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  1. ECIP awards for 2022

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)

    Hello Jen and Morgan,

    I have attached a draft of the award letter to be sent to the deans and dept heads, and am reaching out to iSEE in regards to supporting this program.

     

    I believe in the past ISEE co-presented these awards with F&S and more recently the awards were presented at the Sustainability Celebration which works well to promote more exposure for all sustainability items on campus.

    Unfortunately, the BTAF Mechanical Engineering conference and I2SL conferences are during the same week so we were not available to join this past year.

     

    We are now looking at 5 separate presentations at each location to present this years awards and wondering what support or involvement ISEE would be interested in?

     

    Thank you 

    Paul Foote

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

    Hi Paul,

     

    Jen and I spoke about this, and iSEE is interested in continuing to participate in the presentation of the ECIP awards.  We would like to suggest that this be a single award presentation, rather than the five separate events.  It can occur during Earth Month, and perhaps it could be held at the ACES Library, which is a nice venue and it was the ECIP winner with the highest energy savings.

     

    Please let us know if this is an acceptable plan, and we can arrange a call to talk about the details.

     

    Also, I asked Ehab about the Henry Admin Building leadership, and he suggests Paul Ellinger be the point of contact for the award letter.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

    Hello Everyone,

    This is a terrific plan, Rob gave the go-ahead to plan the venue, date & time etc.

     

    When works best for all?

     

    Thank you

    Paul

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

    Hello All,

    I am bumping this to the top of the email list for scheduling the venue and timing for this event.

    Let me know when we can discuss/finalize the details?

     

    Best

    Paul Foote

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

    Hi Paul,

     

    Is there anything that you were anticipating including in this event agenda, other than the ECIP announcements and plaque distribution?  If not, it might be better to include both years’ winners in the fall 2023 campus sustainability celebration. 

     

    I realize this is a shift from what we were thinking of, but it would be a shame to put together an event that is only 15 minutes long…  It would also be difficult to get a broad audience.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

    Hi Morgan,

    We were thinking this timeframe might fit better than the fall venue with multiple conferences etc…

    Pending the date, we should have information regarding the next round of funding and were planning to gather the facilities managers at this event to share examples and promote future project applications.

     

    Thoughts everyone?

    Best

    Paul

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

    Hi Morgan and all,

    I crossed the revolving loan fund and ECIP, the ECIP awards can be discussed at our next monthly meeting.

     

    Thank you

    Paul Foote

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

     

    Hi Paul, What monthly meeting?

    thanks, Morgan

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

    Hi Morgan,

    UES has a monthly meeting for ECIP, RLF, rapid back and other funding items as needed.

     

    Best

    Paul

     

  2. Student Sustainability Committee applications - due 3/24

    Associated Project(s): 
    Retrocommissioning (RCx)
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    Hello XMT,

     

    If you or your staff are planning to submit an application for Student Sustainability Committee funding this spring, please copy me and Lisa Peacock, so we can advocate and support the F&S applications during the committee review periods.

     

    The step 1 applications are due this Friday, March 24, and the info is online here: https://studentengagement.illinois.edu/student-sustainability/ssc/funding/.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

    Morgan,

     

    Is there a funding limit for SSC?

     

    Thanks

    David Hardin

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

    Hi Dave,

     

    They don’t really have a funding limit, but they are more likely to fund something under $250k, especially if they are contributing to a project with other funding too.  A lot of student-led projects are only $50-10k.  They probably have about $750k available this spring and they will have more in the future, as they just got approval to raise the fee.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

    Morgan,

     

    I asked Dylan to submit an application for Wohler’s Hall. The ReCx team identified some deferred maintenance/energy conservation work at a total cost of $450K. I spoke with Brad, and he believes there is $150K available from deferred maintenance funds, and UES can provide $150K, hopefully another $150K from SSC, which would allow us to move forward. The energy reduction would result in a 5-year payback.

     

    Thanks

    David Hardin

  3. iSEE New Green Office and Event Certifications

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Greener Campus Programs
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)
    Certified Green Event Program

    I hope everyone had a restful spring break, welcome back and congrats to our newest recipients of the Green Office and Green Event Certification Programs!

    -Green Office: University of Illinois Police Department, Gold (35 sustainable actions pledged!), Recertified March 2023

    -Green Events: 

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events University Scholars Reception, Certified March 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events SSCIL Gies Groundbreaking Ceremony, Certified March 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events Chancellor's Staff Excellence Awards, Certified March 2023

    Keep up the great work!

     

  6. 2023 Season Announcement

    Associated Project(s): 
    ReImagine Our Future

    Dear Friend of the Reimagine our Future competition

    We are writing to thank you again for the role you are playing in Reimagine our Future, the undergraduate student sustainability competition whose home is at the University of Illinois.

    As you know, entrants in the competition are required to address a particular sustainability problem or challenge. This could be at a local, regional, national, or international level. Entrants are required to explain how the initiative they propose will promote one or more of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. You probably have seen the list of 2022 finalists.

    Having a list of experts who are available to advise on student projects and who evaluate a few student submissions is a major contribution to this project. Our list includes specialists from various universities, companies, and institutions and from many backgrounds, fields, and disciplines. This broad-ranging list encourages submissions from students in many areas. We are counting on your continued willingness to bring your unique background, skills, professional history and professional contacts to this project.

    We want to mention a couple of current developments and some aspects of our planning. In 2022 we tested the waters for the competition to become more international. Students from ZJU-UIUC Institute in Haining, China and the University of Pretoria were invited to participate and we received 39 international entries. This year we are planning to add universities in Austria, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia and we are having additional exploratory discussions with universities in a number of other countries. Dr. Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela, our Vice Provost for International Affairs and Global Strategies is helping us to form partnerships with a number of international universities with which Illinois already has a strategic relationship.

    President Tim Killeen has expressed an interest in the competition being made available to students at the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Illinois Springfield. We are also working on forming partnerships with some community colleges.

    The competition materials include this wording:

    Your plan or solution could be a program for a government or private entity, proposal, product or service, system, business plan, event, social media platform, app, game, law, organization, educational initiative, or something else.

    We want to encourage students in all fields to come up with brilliant ideas for initiatives that will help to address our major sustainability problems. This, once again, is a reminder of the value of having a diverse list of specialists associated with the competition.

    If you have advice or suggestions about how to go about taking the planned steps or about any aspect of this project, we would welcome them. Our email addresses are below.

    We are grateful for your ongoing involvement and help with this sustainability competition, and we will be especially grateful if you will continue to work with us in 2023 and beyond.

     

    Yours sincerely,

    Leon Liebenberg (Teaching Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, UIUC) 

    Warren Lavey (Adjunct Professor, College of Law, School of Earth, Society & Environment, and College of Medicine, UIUC) l

    Robert McKim (Emeritus Professor, Department of Religion, UIUC) 

  7. Considerations for clean thermal energy

    Associated Project(s): 
    Use Clean Thermal Energy
    Solar Thermal at ARC
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm
    Geothermal on Campus
    Grind2Energy

    There are a few examples of clean thermal energy in use on campus at this time. These include:

    • the solar thermal panels on the Activities Rec Center, heating the three swimming pools
    • the biomass boiler at the Energy Farm, heating the two story greenhouse on south Race Street
    • geothermal installations providing heating and cooling at the Fruit Farm Admin Building, the RIPE greenhouse, the Campus Instructional Facility, a few buildings at Allerton Park, the solar decathlon Gable Home at the Energy Farm, and a few rooms in the Hydrosystems Building
    • a wood-fired stove heating some maintenance buildings at Allerton Park

    We could expand these types of energy systems...

    • Additional geothermal installations are being planned for various places around campus, including a geothermal battery system at the Energy Farm.  The other geothermal locations in planning discussions now include the South Campus Center for Interdisciplinary Learning, a future greenhouse for CABBI, and the Doris Christopher Kelley Illinois Extension Building in the Arboretum.
    • The biomass boiler at the Energy Farm was designed with the anticipation of future expansion.
    • Solar thermal is a great option for our area of the planet, but it is not easy to integrate it in our existing energy enterprise.

    Another option for clean thermal energy is biogas, which UIUC contributes to locally through the Grind2Energy system, which takes food waste from the dining halls to the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District (UCSD).  UCSD puts it through their anaerobic digester which captures the methane (a very strong greenhouse gas).  Currently, that captured methane is used to run an electrical generator, which provides power to the UCSD facility.  An alternative would be to upgrade the methane to pipeline quality and use the biogas a Abbott Power Plant on campus.  This is an expensive option that would require a lot of coordination and funding.

    Another strong option is a micronuclear reactor, which is being studies by the Grainger College of Engineering faculty and researchers.  This system could be integrated with the existing steam distribution system and provide ghg-free energy to campus.

