iSEE update on PPA objective
Associated Project(s):
iSEE reported to the SWATeam that they have reached out to NCSA to discuss incorporating a clean energy Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in the next supercomputing grant application and agreement.
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Project Updates for collection: Renewable Energy Projects
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National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) tools for solar
Associated Project(s):In support of the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot initiative, NREL is offering no-cost technical assistance to universities seeking to go solar.
Student solar efforts renewing for fall 2016
Associated Project(s):Niharika Kishore, masters in Urban Planning (MUP) student, and Corey Weil, sophomore in Electrical and Computer Engineering, are working with Morgan Johnston on the iSEE objective for on-campus solar. Niharika will continue her efforts for promoting rooftop solar to meet the iCAP objective for 12,500 MWh/year of on-campus solar energy generation as part of a MUP capstone project this year. Corey will volunteer in various efforts to support the development of solar solutions for campus, from the Net Zero Energy ECE efforts to advocating for solar energy funding.
News Gazette Mailbag question about Solar Farm
Associated Project(s):http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-08-26/toms-mailbag-aug-26-20...
UI solar farm
“The solar panel field located near the corner of Windsor Road and First Street has become overgrown with tall weeds. Do the panels still work with that much foliage under and above them? Also, would hiring sheep or goats to ‘mow’ the weeds be harmful to the sheep or goat (heat from the panels)?”
The Solar Farm on the University of Illinois campus was implemented as a power purchase and land lease agreement with Phoenix Solar South Farms, LLC, said Steve Breitwieser of the UI’s Facilities & Services Department.
“The agreements designate Phoenix as responsible for all maintenance of the Solar Farm during the 10-year contract, and this includes vegetation control.
“A contractor hired by Phoenix was on site in mid-June, and they are performing additional weed control activities this week.”
When the agreement with Phoenix ends, Breitwieser said, the UI will assume Solar Farm maintenance responsibilities.
And — how about this? — preliminary discussions have begun with research faculty regarding the use of sheep or low-height food crops in the future, he said.
Meanwhile, neighboring plant growth has not impacted solar production, said Breitwieser.
Solar array data can be viewedat: http://go.illinois.edu/solar.
Possibility for rooftop solar on Mechanical Engineering Building
Associated Project(s):After the August 5th presentation by Niharika Kishore to College of Engineering facilities contact Greg Larson, Greg spoke with Mechanical Engineering facilities contact Damon McFall about roofotp solar for the Mechanical Engineering Building (MEB). Morgan Johnston explained that MEB had been left off the list Niharika worked on because of the upcoming Capital Programs project in that facility. Greg indicated that they are interested in pursuing rooftop solar for MEB. Potentially the design could be included in the Capital Project design effort, and the installation would need to be funded separately. This roof could hold approximately 130 kW array.
Drone flyover video created for Office of Advancement
Associated Project(s):The Office of Advancement hired Elite Air Productions LLC to create a video flyover of the new Solar Farm. The video can be seen at https://youtu.be/k7b-F0zCgxs.
Project moving forward
Associated Project(s):The rooftop solar project for ECE is moving forward now, and installation is expected in summer 2017.
Inquiry for how to request SSC funding
Associated Project(s):Ava Heap and Andrew Stumpf requested assistance from Morgan Johnston on an SSC project proposal for the Idea Garden rooftop solar. Kristine provided a summary of the open issues to be addressed:
- Survey of all electric loads to be placed on the system,
- if heating the shed is necessary and to be included,
- where batteries would be stored, and
- if the shed can support the panels (although that did not appear to be a problem).
Morgan will work with Ava to clarify the needs of this project.
Funding Approval for Biomass Boiler
Associated Project(s):Evan De Lucia and Helen Coleman approved $200,000 of funding from the Chevy funds for the Biomass Boiler project.
An email of approval is attached below.
Attached Files:Niharika Kishore sending email to potential facilities
Associated Project(s):Niharika Kishore will send an email to potential facilities for adding rooftop solar, in support of the 2015 iCAP objective. The draft email is attached and the list of potential facilities is as follows:
Building Estimated Yearly Output (kWh/yr) Physical Plant Services Building 791,522 Activities and Recreation Center 725,562 Law Building 395,761 Ikenberry Dining Hall 382,569 Abbott Power Plant 263,841 Digital Computer Library 263,841 Plant Sciences Laboratory 164,900 Timothy J. Nugent Hall 164,900 Institute of Genomic Biology 158,304 Richard T. Ubben Basketball Complex 151,708 Oak Street Library 151,708 Bousfield Hall 145,112 Garage and Carpool 125,324 Attached Files:Renewable Energy Program award application
Associated Project(s):F&S submitted an application for the 2016 Illinois Governor's Sustainability Award, on behalf of the Renewable Energy Program on campus and the Solar Farm. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is proud of its sustainability initiatives, and Facilities & Services (F&S) is honored to support the campuswide Illinois Climate Action Plan. One of the most important and challenging initiatives is a shift from conventional energy to a future of renewable energy.
