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Project Updates for collection: Renewable Energy Projects

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  1. FY21 Green Power Partnership Renewed

    F&S completed the renewal of our recognition as a Green Power Partner through the US Environmental Protection Agency. Green Power Partners of our scale now have to use renewable power for seven percent of their annual consumption. Fortunately, the FY21 green power supply for FY21 was 9%, which is a +1.72% increase from the FY19 supply of 7.28%. See attached file.

    Overview submitted: 

    The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is proud of its sustainability initiatives and success in achieving Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) goals (https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/). The iCAP is the university’s strategic plan to meet the Climate Leadership Commitments, including being carbon neutral as soon as possible and building resilience to climate change in the local community.

    The Urbana campus on-site renewable energy portfolio meets more than 12 percent of annual electricity needs (https://fs.illinois.edu/services/utilities-energy/production/renewable-e...). UIUC’s Solar Farm 2.0 was energized in January 2021, producing 20,000 MWh/year. Combined with Solar Farm 1.0 and other rooftop and ground-mounted solar installations, the Urbana campus generates more than 27,000 MWh/year, ranking UIUC third amongst U.S. universities in on-site clean power production. Incorporating renewable energy continues to be a focus of new facility construction and major renovation projects. Most notably, the innovative Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building features 970 rooftop panels. Since production started in April 2019, 11 percent of all power supplied to the ECE Building has been from the array, while additional output is reserved for research and educational activities. In September 2016, the university also signed a ten-year wind power purchase agreement for 25 million kWh/year and the rights to the environmental attributes.

  2. Information Regarding Grind2Energy Funding for LAR

    The following message was sent to Morgan White to share with Carbon Credit Fund Administrators by Thurman Etchison, the Assistant Director of Dining - Facilities and Equipment, on November 18, 2021. The email & attachments contain important information regarding the potential installation of a Grind2Energy system at LAR:

    Carbon Credit Fund Administrators,

     

    Housing Dining Services is seeking funds to add a Grind 2 Energy system to our Lincoln Avenue Dining Hall. Grind 2 Energy is a system that allows us to put our food waste into a pumpable slurry so that it may be taken to an anerobic digester at the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District. These systems replace the aerobic digesters we previously had in our dining units. The aerobic digesters had issues with the effluent not meeting EPA standards.

     

    This system would be our fifth and likely final system as we would have one at every residential dining location. These are operational at Ikenberry, PAR, FAR and ISR. Currently, University Housing does not have resources to fund this project due to the impact of COVID on our budget. We would reach out to the Student Sustainability Committee for funding but for us to do the infrastructure work and have the unit installed prior to the next school year, we need to start before the next round of submissions.

     

    The use of Grind 2 Energy has been a very successful program for us. It meets our needs, keeps us in compliance with regulatory bodies, is comparable in costs to other methods of disposal. It is very sustainable in terms of the environment. To date, we have diverted 289 tons of food waste even though there was limited use until this school year.

     

    The amount we are requesting is $133,538.00. A simple breakdown of our expected costs is below. As our tradespeople have installed the 4 previous units, we believe this number to be very accurate. Our last unit came in within $1000 of our estimate.

     

    LAR Grind 2 Energy – Preliminary Budget Cost

    • LAR Grind 2 Energy System (equipment and labor)…..................................................................... $86,000
      • (Rigging fees)........................................................................................................................... $4,650
    • Concrete Slab Work (existing planter modifications site work & new concrete slab)….................... $23,100
    • New Wall at Table (Demolition, floor work, ceiling work, MEP & new wall)…................................... $19,788
    • TOTAL:                                                                                                                                              $133,538

     

    I would like to add that these units are highly visible on campus and it is our intention to start highlighting the metrics in our dining units via electronic messaging. This may include digital displays, The Housing Insider and social media platforms. There is also great deal of interest in biogas impact from these units. I have met with 2 groups of students from the CEE 190 class about these units in the past month.

     

    In short, this program reduces carbon emissions, produces fertilizer and creates energy. The systems are highly reliable and have had almost no issues to date. Please see the attachments for additional info.

     

    Thank you for your consideration, 

     

    THURMAN ETCHISON


    Assistant Director of Dining - Facilities and Equipment

     

  3. STARS award finalists

    The University of Illinois has two submittals that are recognized as finalists for the 2021 Sustainability Awards:

    More information can be found at https://www.aashe.org/news/meet-the-2021-sustainability-award-finalists/. 

