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Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

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  1. News Release - RLF update

    Associated Project(s): 

    $1.9M Available for Campus Utility Conservation Projects from the Revolving Loan Fund

    CHAMPAIGN, IL – More than $1.9M will be available for campus projects through the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) this semester. Departments and units interested in submitting utility conservation work for consideration are encouraged to download and complete the RLF application available at: http://go.fs.illinois.edu/rlf. The RLF Committee will evaluate proposals beginning in mid-April with project selection occurring this summer. 

    The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) collaborated with Facilities & Services (F&S) to allocate $500K from Chevrolet Bonneville Environmental Foundation funding into the RLF. The amount was matched by an additional $250K from the Office of the Chancellor with the goal of further reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on campus and achieving targets outlined in the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP).  

    Through the carbon credit agreement with Chevrolet, acquisition of grant funding, and campus commitments the RLF has grown to a record $3.9M.

    Engineer specialist for F&S Josh Whitson said, “Through both centrally-funded programs and user-based initiatives there is a proven track record of significant cost avoidance and energy reduction at the university. The RLF builds on these successful conservation efforts.”

    Chevrolet retired an estimated 150K metric tons of carbon credits from the university on behalf of the environment in May 2014. The carbon credits were earned through the work of the campus to reduce GHG.

    “By increasing the size of the RLF, our campus has reinforced its commitment to conserving energy and resources — a commitment that will allow the excellent work done by F&S to continue and increase,” said Ben McCall, associate director for campus sustainability at iSEE. “Decreasing our carbon footprint through this cost-effective approach will help Illinois remain a leader among green campuses.”

    The RLF was established in 2011 as a financing source for utility conservation projects with a less than 10-year payback period. The savings from steam, electricity, and chilled or potable water costs are paid back annually, based on initially calculated savings.

    To date, more than $2M has been allocated from the RLF for energy-efficient lighting retrofits, including LED upgrades, and the installation of occupancy sensors.

    BILLION DOLLAR GREEN CHALLENGE:
    The RLF is a recognized part of the Billion Dollar Green Challenge where 57 universities have committed more than $116M for energy conservation efforts: http://greenbillion.org/. The Challenge encourages colleges, universities, and other nonprofit institutions to invest a combined total of $1 Billion in self-managed revolving funds that finance energy efficiency improvements.

    RLF ONLINE:
    More information on the RLF is available on the iCAP Portal: http://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/revolving-loan-fund

    RLF Project Application ​

    Attached Files: 
  2. ECBS SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    Ben McCall attended this ECBS SWATeam meeting to join in on the discussion of objectives 2 and 3 under the ECBS section of iCAP 2015.  A consultation group will be formed to help in recommending potential objective 2 strategies.  The main issue is that there is no "one size fits all" standard for all campus buildings.  Various strategies of creating a feedback loop for reducing energy usage were also discussed with regards to objective 3.  Next meeting is set for Tuesday, March 15.

    Attached Files: 
  3. Archived info - RLF previous background info

    Associated Project(s): 

    This fund was originally called for in the 2010 iCAP, as the “clean energy fund.”  It was established in Fiscal Year 2012, with funding from the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and the Office of the Chancellor.  Within the first year, the Office of the President committed additional funds. 

    With input from the campus community, Facilities & Services, the SSC, the Office of Sustainability, and the Office of the Chancellor worked through the details for selecting projects.  The agreement about the process was signed in November 2011.  According to the  agreement, any grant funds received for RLF projects in campus-funded utility buildings will be allocated entirely to the RLF.  Thus, the fund can grow over time.  Additionally, the campus agreed to match any future additional commitments from the SSC.

    If an Auxiliary unit is interested in using the Revolving Loan Fund for a utility conservation project, a simple Memo of Understanding is needed to allow the repayment through utility savings over time. 

  4. weekly update

    Hello all, Last week was a little weird, but great.  We had some strange fluctuations in attendance that went against normal attendance/weather patterns.  We sold 1 bike for $140, 1 build-a-bike for $45, 2 memberships for $50, and grossed $768.80.  I ran out of room upfront so I started putting for sale bikes in the back of the shop.  My goal is to have half of the storage area be refurbished bikes by spring so we are ready for the rush.  The hydraulic disc brake class went very well.  Matt Crosby from Neutral came early and helped setup as well as publicized the event.  We have 5 people in attendance and everyone learned a lot.  We may have a second class to go deeper into bleeding and lever modulation adjustment. 

    This week I plan on helping to get Lily up to speed as Stacy sees fit, building bikes, and working on upcoming advocacy events.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  5. weekly update

    Hello all, This past week went well.  We sold 2 bikes for $230, one membership for $25, and grossed $475.  We were able to represent the center at the ISSS open house.  The bike registration database is completed and we are seeking approval from all parties to launch!  We built more bikes.  We are at about 40.  I was able to make some head way in organizing the shop.  There are so many built bikes now that they are becoming a nuisance.  I did more work on the blasting cabinet.  It has already proved useful, but the air filter unit that came with it is not working well and we may have to purchase new filters. 

    This week I will be holding a class on disc brakes due to requests by students.  I will send an e-mail about it to membership.  I will work on the air filter unit for the blasting cabinet.  I will also be building more bikes for the spring rush.  There is an international student safety day on the 24th that we will be participating in.  I will be preparing materials for that as well as seeing if we can do some mechanical demos.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  6. Archived Data from Bike Sharing Wiki

  7. ECBS Objective 4 Subcommittee Meeting Minutes

    The ECBS Objective 4 Subcommittee held its first meeting on Tuesday, February 9.  Discussion revolved around the issue of tying all existing campus engagement programs (e.g., ECIP, Certified Green Office Program, revolving loan fund, etc.) together into one campus-wide brand.

