SSC Land Working Group seeks to develop "Native Landscaping Signage Network"
Professor Bob Pahre plans to work on a Native Landscaping Signage Network" for the SSC Land Working Group. The sign at the Red Oak Rain Garden is one model.
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Professor Bob Pahre plans to work on a Native Landscaping Signage Network" for the SSC Land Working Group. The sign at the Red Oak Rain Garden is one model.
Morgan Johnston sent the draft phase one report to Student Sustainability Committee representatives for their comments and feedback. It was sent to students Teresa Tousignant, Nishant Makhijani, and Marika Nell. It was also sent to Brian Deal, McKenzie Beverage, and Stephanie Lage as SSC advisors.
Twelve racquetball and three squash courts at the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) were retrofit with 193 fluorescent and 96 mercury vapor light fixtures. The project was funded by the Student Sustainability Committee through an interest-free loan of $75,000.
Once the lighting retrofits were completed, occupancy sensors were installed in all 15 courts.
The overall cost of the project ended up at $61,203.69 -- $13,796.31 less than the original quote. Campus Recreation requested that the remaining balance stay with the division and be used to further fund energy reduction projects within their facilities.
The total average reduction in power consumption is 129,226 kWh. This is a 75.7 percent decrease in consumption, which translates to an annual savings of $9,020. The simple payback for this project is 6.78 years.
Ten buildings on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus were selected to receive RLF funding for occupancy sensors in FY12. In order from top priority to lowest priority, the buildings that received funding are Gregory Hall, the Foreign Languages Building, the Agriculture Engineering Sciences Building, Newmark Laboratory, the Rehabilitation Education Center, the Education Building, the Law Building, the Water Survey Buildings, Noyes Laboratory, and Freer Hall. The University will now proceed to implementation of occupancy sensors in all of the above buildings.
Gregory Hall, the Foreign Languages Building, Newmark Laboratory, the Rehabilitation Education Center, Noyes Laboratory, and Freer Hall have also been selected to receive HVAC occupancy sensors.
During summer 2012, the UI worked with The Bike Project to update the Facility Use Agreement, and clarify the collaborative relationship between the two entities.
The final report for the Bike Sharing Feasibility Study was submitted to SSC. The study recommends the following three tiered approach to bicycle sharing on the Urbana-Champaign campus:
The Student Sustainability Committee approved the Solar Farm funding of $1.05M over the course of three years.
The American College and University Presidents' Climate Committment picked up the UI Solar Farm project on twitter.
Channel 3 news shared the story of the UI Solar Farm on TV and on the Illinois homepage website.
Channel 15 news interviewed Morgan Johnston about the UI Solar Farm. The news report showed on Channel 15 on Friday, November 09.
The News-Gazette had an article about the Board of Trustees approval of the Solar Farm.
The Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois approved the purchase plans for the Solar Farm on Thursday. The next steps are to complete the Development Agreement, Land-Lease Agreement, and Power Purchase Agreement. Once these are completed, the Solar Farm vendor will begin the design and implementation of the Solar Farm at the southwest corner of Windsor Road and First Street. The entire site should be completed and operational by the end of 2013.
The Board of Trustees for the University of Illinois approved the Solar Farm purchase.
Jeff Bossert at WILL Public Radio interviewed Morgan Johnston about the Solar Farm. The interview was recorded and will be on the radio.
The News-Gazette published a follow-up article about the Solar Farm site selection. The article is online.
Transportation Demand Management staff designed sketches and submitted a work order request to have formal CAD drawings made for the remaining 9 bike parking locations to be upgraded from donut hole style racks to "U" racks.
The News-Gazette contacted SSC members and F&S to get an overview of the Solar Farm project as discussed at the BOT Audit, Budget, Finance, and Facilities sub-committee meeting. The article is online.
It was also picked up by the Chicago Tribune, Danville Area Connect, I4U, as well.
The Student Sustainability Committee met with F&S and exchanged letters and draft letters before finalizing the funding approval for the Solar Farm. Some of the related files are attached here.
The Board of Trustees Audit, Budget, Finance, and Facilities subcommittee discussed the Solar Farm project, and agreed to bring it to the Board of Trustees for approval on November 8, 2012.
Due to the Board of Trustees meeting schedule, the SSC has agreed to do a straw-poll about the funding of the Solar Farm project at their upcoming meeting on Oct. 26, 2012. They requested a full proposal be submitted this week, for review by committee members this coming week. The submitted proposal and associated calculations are attached here.