In its first year of commercial operation from December 11, 2015, to December 10, 2016, the Solar Farm generated 7,284 megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean, renewable energy for the Urbana campus, successfully meeting expectations.

Under a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Phoenix Solar South Farms, LLC, the university acquires all of the power generated by the Solar Farm and all associated renewable energy credits and carbon credits. Notable first-year production achievements of the Solar Farm include:

• Provided 1.95% of projected FY17 annual electricity consumption1
• Supplied almost 14% of the campus electrical demand at noon on April 3, 2016
• Delivered 900 MWh of power to the campus grid in June 2016, the highest month of production
• Frequently generated over 4 MW of power; system capacity is 4.68 MWac
• Reduced the campus carbon footprint by more than 6,000 metric tons of CO2e

The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), the Urbana campus’ strategic sustainability plan, set a goal of obtaining at least 120,000 MWh of power per year from low-carbon sources by FY20. With the Solar Farm’s electrical production and the university’s wind PPA with Rail Splitter Wind Farm LLC, the campus is 25% of the way toward meeting this goal.

Hourly information on the Solar Farm’s energy production and impact to campus since first-connected in November 2015 is available at: http://go.illinois.edu/solar.

All, we had 34 visitors total for last week. We grossed $260.50. We didn’t sell any memberships, nor any bikes (refurbished or B-a-Bs). We did sell $40 worth of tubes, so we’re still keeping people rolling.

Last week I had two very dedicated volunteers who worked almost all five days during open hours. They were a tremendous help in organizing small parts and culling some of the worn and old parts that really have no value to us and are simply taking up space. We scrapped almost a dozen bad and/or broken bikes, which will nicely clear up space for more usable projects and builds.

This week I will continue cleaning and building bikes. On Thursday a Bike Project volunteer and I will go to Champaign Public Works to retrieve some bikes they are giving away. I will work on a handout for student workers’ guidelines. But most importantly, on Tuesday we are having a CBC holiday get-together where the student workers will be able to learn about how the CBC fits into TDM/F&S and the larger university plan for sustainability!

• Jake Benjamin
  Campus Bike Center Manager

All, this past week we did not see a lot of visitors. We totaled 50 visitors for the entire week. We grossed 311.70; we sold one bike; we sold 2 memberships for $60; we sold 6 tubes; and we had one nice volunteer, Jeremy, just stop by to say hello and hang out for a minute.

Looking at the numbers, we had only a single sale all week at non-member prices. It would appear that those that are still coming to the CBC are familiar and invested in the space. I take that as a good thing.

This past week I have also cut back on hours for student workers. This happened organically, as a lot of staffers were sick or busy with school, but I plan to retain one staffer per day for the winter and then ramp back up to 2-3 for the warmer months. Winter is a good time for one-on-one training for those staffers who will be returning for the spring.

Last week I attended the Campus Master Plan public forum on Wednesday.

This week I plan to build more bikes, organize the shop, attend the Monthly Members’ Meeting for The Bike Project and start the initial work on a Winter Maintenance class, now that it has snowed.

Sincerely,

• Jake Benjamin
  Campus Bike Center Manager

The ECBS SWATeam recommends funding a full-time Green Labs Coordinator position.  The coordinator would implement, with the help of students, a Green Labs Program.  Major components of the program would include energy conservation through analysis of fume hood usage (needs and possible consolidation), a Shut the Sash fume hood initiative, freezer and refrigerator management, space efficiency and utilization, water conservation, recycling (e.g., batteries, Styrofoam) and collaboration and education of effective energy efficiency and sustainable methods for management of lab chemicals and hazardous waste disposal.  

Rationale for Recommendation is included. Connection to iCAP Goals is considered. Perceived Challenges are discussed. Suggested unit/department to address implementation is considered. Individual comments from each SWATeam member are included.

The EGEN SWATeam held their fourth meeting for the Fall 2016 semester. Topics covered include:

• Guest presentation by Yu-Feng Forrest Lin to discuss his work on investigating campus geothermal properties
• View draft recommendation for Petascale offsets
• Review draft recommendation for on-campus solar

"As the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign considers installing more solar photovoltaic modules on the roofs of buildings, the discussion turns to the type of mounting systems to consider. This discussion often elicits the tale of the modules that were originally installed on the roof of the Business Instructional Facility (BIF) using a ballast-mounted system, that is, a mounting system held down using heavy weights such as concrete blocks. The story goes that a few of the PV modules blew off the roof of the building, and this subsequently led to the modules being installed with a racking system attached to the roof of the building.

This story is an urban legend..."

Read file for more information and photos.