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- Associated Project(s):Attached Files:
EGen006 Petascale Offsets recommendation - Submittal
Associated Project(s):The eGen SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG stating, "Continue and/or start discussions with the Vice Chancellor for Research and/or NCSA regarding the development of a plan and budget to procure the offset for all emissions from the National Petascale computing facility as outlined in the 2015 iCAP."
See attached the SWATeam recommendation EGen006 Pertascale Offsets complete with comments from all the eGen SWATeam members.
Attached Files:EGEN SWATeam Meeting (2.3.17)
Associated Project(s):The EGEN SWATeam a meeting for the Spring 2017 semester. Topics covered include:
- Determining Team Chair
- Final Review of rooftop solar recommendation and Petascale offsets recommendation.
- What constitutes clean energy usage? (REC count vs. RECs don't count)
Attached Files:January 2017 Buyer's Share
Associated Project(s):The Wind PPA vendor has provided the January 2017 Buyer's Share report to Prairieland Energy Inc. (PEI). This represents the actual wind power purchased, received, and used on the Urbana campus through the agreement with EDP Renewables (EDPR).
Attached Files:RLF projects approved
Associated Project(s):There were nine projects approved by the Revolving Loan Fund selection committee, see attached image.
Attached Files:EGEN SWATeam Meeting (1.20.17)
Associated Project(s):The EGEN SWATeam held their first meeting for the Spring 2017 semester. Topics covered include:
- Review draft recommendations for 1) on-campus solar and 2) petascale offsets
- An update from Morgan Johnston on the Associate Director of Campus Sustainability position
- Updating iCAP portal project pages for EGEN objectives
- Clean Energy PPA
- Potential for future solar farm
- Asking for feedback from EGEN team members regarding recommendation proces
Attached Files:Correction to system generation capacity
Associated Project(s):The Solar Farm system capacity is 4.68 MWac and 5.87 MWdc. Original materials produced before 2017 generally referred to the capacity as 5.87 MW, which does not match the industry standard of using the AC generation capacity. The correct figure to use is 4.68 MW, when sharing information about the Solar Farm on the UIUC South Farms.
Wind PPA Dec. 2016 Buyer's Share
Associated Project(s):The Wind PPA vendor has provided the December 2016 Buyer's Share report to Prairieland Energy Inc. (PEI). This represents the actual wind power purchased, received, and used on the Urbana campus through the agreement with EDP Renewables (EDPR).
Attached Files:Calendar Year 2016 data file
Associated Project(s):See attached data file for the EPA Green Power Partnership for Calendar Year 2016.
Attached Files:News Release - Solar Farm one year anniversary
Associated Project(s):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.
Attached Files:News Release - Wind PPA signed
Associated Project(s):CHAMPAIGN, IL – A 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) between Prairieland Energy, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Illinois, and Rail Splitter Wind Farm LLC, a subsidiary of EDP Renewables (EDPR) North America LLC, will significantly increase the amount of renewable energy used by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
For 10 years, through October 2026, the Urbana campus will receive a percentage-based portion of the wind-generated electricity and associated environmental attributes from the Rail Splitter Wind Farm located north of Lincoln, Illinois. The PPA specifies that 8.6% of the total wind generation from the farm will be sold to the university, which is expected to be an annual amount of more than 25,000 megawatt-hours (MWh).
This acquisition of wind power — in conjunction with energy generation from the utility-scale 20.8 acre Solar Farm (7,863 MWh/year) brought online last December, and other solar installations on campus — raises the amount of Urbana campus clean energy to approximately 33,200 MWh/year, or 8.9% percent of projected FY17 annual electricity consumption.
Director of Utilities & Energy Services Kent Reifsteck said, “Obtaining wind power on this scale is a tremendous next step in diversifying and optimizing the university’s energy portfolio to meet future campus demand for more than 54,000 students, faculty, and staff. This long-term contract for low-carbon energy produced in Illinois reinforces the university’s commitment to achieving sustainability goals and developing partnerships for statewide economic development.”
Since the Illinois Renewable Portfolio Standard was passed in 2007, EDPR has invested more than $1.5 billion in new Illinois wind farms. EDPR is the largest owner of wind energy in the state with an operating fleet of the Rail Splitter Wind Farm, the Top Crop I & II Wind Farms, and the Twin Groves I & II Wind Farms.
“The PPA with the University of Illinois marks a new path forward for college campuses to play an important role in building a clean energy future,” Tommy Greer, EDPR Director of Energy & REC Sales, said. “We are excited to partner with the campus on a long-term agreement to produce clean, renewable energy in Illinois. This is the first time we have signed a long-term PPA with a university, and we are eager to see other academic institutions follow Illinois’ lead.”
