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  3. 70/80 building dashboards complete!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Dashboard Project

    Currently, 70 of the first 80 building dashboards are complete, which represents 92% of the University's energy consumption. Many of the dashboards are visible on building video displays for all building occupants to view. They continue to vet the data streams and will add more dashboards as they continue our efforts in the future. We contract Hawkeye Energy Solutions to develop and maintain the dashboards.

  5. Project Update - Meadow at Orchard Downs

    Associated Project(s): 
    Meadow at Orchard Downs

     

    This project is in progress, with the primary challenge being the insufficient number of participants to maintain the meadow. One proposed solution under consideration is to engage students through fieldwork.

    There is a prospect for collaboration between the iCAP Education and iCAP Land and Water teams to develop a course that would involve students in the maintenance of the meadow.

  8. Real time Energy Displays

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Dashboard Project

    Hello Morgan & Jennifer.

    Matt Rundquist (CCed) and I are looking at developing real-time energy dashboards for campus transparency at the request of the VCAS.

    Can you share if/how that project is going at UIUC?  I googled around a bit but most of the content seems a bit outdated…

    Energy Dashboard Project (Ongoing) | iCAP Portal | University of Illinois

     

    Any thing you can share is helpful and happy to jump on a call if that’s faster.

     

    Thanks for your help.

     

    Andy Mitchell

    --------------------------

    Rob,

     

    Colleagues at UIC are interested in UIUC’s Energy Dashboard Project. However, the information on the dashboard stops at FY14 and the links to the building-level information are broken. I see a lot of value in this project for campus. Is there any way to reinvigorate the project and update the content?

     

    Let me know if there is something iSEE can do to help.

     

    Thank you,

    Jennifer

    ---------------------------

    Hello Jennifer,

     

    Thanks for reaching out to UES on this topic. I am glad to hear that people have an interest in the UIUC energy dashboards. Our team has done a great job on this initiative, and we are leading the efforts amongst our peers. In fact, UIUC and vendor staff  will be presenting this topic at the International District Energy Association Campus Energy Conference this February. We am quite proud of the success we have achieved in this area.

     

    In reference to the UIC system, I actually had worked on developing energy dashboards at UIC when I was the Director of UES there. We had some success, but the product was a bit difficult to maintain. I believe that support for those UIC dashboards has ended.

     

    After receiving your email, I reached out to the Engineering/Consultant firm that I worked with to develop dashboards for both UIC and UIUC. Aaron Mason from Hawkeye Energy Solutions (Shorewood, IL) informed me that the platform that they are using at UIUC is a “much better, lightweight, and responsive” then the solution that was originally used at UIC. The underlying data streams at both campuses are similar, so the development of dashboards for UIC should be relatively easy.

     

    Regarding the link that was provided for the UIUC dashboards; that link is actually an old link that is no longer supported. Please use this link to view the new dashboards at UIUC: http://uesdash.fs.illinois.edu/ . This system does not require a login, and is easy to navigate. We currently have 70 of the first 80 building dashboards completed, which represents 92% of the University energy consumption. Many of the dashboards are visible at building video displays for all building occupants to view. We continue to vet the data streams and will add more dashboards as we continue our efforts into the future.

     

    To help you and Andy resolve any questions, I am including the following people on the cc so that you can reach out to them directly if it helps you in your efforts.

    • Cedric Everett – Assistant Director of Utilities and Energy Services at UIC (Can help you navigate the energy data at UIC, as well as contracting with Hawkeye Energy Solutions).
    • Aaron Mason – Director of Operations, Hawkeye Energy Solutions (Can assist with the technical background of a dashboard solution).
    • Robbie Bauer – Management Engineer Utilities Distribution UIUC (Is the lead engineer at UIUC for development and implementation of energy dashboards).

     

    Hopefully this answers your questions. If not, please don’t hesitate to contact me for more information. We welcome the opportunity to work together.

     

    Thanks,
    Rob

    --------------------------------

    Hi Rob,

     

    Thanks so much for this information and for reaching out to your colleague at Hawkeye Energy Solutions. I’m pleased to see that this project is going strong!

     

    If it’s ok with you, I would like to update the iCAP portal with this information, especially the URL for the new dashboards.

     

    Andy, if there is anything else we can help with, please let use know.

     

    Jennifer

  10. Land & Water iCAP Team October 2023 Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Meadow at Orchard Downs
    Plantings at Dorner Drive Retention Pond
    Green Roof on Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics Building (formerly called Foreign Language Building)
    Cover Crops on South Farms
    Crop Protection and Pest Management (CPPM)
    Land and Water iCAP Team

    The Land & Water iCAP team met on Teams from 1-2 PM on Friday, October 6th. The team reviewed the iCAP Land & Water objectives, discussed area/projects of focus for the year, and brainstormed next steps in relation to projects that are underway. Meeting minutes are attached.