     

  8. F&S adjusts procedures to align with WELL building standards at Sidney Lu Mechanical Engineering Building

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Cleaning Products and Practices

    Amy – in preparation for the Damon’s WELL certification please conduct an inventory of all our chemicals in the building that are needed and remove anything that isn’t needed. We may need to see if we can swap out anything for a green certified chemical, but we do have to have SDS printed and on site for the certification.

     

    We also need up-to-date and complete job sheets for the building.

     

    Pete W Varney
    DIRECTOR
    Transportation & Building Services
    Facilities & Services
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
     

  9. Daily Illini Article: How can students support waste management on campus?

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Increase Recycling Rates
    Project4less
    Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste
    "Don't Waste" with Coca-Cola

    How can students support waste management on campus?

    https://dailyillini.com/life_and_culture-stories/2023/03/17/students-was...

    By Lily Perez, Contributing Writer
    March 17, 2023

    Have you ever placed something in a recycling bin and wondered what happens next? Does it actually get recycled, or does it just get tossed in the landfill without ever being sorted out?

    Students said it can be hard to be committed to sustainability when resources to do so are not always clear.

    Adeline Hoegberg, junior in FAA, said she does not have a lot of knowledge about where the trash on campus is taken or how big of a difference the University is making with their waste management systems.

    “I’ve heard that all of the recycling would just end up in the normal trash,” Hoegberg said.

    The Waste Transfer Station in Champaign filters out around 30% of the trash that comes in, but still sends around 50 pounds to the landfill each day. This is not taking into account busier times like holidays and move-in days for students.

    The Waste Transfer Station is located just off of St. Mary’s Road in Champaign and takes in trash from all various places on campus. This includes instructional facilities, University Housing, Illini Union and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics.

    Daphne Hulse works as the Facilities & Services zero waste coordinator, a new position focused on decreasing the amount of waste that goes through the University. Hulse works on various outreach projects, including hosting tours of the Waste Transfer Station.

    “These tours are a really unique opportunity to illuminate to the broader campus community what goes on after you put something in the bin,” Hulse said.

    Adam Soper, senior in FAA, recalled seeing several recycling places on campus but, like many other students, hasn’t heard of the Waste Transfer Station on campus.

    “I know all the dorms have dedicated recycling bins,” Soper said. “But I’m not necessarily sure where those get dumped to.”

    Another program that Hulse is facilitating in collaboration with Coca-Cola and the DIA is the “Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste” campaign. This campaign has students volunteer at basketball games to encourage recycling at sporting events. The last zero waste basketball game was March 2 and had 100 volunteers.

    “(We’re) creating that general awareness for sustainability in an audience with not just students but townies, out of state folks and athletic rivals,” Hulse said.

    Despite these programs, it can be hard for students to recycle on campus and even more so on their own where businesses and residencies don’t provide recycling services. Along with a lack of opportunity, some students feel that recycling doesn’t have a huge impact.

    “I’m under the strong feeling that you can’t solely rely on us recycling,” Hoegberg said. “It’s more about the corporations if you really want to fix things.”

    Soper said he would most likely not see discernible difference in a world without recycling.

    “It wouldn’t be a whole lot different because the recycling practices aren’t widespread enough to be making a huge impact on the scale that we’d be able to really see,” Soper said.

    Hulse recognizes that sustainability can seem isolating at times but encourages students to join organizations and communities that bring collective action. She highlighted the RSO Project4Less, whose members package leftover food in good condition and ship it out to food assistance programs in the surrounding area.

    “The human connection component of climate change is so important,” Hulse said. “I think we often feel stuck by ‘what can I do as an individual’ in this global planetary crisis.”

    Aside from joining sustainability-focused communities, Hulse also recommends learning what people can about what’s happening in the community and leading by example.  

    “We know reduce, reuse, recycle. But what about at the start of all of that, refuse,” Hulse said. “What could you refuse in your day-to-day life and start small. For example, I know students really enjoy coffee and many, many, many places around campus will take your reusable cup.”

    Hulse was particularly inspired by her mother who showed her that small habits, like using reusable bags at the grocery store, can make a big change. Hulse encourages students to look for that positive influence around them and wants students to be that influence in their own sustainability journey.