The Rail Splitter Wind Farm began commercial operation in 2009 with 100.5 MW of installed capacity, which can power roughly 35,000 average U.S. households. The farm’s annual environmental benefits are equivalent to taking more than 45,000 cars off the road.
The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), the Urbana campus’ strategic sustainability plan, contains specific clean energy targets, including an objective to obtain at least 120,000 MWh per year from low-carbon sources by FY20.
The idea of signing a wind PPA was supported by a formal recommendation from the Energy Generation, Purchasing, and Distribution (EGEN) Sustainability Working Advisory Team (SWATeam). These SWATeams, created by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE), are charged with tracking progress on the iCAP targets and making recommendations to advance campus sustainability goals.
The new Provost Fellow for Sustainability, Physics Professor Scott Willenbrock, was previously the chair of the EGEN SWATeam and led the development of the wind PPA recommendation. “It was a natural recommendation to make, but we did not appreciate at the time how nuanced the PPA would be. Many people worked hard to make this a reality,” Willenbrock said.
Pursuing additional renewable energy projects and power purchase agreements to achieve clean energy targets was one of the recommendations of the Utilities Production and Distribution Master Plan released in September 2015.
The university is proactively shaping its energy enterprise through improved utility production, distribution, and monitoring methods and systems. Through dedicated energy conservation programs, such as Retrocommissioning, Energy Performance Contracting, campus-wide lighting retrofits, and building system upgrades, the campus has reduced energy consumption by 28% since 2008.
The university’s good work to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions has allowed the Urbana campus to sell approximately $1.5 million in verified carbon credits since 2014 to fund additional emission reduction and energy conservation projects.
Wind PPA Factsheet
Wind PPA news releasearchived info - previous project description
Associated Project(s):The campus is investigating options for a Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). There are various potential energy providers, and the costs of such power is currently unknown. Therefore, the UI is starting with a Request for Information (RFI) which will give campus decision makers an idea of the cost of the wind energy. Once the information is received, the UI may elect to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP), which would be the first step toward signing a Wind PPA.
EGen004 Electrification Study recommendation - Returned
Associated Project(s):The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on December 6, 2016, to discuss the SWATeam recommendation, eGen004 Electrification Study. The iWG agreed to return the recommendation to the eGen SWATeam for further discussion with F&S, iSEE, and other stakeholders.
See SWATeam recommendation eGen004 Electrification Study here.
EGEN SWATeam Meeting (12.2.16)
Associated Project(s):The EGEN SWATeam held their final meeting for the Fall 2016 semester. Topics covered include:
- Guest presentation by Niharika Kishore regarding rooftop solar on campus
- Potential recommendations to Working Group
- Potential solar: greenspace vs. rooftop vs. parking lot cover
Attached Files:EGEN SWATeam Meeting (11.9.16)
Associated Project(s):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
Attached Files:Urban Legend - debunked
Associated Project(s):"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.
Attached Files:Long-Term PPA Recommendation
Associated Project(s):In Spring 2016, a recommendation was submitted to allow longer-term contracts for the purchase of renewable power. The institute for Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment (iSEE) is currently reviewing this request with campus legal counsel and Purchasing departments to determine feasible options and potential next steps.
Heat Recovery Chiller Study
Associated Project(s):A contract is in place to perform a heat recovery chiller (HRC) study to identify potential location(s) for HRCs on campus, and to assess opportunities for one system to serve multiple buildings. Preliminary review and assessment is expected to begin October 2016.
Biomass Boiler at Energy Farm
Associated Project(s):Construction is underway in Fall 2016 to install a 200 kW biomass boiler at the Energy Farm. This system will initially satisfy all heating needs for the greenhouse onsite, and will replace the current propane heating system. In the future, more buildings may be added to the boiler system.
Geothermal Profile Project
Associated Project(s):Beginning Fall 2016, a team at the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS, a division of the prairie Research Institute) led by Illinois Professor Yu-Feng Forrest Lin is conducting a series of detailed observations of the geothermal profile on campus - including high-resolution temperature profiling and thermal analysis. The team will drill to 330 ft and install a geothermal loop and fiberoptic cables. Results will help determine the feasibility of implementing geothermal systems on campus by identifying costs and possible challenges.
Professor Lin has coordinated with faculty from the University of Wisconsin to incorporate lessons learned from their implementation of a geothermal exchange system at the nearby EPIC health care systems campus in Verona, WI.
Professor Lin's team began drilling on 9/19/16. Daily drilling progress is logged and can be found by clicking this link.
Attached Files: