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The Board of Trustees Audit, Budget, Finance, and Facilities subcommittee discussed the Solar Farm project, and agreed to bring it to the Board of Trustees for approval on November 8, 2012.
Due to the Board of Trustees meeting schedule, the SSC has agreed to do a straw-poll about the funding of the Solar Farm project at their upcoming meeting on Oct. 26, 2012. They requested a full proposal be submitted this week, for review by committee members this coming week. The submitted proposal and associated calculations are attached here.
As a follow up to the EcoCAT submittal for the Solar Farm, Jim Sims worked with Dr. Edward J. Heske and Torrey W. Rodgers, from the Illinois Natural History Survey, to arrange a field survey to check for Franklin's Ground Squirrel. None were found.
Within the RFP, we requested that any offer be valid for 120 days. However, this project will most likely go to the Board of Trustees in November, which would be beyond the 120 day period. Therefore, Kim Porter requested an extension from the Preferred Vendor, and they have agreed to hold the offer firm until the end of this calendar year (2012).
Specifically, the vendor said "Yes, we can honor our price through the end of the year. We’d be happy to become more engaged in the planning process with the University if appropriate. Please let me know if there is anything we could do."
Jack Dempsey and Morgan Johnston from F&S met with Marika Nell (chair) and Mckenzie Beverage (program advisor) from the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC). This meeting was to give an overview of the Solar Farm project, and the anticipated funding needs.
The RFP for the Solar Farm included various options on the pricing proposal form. Kent Reifsteck confirmed that we will move forward with getting approval from the Board of Trustees for the option that includes all costs in the price per kilowatt-hour. This includes the full ten year cost of the Solar Farm installation, operations, and maintenance, and the cost to connect the installation to the campus electrical grid.
The preferred vendor, as identified through the RFP evaluation process, was asked to submit a Best and Final Offer (BAFO). This item was received and the campus will finalize exact funding plan.
The new Electrical and Computer Engineering building (New ECE building) will be operational starting the fall semester of 2014, and will be a unique green building on the University of Illinois campus. It is designed to be the most energy efficient engineering building in the world and is targeting LEED platinum certification, the highest rating for efficiency. With the full planned solar energy complement, the building is projected to achieve net zero energy status. The facility will be one of the two largest net-zero energy buildings in the United States. It will be a facility that supports all its own energy needs – on average over each year – leaving no carbon or fossil consumption footprint. Although the ECE building design itself is intended to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the energy objectives go far beyond this rating to true energy sustainability.
The scope for an anaerobic digester with a methane capture at the Beef and Sheep Facility on South Farms has been completed and the project will be opened for a Quality Based Selection of an appropriate engineering firm.
The Request for Proposal for a Solar Farm Public-Private Partnership on South Farms resulted in 12 proposals for the Solar Farm. The technical evaluation committee worked on reviewing and scoring each proposal, and provided some clarification questions to the UI Purchasing contact person. The committee will meet again in May to identify a preferred vendor.
F&S Energy Services met to review the biomass permit for Abbott Power Plant. This allows Abbott Power Plant to do test burns with various biomass fuels as a mixture with the coal in the existing coal stoker boilers. The first tests will be using wood chips, and they may happen in May or they may wait until the cold weather months when the coal assets are brought back online for winter.
Keith Shank at IDNR responded to the EcoCAT request, with the following note. "Well, it’s hard to escape those Franklin Ground Squirrels. In 2010, Ameren observed two FGS near the intersection of Curtis Road and Rt. 45, and ten years ago we had a road-killed FGS at Windsor Road and Rt. 45. Ameren opined they could be all up and down the RR corridor, which the western end of your project area happens to lie against.
It may be possible the FGS are in the area around the farm buildings, but they would be unlikely to be out in the experimental plots, at the moment. However, depending on the type of solar energy facility being proposed, they might be able to colonize the solar farm. While that would be good for the FGS, it could complicate subsequent operations and maintenance of the facility. Remember that they love any kind of soil stockpile, so be careful where you stack any dirt and how long you might leave it there."
There are officially 12 proposals submitted, and 11 are responsive per Purchasing’s requirements. The Evaluation Team is: Kent Reifsteck, chair; Mike Marquissee, Keith Erickson, Morgan Johnston, Teresa Temples, Larry Altenbaumer, and Kim Porter.
The SSC awarded funding for Solar at the ECE North Campus Parking Deck project and the Conceptualization phase for Solar at KCPA.
Held pre-proposal meeting and site visit for the Solar Farm RFP. Also, submitted the EcoCAT review request regarding that space. Responded to over 30 questions from potential proposers for the Solar Farm RFP.
Feasibility Study for an Anaerobic Digester at the Beef and Sheep facility on South Farms has funding approved and will move forward with A/E selection.
F&S met with representatives from the Center for Neighborhood Sustainability to continue discussion of potentially building a biogasification power plant off campus for production of biogas as an alternative fuel for power generation for campus.
IDNR staff will review the project because the Franklin's Ground Squirrel may reside there. They state they will require thirty days of review. The Franklin’s Ground Squirrel resides in culverts and areas with low shrubs and prairie grasses and not in cultivated farm areas. Most of the Solar Farm area has been farmed for years.
From: Jack Dempsey Subject: Solar Farm letter ready to go In the interest of keeping an open dialogue with our neighbors, I would like to inform you that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is pursuing the development of a 28.5-acre solar farm on the campus’s South Farms. The attached fact sheet describes the details of the project, including specifics of the proposal, expected timeline, and frequently asked questions about solar farms. This information will be sent to the residents on First Street near the proposed site, with the attached letter. I’m also including the full RFP here in case you are interested. This is expected to go live tomorrow. If you have any questions or suggestions as we move forward with this project, please contact Morgan Johnston, our Sustainability Coordinator copied here. Thanks, Jack RFP and subsequent amendments are online at http://www.procure.stateuniv.state.il.us/dsp_notice.cfm?Uni=UIUC&PN=1KSP....
The proposed Solar Farm was taken through the formal Site Selection process for campus, and approved by the Chancellor’s Capital Review Committee (CCRC). Then the Request for Proposal (RFP) was published and over 30 vendors downloaded the RFP. A Fact Sheet and Q&A were sent with introductory letters to the community leaders and Solar Farm site neighbors on First Street.
