Today, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Facilities & Services (F&S) announces the final stage of completion for Solar Farm 2.0, totaling 12.3 megawatts (DC), with the planting phase of the farm’s pollinator habitat commencing this month. The project is the second solar farm constructed at the U of I and achieves clean energy sustainability goals outlined in the university’s Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), nearly four years ahead of schedule. Clean energy production will now support approximately 12 percent of the school’s annual electricity demand. The planting of the project’s native pollinator habitat bookmarks the solar farm’s unique array of state-of-the-art technological and sustainable features.

The site’s 54 acres will serve as a major demonstration and research location for pollinator-friendly solar arrays. The University of Illinois Solar Farm 2.0 project exceeded the required 85 minimum points established by the State of Illinois’ Pollinator Friendly Solar Site Act. With 134 points achieved on the pollinator scorecard, including the adjacent landscape buffer, the solar array officially “Provides Exceptional Habitat.” The custom seed mix designed by Natural Resource Services, with more than 21 different plant types that are native to the area, will make the land between and around the panels more resilient and create a natural habitat for a variety of local and migratory birds and beneficial insects. In total, the site will contain more than 6.5 million flowering plants and native grasses.

Solar Farm 2.0 was developed by national solar energy firm Sol Systems, which built the farm with innovative features such as bifacial solar panels, single-axis trackers, pollinator habitat, and zero waste construction practices. This project is among the most technologically advanced and sustainable solar projects in the U.S. Through the firm’s development wing, Sol Customer Solutions, a joint venture between Sol Systems and Capital Dynamics, Capital Dynamics will serve as owners of the project with Sol Systems managing the asset throughout the 20-year term of the agreement.

F&S Executive Director Dr. Mohamed Attalla said, “In only four months, Solar Farm 2.0 has already become an integral part of the university’s energy enterprise. There are days when the array is meeting almost 30 percent of the university’s electrical demand for that day. It has been extraordinary to watch this site’s renewable energy make an immediate impact to support learning and discovery across campus.”

Since the array was energized on January 29, 2021, the installation has produced over 4,000 megawatt hours (MWh). On May 1, Solar Farm 2.0 provided its largest output of 102 MWh in a single day, enough to offset the consumption of more than 8,000 gallons of gasoline. This installation puts the university at the top of the list for onsite clean energy production, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In combination with other solar installations on campus, the Urbana campus is now generating approximately 27,000 MWh/year, ranking UIUC third amongst U.S. universities in onsite clean power production.

The University will purchase all energy produced by the array under a power purchase agreement (PPA) at a fixed price over a 20-year term. In addition to the long-term fixed rate, which hedges UIUC against future utility price uncertainty, the PPA allows the university to go solar with no upfront costs, providing an expected $300,000 in savings in the first year alone.

“The use of innovative technology and land-use practices and strong, ongoing partnership between Sol Systems and the University of Illinois is what makes this project so remarkable,” said William Graves, Director of Originations at Sol Systems. “Solar Farm 2.0 is a marquee project not only for the university but also for the state of Illinois.” 

Sol Systems partnered with South Bend, Indiana-based Inovateus Solar, which constructed the solar arrays. Inovateus used reduced-waste construction practices that prevented as much as 45 tons of materials from reaching landfills. Specifically, Inovateus worked with F&S Waste Management to recycle nearly 94 percent of the project’s construction packaging, plastics, wood pallets, and other refuse.

“Inovateus Solar is truly excited to have partnered with Sol Systems and contributed our best practices for sustainable solar construction. We believe this solar farm will be the new role model for ultra-sustainable solar development,” said T.J. Kanczuzewski, CEO of Inovateus Solar. “We're also proud to have assisted U of I in meeting an important sustainability goal for the campus. Helping to preserve the environment for current and future students and faculty directly reflects our company mission of ‘building a brilliant tomorrow.’’’    

Academic collaboration is a major theme emphasized in the F&S Strategic Plan because using the campus as a living learning laboratory for students and researchers is essential to the success of the university. Sol Systems and Inovateus worked with students in the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment’s campuswide sustainability minor to assess the carbon footprint of Solar Farm 2.0 from sourcing to installation. Sol Systems will use the reports, produced by the student groups as part of their Sustainability, Energy and Environment Fellows Program capstone, to assess potential sustainability improvements to all future projects.

The University hopes to offer onsite tours this fall, along with a celebratory ribbon-cutting for the project.