    Attached Files: 

  11. SSC applications submitted in fall 2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Increase Bicycle Use

    Hi Morgan and Lisa,

     

    This fall I have submitted two SSC step-1 applications:

    1. Shipping containers for bicycle storage - $85,000
    2. Purchase and Installation of bike shelter - $250,000

     

    See attached the application. Thank you,
    Sarthak

    Attached Files: 

  13. N-G Mailbag question: Output vs. expectations for UI solar farms

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 1.0
    Solar Farm 2.0

    Hi, Steve. A News-Gazette Mailbag question for you:

     

    "The University of Illinois has 2 large solar farms near Savoy.  How are they doing compared to expectations?  What percentage of the UofI power do they provide?  Are there any plans for more? If so ... where and when will they be built?"

     

     

    (I rooted around a bit on the F&S energy/utility pages, and found a lot of info. Figured I'd best ask you, though, for the most current data.)

     

     

    Thank you,

    KR

    ------------------------

    Hi Morgan/Mike/Tony,

     

    Do we have updated FY23 data that can be shared to answer the question about current output of both arrays as it relates to expected performance and the percentage of electrical demand?

     

    A similar question was answered in March 22', please see attached. I have addressed the second part with the below statement previously (let me know if there is any update is needed there as well or if that can be used again).

     

    The university is evaluating the potential procurement of additional clean energy through an off-campus virtual power purchase agreement to meet Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) goals.

     

    I would like to finalize the information and reply by Wednesday, October 4. Thanks for your help with this.

     

    Steve B.

    -------------------------

    Steve,

     

    Here is the information being requested.  I would like Rob to have a chance to comment on the last sentence before you respond.

     

    Both Solar Farms are performing as expected.  Solar Farm 2.0 produced 99% of the vendor’s guaranteed production in the first two years of operation.  Solar Farm 1.0 produced 96% of estimated production over a two year period.  In FY23 the solar production was 6.6% of the campus electricity demand.  The University is considering another solar project, but the location and timing have not been determined yet.

     

    Best,

     

    Tony

    ------------------------

    I would suggest that the final sentence state something such as: “While there are no immediate plans to add further solar capacity to the system, the University continues to evaluate and consider a multitude of carbon neutral energy solutions that would provide benefit to the Universities energy portfolio, including additional solar array capacity.”

    Rob Roman

  14. Resilience iCAP Team Invitation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Resilience iCAP Team

    Dear Carrie,

     

    Yilan Xu and Madhu Khanna shared your name with me. I am the Associate Director of Campus Sustainability for the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and the Environment (iSEE), and I coordinate implementation of the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) with colleagues at iSEE and F&S. I am writing today to invite you to join the Resilience iCAP Team.

     

    The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) outlines a path for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible, and no later than 2050, and to work with our local communities to build resilience to climate change. There are 56 specific SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based) objectives crafted in pursuit of this goal, grouped into eight key themes: Energy, Transportation, Land & Water, Zero Waste, Education, Engagement,  Resilience, and Implementation. You can find the list of objectives for all themes here.

     

    The iCAP teams are organized around these seven themes and comprised of students, faculty, staff, and a paid student clerk who work together to advocate for the advancement of the iCAP objectives. The Resilience iCAP Team specifically works to bring campus and the surrounding communities (Champaign, Urbana, Savoy) together to address what must be done to prepare for vulnerabilities to extreme weather and other results of climate change. Given your experience in community-level disaster preparedness and mitigation planning, we think you would be an excellent resource for the Resilience Team.

     

    Teams meet at least once per month during the academic year to develop recommendations aimed at advancing the iCAP objectives, which are then reviewed by the iCAP Working Group, co-chaired by Morgan White and myself. Recommendations that are positively reviewed by the iWG are either transmitted to units for implementation or brought to the Sustainability Council for further review. The role of staff members on teams is to share ideas and knowledge, and assist with information gathering in support of campus sustainability goals. Paid student clerks are responsible for logistics, including scheduling meetings, working with the team chair to set the agenda for meetings, note-taking, and reporting.

     

    If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, please let me know. I look forward to your response!

     

    Best,

     

    Jennifer

    ----------------------

    Jennifer-

     

    Are the meetings in person or virtual?  I would love to participate, but not sure I can be on campus every month.  I current serve on the ECOP(Extension Community of Practice) Program Area Team (PAT) for climate change.  This national Extension initiative is looking at broader research and programming goals, but there seems to be a good synergy between the two. If you could give me a little more information on when and how the team meets, I would like to be involved.

     

    Carrie

    ---------------------

    Carrie,

     

    The team meets virtually and the first meeting is this Friday, October 6, at 9 AM on Teams. Morgan White is serving as the chair, Mirim Keep (iSEE) is the vice-chair, and Claire Keating is the student clerk. I copied Claire so that she can share the details for the upcoming meeting in the event that you are able to attend.

     

    It would be great to have you on-board!

