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  1. Update from Ben McCall

    Associated Project(s): 
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm

    Dear Tim,

    Some bad news to report.  The Revolving Loan Fund committee elected to defer consideration of the funding for the biomass boiler, because they were concerned that the operational and maintenance issues were not yet worked out.  This is not as bad of news as I first thought, because the RLF process is going to be revamped in the spring to be more of a "rolling deadline" process, so we should be able to go back to them sometime in the spring and get a quick response.

    Given the delay in RLF funding, it seems to make sense to delay our proposal to ICECF until July.  Another important consideration here is that the North Campus Parking Deck Solar project is evidently going to apply to ICECF in January, and there is at least some concern about submitting two proposals from campus in the same round.  Yet another consideration is that upon reviewing the ICECF form, we noticed that they are looking for a well-developed educational plan...and we have not really spent any time working on that.

    So I'm afraid we are in a bit of limbo here, until we get the O&M issues resolved and the MOU with F&S finalized. Hopefully we can tackle that in January, so that we're ready to go back to RLF as soon as their process re-opens.

    At least we've finally made great headway on the engineering work, and will have some real budgetary numbers to work with soon...!

    Cheers,

    Ben

     

  3. Biomass Consultation Group

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Biomass use on Campus

    Dear Energy Enthusiasts,

    Thanks to all who attended the first Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) biomass meeting, we are off with a strong start. This week we we will have the second consultation group meeting to carry on discussion and orient goals toward improving sustainability on campus. 

    Dong Kook will present on the most recent publications from the research group of Praveen Kumar in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His topic for discussion will be Threshold Dynamics in Soil Carbon Storage for Bioenergy Crops. Click (here) to become familiar with their group's work.   

    We are gathering all interested persons to discuss the possibilities for a large-scale biomass facility that could eventually replace Abbott Power Plant. All ideas are welcome. Please pass this invitation on to anyone you think might be interested.

     

     

    Meeting details:

    Time: Tuesday, November 18 from 1:00pm-2:30pm

    Location: iSEE Conference room #358

                     National Soybean Research Center (directions here)

                     1101 W. Peabody Drive

                     Urbana, IL 61801

     

    Thanks and have a great weekend.

     

    Nathan Wells

  4. October 30 meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
    2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan (2015 iCAP) [ARCHIVED]
    Illinois: A Climate Action Plan (2010 iCAP)
    Topical iCAP Teams

    iCAP Working Group Thursday, October 30, 2014 358 NSRC, 1:30 - 3:00 pm

    1. Discussion with Kent Reifsteck, Director of Utilities & Energy Services Division, regarding campus energy and the Wind PPA
    2. Unmet targets from 2010 iCAP
    3. Overview of iCAP Forum and SWAT Team Recommendations
    4. Discussion of timeline for completing 2015 iCAP
    5. Other business

     

    Attached Files: 

  5. iWG follow up letter

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam

    Dear Al,

    Attached please find a reply from the iCAP Working Group regarding the wind PPA process.

    By the way, thanks so much for your participation in iSEE's Roundtable this week...sorry we didn't get a chance to chat!

    Cheers,

    Ben

    --

    Professor Benjamin J. McCall

    Associate Director for Campus Sustainability Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus-sustainability@illinois.edu

     

    Attached Files: 

  6. Note on iCAP 2015 objective 3.1

    Associated Project(s): 
    Explore Options for 100 Percent Clean Campus Energy

    Objective 3.1 is for the SWATeam to lead an exploration of options for 100% clean energy and submit recommendations. F&S staff workload is too high to handle the exploration of options, so F&S will provide data and provide comments. Ben McCall and Scott Willenbrock will develop a plan for how to achieve carbon neutrality. They will make a document with potential options, pros, cons, and costs. 

  8. iWG agenda packet

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
    Agriculture, Land Use, Food, and Sequestration (ALUFS) SWATeam
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    2015 Illinois Climate Action Plan (2015 iCAP) [ARCHIVED]

    Attached here are the agenda and other relevant materials for the September 25, 2014 meeting of the iCAP Working Group.

    Attached Files: 

  9. Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) purchased for FY15

    Associated Project(s): 
    Use Clean Power
    • PEI bought 20,000,000 kwh for FY15. 
    • They are MISO Wind RECs. 
    • Without Petascale, this represents 5.28% of projected electricity demand. 
    • Including Petascale, this represents 4.25% of projected electricity demand.  
    • A half year of the solar farm would bring this up to 5%.
    • The REC cost was $ 1.25 / MWH for a total of $27,000.

  10. F&S response to iWG assessment

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

    This letter is in response to the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) Working Group (iWG) recommendation #EG001, which Facilities & Services (F&S) received on August 28.  F&S agrees that the campus should investigate the feasibility of entering into a Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to increase the use of renewable energy for campus. 

    Regarding the EG001 general statements about campus energy use, data points, and assessments of anticipated financial impacts, F&S will need more time to compile a useful response.  Regarding the three specific EG001 recommendations, I have consulted with Al Stratman, Kent Reifsteck, and Mike Larson to provide the responses below. 