    “A community that is pursuing zero waste imperfectly is far better than a few individuals doing it perfectly,” Hulse said.

    lilygp2@dailyillini.com

     

  11. Finalized Geothermal UTB press release attached

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal Urbana-Champaign

    Hi everyone,

    Thank you all for your efforts putting this press release together. (See attached) I’ve scheduled this to publish on PRI’s website on Monday, Mar. 20th at 8:00 a.m.

    You can find drilling images here. Please give photo credit to Travis Tate.

    Please let me know if you have any questions.

    Thanks again,

     

    Tiffany

     

    Attached Files: 

  14. Weekly Update: Closed for Spring Break

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Bike Center is closed this week for Spring Break and I’ll be working an abbreviated week myself. We’ve got a dozen plus bikes for sale and I’ll safety check a few more before I bow out for the week.

    On Friday, we got maybe the oddest donation yet: an iPod mini, complete with charging cord…

    We reorganized and moved one of our storage racks from the backside of the space up front to the lobby so we can hold more bikes for sale up there. In the storage area, we’re pulling pedals/turning handlebars and so can fit more bikes without the rack.

    In more sobering news, a patron who’d finished a Build-a-Bike a couple weeks ago was hit while riding the bike he’d fixed here and ended up in the ER needing stitches. He is fine, otherwise, and told me the news in person, so he is ok. The number of people I know who’ve been hit by a car is quickly approaching double digits.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 37

    Sales: $1,234.50

    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $825
    Membership: 2 for $60
    Tires/tubes: 7 for $115

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  16. Check in about C2P2

    Associated Project(s): 
    Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) with Second Nature

    Hello,

     

    I'm the Carbon Offset Fellow with Second Nature. I would like to check in with someone from UIUC about your participation in the C2P2 program. We are preparing to contract with an accredited third-party verifier to seek verification of all credits between July 1 2020 and Dec 31, 2022, and for the revalidation of UIUC's project crediting period. The cost for this for UIUC is significant and will require site visits by the third-party verifier.  I need confirmation from someone on your team that you do want us to contract these services on your behalf. 

     

    My cell phone number is 828 582 5039. Email is also a good way to reach me. 

     

    Thank you for your attention to this. I look forward to your reply!

    Meredith

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

    Hi Morgan,

     

    Is this something you would like me to assist with?

     

    Thanks,

    Jen

  17. Zero Waste iCAP Meeting 3/10/2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Tailgate Recycling
    Large-Scale Food Waste Composting
    Grind2Energy

    On January 30th, the Zero Waste iCAP team met to discuss final thoughts on the finished tailgate recycling recommendation, the feasibility of a large scale composting program on campus, and current work with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). 

    Meeting minutes are attached.

    Attached Files: 

  19. N-G Mailbag question: UI's sources of electricity

    Associated Project(s): 
    Stop Burning Coal at Abbott Power Plant
    Use Clean Power

    A representative from the News-Gazette reached out to Steve Breitwieser with questions regarding Abbot Power Plant:

    Please also see the attached spreadsheet with data on steam supplied buildings.

    Hi Kathy,

     

    Abbott Power Plant generates all district heating and almost 275,000

    megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity each year using a high-efficiency

    cogeneration process, which simultaneously produces both steam and

    electricity. When the campus load for heat is highest during the

    winter months, the plant, along with the two utility-scale solar

    farms, provides almost all the electricity that the campus needs,

    with the remainder coming from wind energy that is imported onto the

    campus grid. Throughout the year, Abbott's sustainable cogeneration

    process supplies approximately

    85 percent of the total energy demand (steam and electricity) for the

    Urbana campus, which includes almost 50 percent of the overall electricity usage. The electricity not generated at Abbott, from

     on-site solar arrays, or acquired through a wind power purchase

    agreement is purchased through Prairieland Energy, a corporation

    solely owned by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. More

    information about utilities production is available at https://fs.illinois.edu/services/utilities-energy/production.

     

     Happy Holidays!

     Steve B.

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

    Hi, Steve. As I'm assembling this week's column, I have several

     follow-up

     questions:

     

     Can you clarify what's meant by "district heating"?

     

     Does most of the steam generated by the cogeneration process end up

     heating some of the older buildings on campus? (I spent 20+ years in

     Mumford Hall and remember the sounds the pipes made at certain times of year.)

     

    Any idea of approximately what percentage of the campus' interior spaces are still heated with ssssssteam heat?