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University of Illinois Contact:

Steve Breitwieser

Customer Relations & Communications

Facilities & Services

sbreit@illinois.edu

217-300-2155

Sol Systems Contact:

Will Patterson

Manager, Marketing and Communications

Sol Systems

William.patterson@solsystems.com

240-778-3530

ABOUT FACILITIES & SERVICES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Facilities & Services (F&S), at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, provides all physical plant, operational, and essential services for sustaining an environment that fosters research, teaching, and public engagement activities. F&S supports the university’s education, research, and outreach missions by improving the physical condition of the facilities and grounds through construction and building maintenance activities, providing utilities production and distribution, implementing energy conservation initiatives, and increasing customer satisfaction by delivering quality services in a responsive, reliable, and customer-focused manner. Visit www.fs.illinois.edu to learn more.

ABOUT SOL SYSTEMS

Sol Systems is a leading national solar energy firm with an established reputation for integrity and reliability across its development, infrastructure and environmental commodity businesses. To date, Sol has developed and/or financed over 1 GW of solar projects valued at more than $1 billion for Fortune 100 companies, municipalities, counties, utilities, universities and schools. The company also actively shapes and trades in environmental commodity and electricity markets throughout the United States. The company was founded in 2008, is based in Washington, D.C., and is led by its founder. Sol Systems works with its team, partners, and clients to create a more sustainable future we can all believe in. For more information, visit https://www.solsystems.com/.

ABOUT CAPITAL DYNAMICS

Capital Dynamics is an independent global asset management firm focusing on private assets including private equity, private credit and clean energy infrastructure.

Capital Dynamics’ Clean Energy Infrastructure is one of the largest renewable energy investment managers in the world with USD 6.6 billion AUM and has one of the longest track records in the industry. The CEI strategy was established to capture attractive investment opportunities in the largest and fastest growing sector of global infrastructure – proven renewable energy technologies, primarily in North America and Europe, across solar, onshore wind, energy storage and related infrastructure with a focus on both utility-scale and distributed generation technologies. The CEI platform’s fully-integrated asset management affiliate provides highly-specialized services to ensure optimal performance and value from projects. The CEI strategy currently manages 7.9 GWdc of contracted gross power generation across more than 150 projects in the United States and Europe, and is one of the top 3 global solar PV owners.

As a sustainable asset manager, we have gone beyond standard ESG requirements by designing, implementing and trademarking the Capital Dynamics R-Eye™ Rating System – a unique, best-in-class approach to diligence and rating of each investment based on PRI principles and UN Sustainable Development Goals. Since Capital Dynamics’ Clean Energy Infrastructure platform’s inception in 2010, over 19 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions have been avoided as a result of the firm’s renewable investments. This is equivalent to the power needed to supply more than 3 million homes or passenger vehicles for one year.

In 2020, the CEI strategy received top rankings from GRESB (the ESG benchmark for real assets) for commitment to sustainability, and in 2019 awarded Global PE Energy Firm of the Year by Private Equity International. For more information, please visit: www.capdyn.com.

ABOUT INOVATEUS SOLAR

Inovateus Solar is a leading solar and energy storage development, EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction), and supply company in the Midwest United States. Headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, the company has built over 500 MW of utility, commercial, industrial, and education sector solar projects. With deep roots in the communities that it serves, Inovateus has been a strong employer and invested millions of dollars in the Indiana economy in support of its commitment to invest in the energy future of its clients.

The site’s 54 acres will serve as a major demonstration and research location for pollinator-friendly solar arrays. The University of Illinois Solar Farm 2.0 project exceeded the required 85 minimum points established by the State of Illinois’ Pollinator Friendly Solar Site Act. With 134 points achieved on the pollinator scorecard, including the adjacent landscape buffer, the solar array officially “Provides Exceptional Habitat.” The custom seed mix designed by Natural Resource Services, with more than 21 different plant types that are native to the area, will make the land between and around the panels more resilient and create a natural habitat for a variety of local and migratory birds and beneficial insects. In total, the site will contain more than 6.5 million flowering plants and native grasses.

A team of researchers will be measuring the impact of natural vegetation at the Solar Farm 2.0 grounds. Below the 31,122 bi-facial solar panels lie 54 acres perfect for pollinator-friendly plantings.

But how exactly does one calculate the plants’ effectiveness? How about: count the bugs.

Ben Campbell, an energy engineer at the University of Illinois Chicago, is part of a research effort that will do exactly that, and more. Their research will also address other matters at Solar Farm 2.0, including how the pollinator plants affect the efficiency of the solar panels’ power production, and how quickly and strongly the pollinator plantings grow.

