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Project Updates for collection: 2015 iCAP Objectives
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- Associated Project(s):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:iWG meeting agenda and minutes December 20, 2016
Associated Project(s):see file
Attached Files:Final Report by Logan Ebling
Associated Project(s):Logan’s final paper. Pretty fun.
Highlights:
- “[Bicycle fleets] promotes positive social interactions.”
- “..I think most of these worries go away [about bike fleets]… one issue that I saw coming up almost every time a discussion …was money. While totally understandable, it is also frustrating that there is a lack of desire to spend even a low amount of money to purchase one bicycle for employee use.”
- “…If they [departments] truly don’t have the money to spend, then perhaps the University as a whole should be assigning a sustainability budget specifically to each department that they can spend at their discretion in the name of sustainability.”
- “Bicycling on campus is the fastest mode of transportation; however, that would not be the case if the bikes are not located conveniently right outside your door or at least at a building next door. For bike sharing dock-style to match the convenience of a dedicated bicycle at the department’s building, the docks would have to be ubiquitous across campus, quite literally outside every building. Financially and logistically, I don’t think that is possible. To me, departmental bicycle fleets would be entirely more convenient for staff needing to get around campus quickly and efficiently.”
And, lastly, “In my opinion, the benefits are so numerous [for bike fleets] that the University should be aggressively funding and initiating bicycle fleets on campus.”
~per Lily Wilcock
Attached Files:Idea for LEED transportation credit
Associated Project(s):The LEED transportation credit for encouraging low emission vehicles can be obtained if there are dedicated spaces for low-emission vehicles near the building in question. In general, the University is not adding new parking spaces for new buildings, so it is difficult to achieve this LEED point. One method is to add a Zipcar space for the building, and another is to add an Electric Vehicle charging station. Grant Colella, a Project Manager at F&S, suggested a long-term plan to change all of the campus fleet to low emission vehicles, so the dedicated service vehicle spaces would also be low emission vehicle spaces.
iWG meeting agenda December 6, 2016
Associated Project(s):see file
Attached Files:iWG meeting meeting December 6, 2016
Associated Project(s):see file
Attached Files: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:archived info - previous project intro
Associated Project(s):A key piece of the Institute’s mission is to prepare the next generation of leaders in sustainability. To that end, its first education initiative is the development of a campuswide undergraduate minor in sustainability.
This minor, named the Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (SEE) Fellows Program, will promote systems-level thinking about issues of sustainability. Students will develop an integrative understanding of sustainability and understand the trade-offs, barriers, and implications for sustainable decision making. The minor will replace the existing Environmental Fellows Program and provide a broader opportunity for interdisciplinary education, internships, and capstone research projects in the area of sustainability.
Status update for purchasing offsets
Associated Project(s):iSEE is working with the Purchasing Division to publish a Request for Proposals (RFP) to purchase carbon offsets. These will include replacement offsets for the 2015 Carbon Credits (CCs) sold, and an option to purchase an additional 10,000 CCs to start an internal virtual storeroom for voluntary departmental offsets.
iWG meeting agenda November 16, 2016
Associated Project(s):see file
Attached Files:iWG meeting minutes November 16, 2016
Associated Project(s):see file
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:SWATeam assessment for FY16
Associated Project(s):Status: In Progress
• Several initiatives underway focusing on student engagement — including Illini Lights Out and Eco-Olympics.
• Initiatives are continuing for staff and faculty engagement — Certified Green Office Program, Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP).
• Forming a plan to work toward a Green Labs program that would focus on reducing energy consumption in labs (e.g. fume hoods, refrigeration).Attached Files: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:2015 iCAP solar objective and strategies
Associated Project(s):The 2015 iCAP, chapter 3, objective 2 is "Expand on-campus solar energy production. By FY20, produce at least 12,500 MWh/year, and by FY25 at least 25,000 MWh/year, from solar installations on campus property."
The 2015 iCAP also described the following potential strategies for achieving this objective:
"2. Expand On-Campus Solar Energy Production
The campus has a 33 kW photovoltaic array on the roof of the Business Instructional Facility (with an annual production of 44 MWh/yr) and a 14.7 kW ground-mounted array at the Building Research Lab (20 MWh/yr). During FY15, we began installation of a 300 kW array on the roof of the new Electrical and Computer Engineering Building (402 MWh/yr), and the 5.87 MW Solar Farm on the south campus (7,860 MWh/yr). There is also a solar thermal array on the roof of the Activities and Recreation Center. There are many other buildings, parcels of land, and parking lots that are well positioned to host sizeable photovoltaic and/or solar thermal arrays. Although each array in itself would make a small contribution to campus energy generation, taken together the contribution could be significant.
Identify best solar locations and implement solar projects
The solar consultation group is identifying the best places to install the next round of photovoltaic projects, and planning to move forward on several projects simultaneously. Solar thermal may make sense in some situations, as well. Student design teams could be organized through classes and volunteer groups to assist with the planning and prioritizing of on-campus solar installations.
Require solar PV on rooftops for new construction and major renovations
The best time to plan for the installation of photovoltaics on a building is during the design phase. The campus could implement standards requiring that all new construction and additions include solar photovoltaics on the roof. In some cases it may also be effective to install photovoltaics on the exterior walls of the buildings."
Part time zero waste coordinator has been hired
Associated Project(s):Marya Ryan has been hired on a part time basis as the new zero waste coordinator.