  4. This Week in Research

    What do giant grasses, micro grids, deep wells, and hydrogen-powered buses all have in common? They are all part of a clean energy future that is being imagined, created, and tested here at UIUC. The breadth of our energy research portfolio, across all of the campus and the broader C-U community, is truly impressive. Here are just a few examples:

    Solar Farm 2.0 will soon be home to a newly awarded, $10M project led by Madhu Khanna to optimize the design of "Agrivoltaics," or fields with both crops and solar panels to maintain crop production, produce renewable energy, and increase farm profitability. A few miles to the east, the Energy Farm boasts extensive test plots to study how to grow and use plants as biofuel. The farm is using a biomass boiler to replace propane as the fuel source for its main research greenhouse. The Energy Farm is also home to one of dozens of geothermal wells on campus that are helping scientists like Yu-Feng Lin develop better geothermal systems, while on the north side of campus, the new Campus Instructional Facility is heated and cooled with a state-of-the art geothermal system. Nuclear power is expected to play an important role in meeting our campus ICAP goals, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission hosted a hearing last week to seek input on our plans to site a next-generation, micronuclear reactor near the Abbott Power Plant. Integrating renewable energy sources into the power grid presents unique challenges, and Illinois power system researchers, including Alejandro Domínguez-García, are working to develop microgrid technology to address issues of reliability and resilience. Meanwhile, researchers such as Petros Sofronis are working on a bold new vision for national leadership in the emerging hydrogen economy. (It might sound like the stuff of science fiction, but the CUMTD just launched two hydrogen-powered, zero-emission buses—the first in the state!) 

    There is only one way I can wrap up a message about our campus energy research: The future looks bright, indeed!

    Sincerely,

    Susan

  5. Solar Sites Open House

    UIUC SOLAR SITES OPEN HOUSE - October 15, 1:00-2:30 pm

    Ever wonder how far the university has come in solar energy use? Come out to the UIUC Solar Sites Open House hosted on Topia, an interactive online platform, to learn about different buildings and areas across campus that are producing solar energy! During the Open House, Morgan White will provide a guided tour to virtually visit ten locations on campus. Learn more about the amazing solar installations on campus!

    This event will take place online from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, October 15, 2021, at https://topia.io/uiuc-solar-sites.*

    *Chrome browser on desktop or laptop required.

  6. ECEB Energy Kiosks

    In the atrium of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building (ECEB), there are two kiosks where people can sign various pledges related to decreasing energy use. Two solar-powered phone chargers will be raffled off to those who have signed the pledge during Campus Sustainability Month, October 2021.

    Nearly 20% of energy is unnecessarily wasted each day; very simple steps exist to reduce that number, such as turning off the lights when you leave a room or unplugging devices and cords when we aren’t using them. Other examples include replacing inefficient appliances (like lightbulbs!), which can also save money! Signing the pledge to be more conscious of your energy is a great step toward leading a more sustainable life. Here are a few other ways to learn more and get involved with sustainability on campus:

    If you have any questions about energy consumption or sustainability in general, feel free to reach out to campus sustainability staff at sustainability@illinois.edu

  7. SSC Semesterly: Diversion of Non-Recyclable Plastic using Pyrolysis Process to Produce Fuels for Camps

    SSC received semester report for Spring 2021 for Diversion of Non-Recyclable Plastic using Pyrolysis Process to Produce Fuels for Camps project on 9/3/2021. Please see attached. 

  8. Table Installed and Inspected, Waiting on Solar Panel Installation

    A Belson recycled picnic table was installed and inspected.

    The solar panels for the table are yet to be installed.

     

    Pictures of the table are attached below.

    The email regarding this event is also attached below.

  9. Visiting Mechanical Engineering Building for PV Glass

    From: Yi, Yun Kyu

    To: McFall, D

    Cc: White, Morgan

    Recipients: dmcfall at illinois.edu; mbwhite at illinois.edu

     

    Hi Damon,

     

    It was good to meet you today.

    Just to follow up with you about visiting the Mech. Building. I am wondering in general Tuesday between 2-5 pm works for your schedule.

    My class is in between this time and it will be great for students to see some of the new technologies.

    If you can let me know if Tuesday afternoon is something that works for your schedule, I will talk with my student to set possible dates to visit.

     

    Many thanks

    Yun

     

    Yun Kyu Yi, PhD

    Assistant Professor

    School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

    M232 Temple Buell Hall, 611 E Lorado Taft Drive, MC-621, Champaign, IL 61820

    phone: (217) 300-4886 | fax: (217) 244-2900 |

     

    Founder and Lead Investigator,

    The Responsive Architecture Lab (RAL) at the Illinois School of Architecture, 20a Architecture Building, 608 East Lorado Taft Drive, MC-621, Champaign, IL 61820 https://go.illinois.edu/ral

     

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