    1. Recommendation: “The campus should undertake a Power Purchase Agreement for wind energy. Based on currently available information, we recommend that the amount be at least 119 million kWh per year (25% of our total electrical usage), but we should aim to purchase as much as we possibly can, given any technical, financial, and contractual constraints.”

    From this recommendation, we understand that the iWG recommends entering into a Wind PPA for at least 25% of the FY15 electrical demand.  However, the campus cannot make an informed decision about whether or not to undertake a PPA until the financial impact is fully understood.  A key component of the financial impact is the fully burdened cost of the purchased wind power, which will not be known until after the successful completion of the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.  Therefore, F&S does support pursuing a PPA so the feasibility can be evaluated, but we do not support making a final decision to undertake a PPA until completely evaluating the financial implications.

    1. Recommendation: “The effort to secure a PPA should be pursued as quickly as possible. The campus should inform PEI that this is a top priority, and that the review of RFI submittals and the issuance of the RFP should be expedited by all necessary means.”

    During this summer, F&S worked with PEI to define a schedule for issuing a Request for Information (RFI) and a subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP).  This schedule shows a completion date of April 2015, so that the PPA could commence with delivery of power on July 1, 2015, at the start of FY16.  We have informed PEI that this is a top priority, along with safety and reliability of the overall campus energy system.

    1. Recommendation: “The iCAP Working Group should be kept informed and advised during the process of pursuing the RFI, RFP, and PPA, and given the opportunity to provide recommendations before key decisions are made about the PPA, to ensure that technical and financial considerations are appropriately balanced with our campus sustainability objectives.”

    F&S values the advice and input from sustainability advocates on campus.  Therefore, we suggest developing a set of interim checkpoints for keeping the iWG informed as the process unfolds.

    To meet our Climate Commitment and achieve carbon neutrality, there is a lot of work that needs to be done.  I look forward to working with the iWG and the SWATeams as this recommendation is pursued.

    Sincerely,

    Morgan B. Johnston

    Associate Director of Sustainability, F&S

  11. Updated RFP schedule from PEI

    Associated Project(s): 
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

    I am providing an updated schedule for the RFP related to a wind-power PPA for UIUC.  The change reflects a request by one vendor to extend the response period by one week.  Because of that, we have made other slight modifications to target dates for some of the milestones, but the original completion date of April 30, 2015 is maintained.

    If you have any question, please let me know.  Dan Mortland

    Attached Files: 

  12. revised schedule

    Associated Project(s): 
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

    Morgan,

    I understand the deadline for submitting the RFI was extended until September 5 based on the requests from some vendors for more time to prepare their responses.

    UA / PEI will be forwarding more info and will be looking to keep the overall schedule from being extended.

    Thanks

    Kent

  15. EGen001 Wind PPA recommendation - Assessment with all comments

    Associated Project(s): 
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    eGen Recommendations Summary
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

    The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on August 28th, 2014, to discuss the EGen001 Wind PPA recommendation, and they started the assessment for this recommendation. 

    See the attached file for complete assessment with comments from all the iWG members.

    See SWATeam recommendation EGen001 Wind PPA here.

    Attached Files: 

  16. EGen001 Wind PPA recommendation - Transmittal to the unit

    Associated Project(s): 
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    eGen Recommendations Summary

    The SWATeam recommendation complete with the iWG Assessment with comments from all the iWG members was transmitted to the Facilities & Services on August 28th, 2014.

    For any future updates on this item, please visit the Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) project.

    See iWG Assessment for EGen001 Wind PPA here.

    See SWATeam recommendation EGen001 Wind PPA here.

  19. resource about using wood for energy

    Associated Project(s): 
    Biomass use on Campus

    There are some environmental advocates who oppose using wood chips for energy. 

    This YouTube video includes the following description: "Forests are also one of our best defenses against global warming, absorbing vast amounts of carbon pollution out of the air. But power companies are increasingly proposing to burn whole trees for energy. Trees are not a "carbon neutral" fuel source. Just like coal, when trees are burned in power plants, the carbon they have accumulated over long periods of time is released into the atmosphere. Unlike coal, however, trees will continue to absorb carbon if left alone. So burning forests for energy not only emits a lot of carbon, but also degrades our carbon sinks. This video shows what happens to the balance of carbon between and forest and the atmosphere when we burn forests to produce energy instead of leaving them standing to continue to absorb and store carbon. Burning forests for electricity is dirty and destructive!" 

    It is shared by the Natural Resources Defence Council.

  20. Joyce Mast coordinating RFP for the rooftop solar installation

    Associated Project(s): 
    ECE Rooftop Solar PVs

    Joyce Mast is coordinating a Request for Purchase to buy and install the solar panels that will go on top of the ECE Building.  The building already has the structural supports for the panels, so the purchase will include the racks, PV panels, and inverters.  Joyce is working with ECE's administrative office, the Purchasing Department, and F&S Capital Programs to facilitate this RFP.

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