F&S is submitting this application to the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award for the Renewable Energy Program and specifically the new 20-acre Solar Farm. Five major Renewable Energy Program projects have been implemented since signing the Climate Commitment in 2008. The first Renewable Energy Program project was a 32.76 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) array on the roof of the Business Instructional Facility. The 14 kW PV array at the Building Research Council is a research platform for the Illinois Center for Smarter Electricity Grid. Solar thermal panels on the Activities and Recreation Center roof heat the swimming pools. The fourth project was the purchase of 20,000 Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from Midwest Independent Systems Operators (MISO) wind power in April 2014. The most significant project went into commercial operation in December 2015, with the completion of the 5.87 megawatt (direct current) Solar Farm. The Solar Farm will produce an estimated 7,860 megawatt-hours annually and is expected to generate up to 91% of its original output even in Year 20 of the project. F&S is monitoring the efficiency of the Solar Farm, compared to the design specifications, and in February 2016 the Solar Farm produced 100.2% of the anticipated electricity for that month.
Geothermal Profiling Funding Agreement
Associated Project(s):Given the University of Illinois’ existing reliance on coal-fired steam heating for many buildings, significant changes to campus infrastructure will be required in order to move to being truly carbon neutral. One possible option is geothermal heating, but there is somewhat of a lack of information about the feasibility of geothermal systems on campus.
This project will conduct a series of high-detail observations of the geothermal profile of campus and analyze the data. The results of the study will help identify the costs and possible challenges associated with adding a significant amount of geothermal heating systems to campus.
Attached Files:Our Budding Biomass Boiler
Associated Project(s):Developing and implementing new alternative energy sources is essential to ending the era of fossil fuels and extreme carbon emissions. The more alternative energy sources available, the more potential there is for eradicating fossil fuels as the main energy source. Numerous different innovations have developed within the last few decades because of the massive increase in technology efficiency, and the U of I has taken the initiative to implement many of them. These strides toward alternatives increased after the university committed to cease using coal at Abbott by 2017. The replacement of this power will require as many alternatives available as possible in order to meet the growing need.
Biomass energy is a great example of how the University of Illinois is converting to more renewable energy sources. Biomass can be used to create energy because it contains stored energy from plants that have absorbed energy from the sun through the process of photosynthesis. When biomass is burned, this stored energy is released as heat.
In the Spring of 2014 the SSC funded, Field to Fuel: Biomass Heating on Campus. This project involved purchasing and installing a biomass boiler at the Energy Farm, in order to heat a research greenhouse using Miscanthus that is grown on the Energy Farm. The new biomass boiler arrived in early December, and installation is nearing completion!
This project is exciting because it is the first biomass energy initiative on campus, and it will work to meet the carbon emission caps that are outlined in the Illinois Climate Action Plan. Additionally, with this project, they hope to demonstrate the feasibility of biomass on campus, engage and familiarize faculty and staff personnel with the design, installation, and operation of such systems with a view to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy production on campus, support the education and training of students, and create awareness in the larger community about alternative energy sources. The ultimate hope for the project is that a successful pilot will pave the way toward expanded use of biomass heating on our campus and greatly reduce our campus greenhouse gas emissions.
Niharika Kishore is working on developing a rooftop solar RFP for design
Associated Project(s):Today, Morgan Johnston met with Niharika Kishore to discuss the rooftop solar iCAP objective. Niharika is going to review the work already done, in the iSEE solar box folder, and draft a proposal for getting the engineering design work done for a set of building. She will be working towards meeting the FY20 on campus generation goal of 12,500 MWh/year, and possibly additional installations for FY25.
vegetation control to begin in June
Associated Project(s):Phoenix Solar’s maintenance contractor, Bay Four, has hired Rubilia, LLC to perform the vegetation control, starting June 8, 2016.
Art and Design Building solar design
Associated Project(s):A group of seniors completed the attached report for the Art and Design Building, for rooftop solar. They recommended a flexible solar material, with micro-inverters. The Art and Design department is interested in working with a student in the fall to seek funding for the rooftop solar from the Student Sustainability Committee.
Attached Files:EBS metering note for solar arrays
Associated Project(s):In the Energy Billing System (EBS), there are meters for solar energy on campus. In BIF, 3D stands for electricity delivered and 3R stands for received (the energy the arrays use when not generating).
MSTE lunch presentation on renewables
Associated Project(s):Morgan Johnston gives a MSTE Friday Lunch presentation called "Renewable Energy at the University of Illinois".
Biomass Boiler ICECF grant approved
Associated Project(s):The ICECF biomass boiler grant was approved!
Archived - previous project description
Associated Project(s):Construction of a 5.87 megawatt (MW) Solar Farm on campus is under construction, after university and state officials approved power purchase and land lease agreements with Phoenix Solar South Farms, LLC.
Once installed, the Solar Farm will be one of the largest on-site university arrays in the country, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency statistics, producing 7.86 million kilowatt-hours per year, or approximately two percent of the electrical demand for the Urbana campus in fiscal year 2015.
Facilities & Services Executive Director Al Stratman said, “We are very pleased to see this long awaited agreement completed and signed, so the installation can begin. This unique and challenging project was only made possible through the dedication of many people working together and focused on achieving our renewable energy goals.”
In 2008, the chancellor signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, pledging to be carbon neutral by 2050. As a part of this commitment, specific goals for energy conservation and renewable energy were outlined in the 2010 Illinois Climate Action Plan. The Solar Farm will contribute toward the renewable energy used on campus for at least twenty years.
"The Solar Farm represents the success of numerous efforts, including those made by the many hard-working students committed to advancing renewable energy and environmental sustainability,” said Amy Liu, chair of the Student Sustainability Committee. “Its construction will be a historic project and a source of great pride for campus."
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The 20.8 acre solar farm, to be located along the south side of Windsor Road between First Street and the railroad tracks, was first approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees in November 2012.