     

    Best wishes,

     

    Jennifer

  15. Weekly Update: Abandoned bicycles, new staff

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Collection and Donation of Abandoned Bicycles

    All, Big news of last week is the abandoned bikes. Bike Project folk and I were able to take an inventory of the bikes that are available and given the number of bikes—fewest in my tenure!—we are not partnering with Working Bikes this year. I communicated as much last week and no hard feelings. If anything, they’re happy to hear we have less bike waste—and they would know, they’ve got a 3 story building full of bikes.

    This week we have a couple new staff members starting here. We’ll do some off-hours training with them.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 40
    Sales: $1,030.50
    Memberships: 18 for $540

    Tires/tubes: 27 for $212

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Coordinator -- Campus Bike Center

  16. RE: fuel data from FY22 and FY23

    Associated Project(s): 
    Encourage Low-Emission Vehicles and Renewable Fuel Options

    Hi Pete,

     

    Please send us the fuel data for FY22 and FY23, so we can do the GHG emissions for campus.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

    --------------------

     

    Below is the fuel breakdown for FY22 and FY23.

     

     

    FY22

    		                  
     

    University Fleet

     
     

    Gasoline Fleet

    Diesel Fleet

    Natural Gas Fleet

    E85 Fleet

    B5 Fleet

    B20 Fleet

    B100

    Hydrogen

    Other Fleet Fuel

    Electric Fleet
     

    Gallons

    Gallons

    MMBtu

    Gallons

    Gallons

    Gallons

    Gallons

    MMBtu

    MMBtu

    kWh

    On Campus

    187308.7

     

     

    18418.62

    97890.86

     

     

     

     

     

    Off-Campus

    173365.1

     

     

    2291.97

    27045.24

    		          

    Total

    360,674

    		    

    20,711

    124,936

    		          

     

     

    FY23

    		                  
     

    University Fleet

     
     

    Gasoline Fleet

    Diesel Fleet

    Natural Gas Fleet

    E85 Fleet

    B5 Fleet

    B20 Fleet

    B100

    Hydrogen

    Other Fleet Fuel

    Electric Fleet
     

    Gallons

    Gallons

    MMBtu

    Gallons

    Gallons

    Gallons

    Gallons

    MMBtu

    MMBtu

    kWh

    On Campus

    204750.5

     

     

    18596.02

    104183.5

     

     

     

     

     

    Off-Campus

    155729

     

     

    302.632

    21519.5

    		          

    Total

    360,479

    		    

    18,899

    125,703

    		          

     

     

     

    Thank you

    Neil

  17. Unclaimed abandoned bicycles donated to the Campus Bike Center

    Associated Project(s): 
    Collection and Donation of Abandoned Bicycles
    Campus Bike Center

    Following the deadline day to claim impounded bicycles, Sarthak Prasad reached out to Jake Benjamin, campus bike center coordinator, to inform that these bicycles are now considered donated to the Campus Bike Center and the Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign. See the email below:

    Hi Jake,

    The deadline to claim impounded bicycles have passed, so you can start checking the bicycles in the barn now. These bicycles are now considered donated to the Campus Bike Center and the Bike Project. I have the serial number information for almost all of those bicycles in the spreadsheet as well. We had about 240ish bicycles to start with and 24 bicycles were returned this year.

    Thank you,

    Sarthak

  18. Cetacean Exhibit Viewing Dates

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sculptures

    Cetacean will be taking place during the times listed below.

    Deke Weaver: Cetacean

    CETACEAN (The Whale) is the sixth interdisciplinary performance from Deke Weaver’s The Unreliable Bestiary—a lifelong project representing an endangered animal or habitat. CETACEAN has evolved into a juxtaposition of lo-fi effects, story, video, dance, sound design, and a colossal installation—a plastic sea with plastic whales. It’s gonna be a whale of a show!

    September 28–October 2, 7:30 pm • University of Illinois Stock Pavilion, 1402 W Pennsylvania Ave, Urbana, IL 61801

  19. Green Quad day Invitation!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Major Annual Events

    Hello,

     

    My name is Claire Sullivan, and I am reaching out as a representative from the Student Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC). If you aren’t already familiar, the SSLC is a student-led body facilitating communications between campus sustainability and the student body, as well as relationships among environmentalist student groups on campus. One of our most famous events for engaging environmental entities on campus with one another is Green Quad Day.

     

    Green Quad Day is scheduled for Wednesday, October 11th from 11 am - 3 pm on Anniversary Plaza. This is a great place to table for your organization, mingle with green RSOs, recruit prospective students, and learn about sustainability initiatives on campus. We invite each of you to fill out the form below to RSVP for a table at Green Quad Day. One RSVP per RSO, please! We encourage each RSO that RSVPs to include an interactive element at their table. Be creative!

     

    Green Quad Day RSVP Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRu6fPOGQQ3p-5Vg8rNL-a8VJEyNKq_jWZ4WlUeb4lM5jh2A/viewform?usp=sf_link 

     

    Let us know if you have any questions or concerns about the event. We hope to see you at there!

     

    Best,

    The Student Sustainability Leadership Council

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