took place on 26 February at 4PM (CDT) discussed the following:

• Reusable dining options (Follow-up to Feb 12 guest presentation)
• Reusable dining options (Recommendation)
• Elimination of virgin paper at F&S Stores
• Food Literacy Project

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...

Join us on Feb.1 at 6pm for an exciting workshop highlighting the collaborative relationship between Illinois and Kyushu University faculty on the development of global CO2 recycling technology towards “beyond-zero” emission. This effort is within the framework of the Moonshot Program in I2CNER at Kyushu funded by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan. 

Global Relations • Global Relations

 This opportunity is available online