     

    I took a look at the website you mentioned, and have a couple of questions

     about that: What does  UES stand for?   And the website says, "During low

    campus demand for both heat and air conditioning, Abbott typically

     burns natural gas. During the winter months, when the campus heat load

     is highest, a combination of both coal and natural gas is necessary."

    Is that information still accurate? (I thought the coal scrubbers were

    no longer in use on campus...?)

     

     

    If it's not possible to get answers to me this week, that's OK; I can hold the item for next week.

     

    Thank you,

    KR

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

     Hi Kathy,

     

     I'll follow up on these in greater detail when everyone returns next week.

     

     UES is the acronym for the Utilities & Energy Services division that is within Facilities & Services. District heating is referencing the process used to distribute steam from Abbott to campus facilities through underground pipes.

     

    Steve B.

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

    Mike/Dave,

     

    There were a couple of follow of questions to this media inquiry from the NG before the break.  Can you help clarify the highlighted sections by Wednesday with any additional information? For the interior spaces question, let me know if you can explain that more precisely – on our website we say “More than 250 campus buildings use the steam produced at Abbott for their heating.” The UMP also indicates: From discussions with U of I staff, approximately 85% of the campus condensate is returned to APP (if that would be something to note from a process standpoint along with an explanation like below).

     

    Abbott uses gas turbines, natural gas-fired boilers, and coal fired boilers, recovering reject heat from electric generation to help produce steam. The plant pipes steam underground across campus to provide buildings with space heating, domestic hot water, sterilization, and more. Once used, the steam condenses into water and returns to the plant where it is recycled and reused.

     

     

    I could respond to the fuel item with what we have said previously…

     

    When the campus load for heat is highest during the winter months, natural gas and coal are utilized to meet the significant energy demand. The coal-fired

    boilers are also a part of research efforts, primarily related to carbon capture technology. Additionally, maintaining fuel flexibility provides the university operational reliability and the ability to respond to market factors for purchased utilities.

     

    Thanks for helping out with some more detail on this one.

    Steve B.

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

    Mark/Dave,

     

    Do you guys or maybe steam distribution know approximately what percentage of campus buildings are still on steam heat?

     

    Thanks

    David Hardin

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

    I have not seen a list. We will ask Steam.

     

    When time allows maybe we could add a column to note the steam yes or no. Hmmmmm Elizabeth stated Keith Erickson had a list and she recalls some sort of building database that listed utilities per building such as steam,  electricity from Abbot or Ameren, gas etc. It would be nice to find this.

     

    Dave

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

    Mike/Frank,

     

    Are you guys aware of the list/database Dave referenced below and if so where it is located?

     

    Thanks

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

    David,

     

    I would think that EBS would provide a list of building that are served with steam, based on the meters in EBS.

     

    Tony and/or Kate,

     

    Can you clarify/confirm how many buildings on campus are served with steam from EBS?  The email string below indicates that the Util. Master Plant said over 250 buildings are served by steam from Abbott. Is that still the case?

     

    Mike Larson

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

    According to EBS, there are 175 active steam meters. Some buildings have multiple meters so there would be fewer buildings than that.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Kate Brewster

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

    Anthony should be able to run a query that will give us an exact number from our last billing cycle.

     

    Regards,

     

    Tony

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

    As of our last EBS billing the count is 147.  I have attached the file that supports this number for your reference.

     

    Regards,

     

    Tony

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

    Attached Files: 

  20. Advantages of hot water versus steam within buildings

    Associated Project(s): 
    Steam System Maintenance
    Use Clean Power

    Below is an email exchange between Jim Sims and Tom Keller:

    Mike or Tom,

     

    The EMT is discussing the advantages of converting building heating systems from steam to hot water with steam distribution. Would one of you be able to clarify this benefit?

     

    Thanks,

     

    Jim

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

    Jim,

     

    Hot water is more efficient than steam because it is easier to control. This also adds comfort to the occupants. Steam can be easier to leak and it is hotter, so there are some small safety concerns. Steam tends to be a bit noisier than hot water. Hot water can be easier to maintain than steam.

     

    There are quite a few other reasons. This is why hot water heating systems have become the industry standard.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Tom

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

     

    EMT,

     

    I asked Tom Keller and Mike Halm to provide some feedback regarding the advantages of hot water versus steam within buildings. Please see Tom Keller’s response below for our information. Please let me know if we would like for Tom would like to further explain “quite a few other reasons” or his primary benefits listed below.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Jim

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