    Attached Files: 
  8. weekly update

    Hello all,  This past week was way busy.  We got a lot of stuff done.  We sold one build-a-bike for $50, 2 memberships for $50, and grossed $523.20.  I brought a couple of new staff members online, and sorted out some payroll issues.  I worked with IT and we are now in the testing phase of the registration database.  If all goes well it will be online this week.  I worked on some details for upcoming advocacy events.  I built a second trailer bike as we have need/requests for a smaller frame bike.  I got the abrasive booth up and running.  It has already proven useful.

    This week I hope to finish the registration database.  I will be attending an advocacy event to table (the ISSS resource fair), and will work on a class I am planning for next week.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James

  9. EGen004 Electrification Study recommendation - Submittal

    The eGen SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG stating, "Hire a consultant to undertake a study of electrifying most space and water heating on campus."

    See attached the SWATeam recommendation EGen004 Electrification Study complete with comments from all the eGen SWATeam members.

  10. weekly update

    Hello all, This past week was busy.  We had a lot of people come in and want help fixing their bikes.  We sold 2 build-a-bikes for $180, 4 memberships for $100, and grossed $532.  We have 35 bikes for sale at the shop and are working on more.  I was able to purchase a lot of higher grade tires for a good price and have started to stock these into the inventory. 

    This week I will be working on the registration database a bit more as well as getting ready for upcoming advocacy events.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  11. ECBS SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    The ECBS SWATeam's first meeting of the semester took place on Tuesday, February 2.  Key topics of discussion included follow-ups on the Energy Dashboard project, Design Center, space utilization meetings Karl attended in December, and internships developed to help with the Green Labs Initiative and campus engagement in sustainability issues.  Morgan also led a discussion on campus engagement, the 4th objective under ECBS in the iCAP 2015, resulting in the formation of an incentivizing subcommittee within the SWATeam with the purpose of advancing this objective.

    Attached Files: 
  12. weekly update

    Hello all,  This past week was good.  We got a lot done and helped a lot of folks.  The Center sold 3 bikes for $400, and grossed $908.50.  I agreed to provide materials and do some education at a international student bike safety event in February.  I was able to clean the shop up a considerable amount. I built a few bikes and we now have 32 bikes that are for sale or need to be logged and priced.  Rick got his bike share up and running and I was very appreciative for the help.

    This coming week I plan on building bikes and cleaning out the back of the shop.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl
     

  13. Process comment from F&S

    Associated Project(s): 

    Kristine Chalifoux provided this process information to Ava Heap: "The first step is to get approval from the Architectural Review Committee (ARC).  Without their approval, you will not be able to proceed with the project.  If you have any drawings or documentation of what you all want, please forward it to me.  If you do not, I can take a picture of the shed and put together a sketch to submit to them

    Once we have their approval, you can move forward with getting proposals.  All contractors who work on campus must be an approved vendor.  If installers you are talking to are not, they will have to partner with a contractor who is.  Most likely, this will be an electrical contractor, of which there are many locally.

    After you have proposals, you will need to submit them to us to review for conformance to University Standards.  We will review and comment on them."

  14. weekly update

    Hello all, This past week was very busy.  We had a lot of people come in and either volunteer to fix their bikes.  The shop grossed $70.  I got a lot done with cleaning the space out.  We had far too many bikes donated that were directed to this shop.  I am not going to be able to accept any more bikes for a while.  I scrapped upwards of 30 bikes sawing them into pieces and putting them in boxes.  It was so bad the boxes themselves made the whole back of the shop inaccessible.  They got removed Friday by Todd so we wont have to deal with that issue any more.  The shop is very well stocked with used parts right now.  I went over to the warehouse and pulled some bikes and cleaned up a bit.  There is more work to be done and 30 or so bikes to dispose of.  I got an account setup with shimano so we can order shifters and bbs.  I helped Rick Langlois haul, build, and accessorize the bike share bikes for his department.  He was very happy, and now we have a 6 bike bike share on campus.  Silver BFU status here we come.  I worked on reinstating Shiqi.  She is returning for spring semester which will help me a lot.  I will have a labor shortage when it gets a little warmer.

    This coming week I plan on getting the shop back into shape after spending the last two weeks not being able to access half of it.  I will also try to get more work done at the warehouse. 

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

  15. weekly update

    Hello all, A lot has happened since the last update.  We sold 2 bikes for $270, 1 build-a-bike for $80, 4 student memberships for $100, 1 community memberships for $40, and grossed $788.50.  We received a truck load of bikes from Neutral, we received a truck and trailer load of bikes from a land lord,  winter break happened, and I applied and got a Shimano account.  We also had a lot of individual donations of bikes.  There was even a very heavily loaded bike trailer of nice parts donated.  We have had a few people in the shop fixing bikes about 5 a day.  I have been able to build some bikes, and do maintenance.  I did some work on the public repair pumps as they have been breaking a lot lately.  I am currently setting up the cargo bike to lend to the library.  I have scrapped about 50 bikes, 20 were sent to the recycling facility, about 30 have been cut up for space saving until they are hauled off.  I did some reworking of the bike center's page on TBP's site.  It now has lots of pictures as was suggested, and goes into more depth about what we do.  I found some language on another co-ops site that I think will help set expectations.  I worked on the registration data base and gave the University IT folks approval to start making the basic site.

    This coming week I plan on dealing with the huge amount of donations.  I will work on getting the cargo bike lent out and everything squared away on this.  I will continue to work with IT to make the database and integrate current data.  Since we got a new supplier, and the current supplier merged with another I will take some time to familiarize myself with the new catalogs and sites.

    From the Campus Outpost,
    James Roedl

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