Additionally, F&S Utilities & Energy Services are a support team member for the research project which will study the economic and ecological benefits of planting native and other flowering plants under and around solar arrays. In order to count the bugs, a few times a year researchers will catch flying insects over the course of a day. The insects they collect will be taken to the Bee Research Facility on the Urbana campus where they will be identified and archived, under the guidance of Dr. Adam Dolezal.

This might seem standard practice for a new test site with new plantings. What may surprise the reader is another research question: where and how many birds and bats will come around for feeding time?

“The research is driven by the solar industry’s questions about the colocation of solar power production and pollinator habitat,” said Campbell. “Our research seeks to understand what scale of habitat is necessary to have measurable impacts on pollinator, bird, and bat populations at utility-scale solar facilities, in addition to benefits in terms of increased power production or lifecycle costs of managing vegetation. We are excited to have the opportunity to test these questions in our own backyard at Solar Farm 2.0.”

Using acoustic and ultrasonic recorders, the team will record bird and bat abundance and diversity, respectively, over time, measuring wildlife elements until at least 2023.

The research project, led by Iris Caldwell at the Energy Resources Center at University of Illinois Chicago, is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technology Office. Her research team consists of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, UIC, the Argonne National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Six solar facility test sites have been selected for field research across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. This includes the 12 MW Solar Farm 2.0 facility at UIUC. In partnership with F&S and Sol Systems (the site operator) the research team will evaluate the effects of the pollinator plantings on photovoltaic and ecological performance and compare operational costs with facilities that use conventional ground cover (usually turf grass). In addition, Solar Farm 1.0 may be used as a control site for comparison for performance and pollinator observation.

Climate researcher James Hansen, known for raising alarms about climate change in the 1980s, will address failures in energy policy & suggest changes moving forward. While the public is coming to grips with climate change, scientists & engineers failed to shape policies to avert its worst consequences, says Hansen, Director of Columbia University’s Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions Program.

May 5, 12–1:30 pm • Zoom | Password 591223

Julie Wurth Asmussen • Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

Global Climate Change: Implications for National and Global Energy Policies

The Sustainability Council met on April 28, 2021 and discussed the following: 

• iCAP Dashboard
• Post-pandemic Implications for iCAP 
• Student Sustainability Leadership Council
• Engagement001: General Education Board Sustainability Task Committee
• Land Management
• Overview of F&S Energy Management Plan 
• Energy004: ACES Energy Performance Contract 

See PowerPoint attached.

Happy Friday! I hope you are having a great Earth Week/Earth Month and have been able to attend a few (of the many!) activities this April. The Bike Census Spring 2021 is next Wednesday, April 28, from 10 – 11 AM. Bike Census is a collaborative, community-wide effort between Facilities & Services (F&S) and Champaign County Bikes that began in 2013 as part of ongoing improvement efforts to support the campus’ Bicycle Friendly University status.

If you are available to volunteer next Wednesday morning, please sign up here. There will be a virtual training session beforehand at 9 AM. Two Illinois coffee mugs will be raffled off for student volunteers. I hope you are able to participate and in the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Sarthak Prasad (sprasad9@illinois.edu).

On another note, in celebration of Earth Month, the next iSEE TED Talk: Eco-Edition event will focus on environmental activism and individual versus corporate responsibility for climate change. On Thursday, April 29 at 7 PM, participants will view a prerecorded TED Talk presented in July 2020 by Xiye Bastida: "If you adults won't save the world, we will." Afterward, all are invited to participate in a guided discussion hosted by iSEE Communications Intern and ESES student, Maria Maring. Sign up here.

As always, be sure to check out the iSEE Sustainability Calendar for upcoming events and programs and help spread the word. Have a great weekend!

The Telecommuting & Commuter Program intern met with supervisor Sarthak Prasad on Friday, April 23rd, 2021 to discuss updates on the program and goals for the upcoming week. Over the past week, they emailed over 10 different universities to fill out the google survey and/or schedule an interview to gain more personal insights and research. They also emailed the updated questionnaire to the IHR department, however, the department had to reschedule the meeting to May 5th. In addition, Audrey has begun creating the final deliverable presentation via PowerPoint for the transportation SWATeam meeting on April 30th. In the coming week, she will reach out again to the universities that have not yet filled out the google survey, and finish the final deliverable presentation.

The Energy iCAP Team met on April 14th, 2021 with Brian Bundren, a member of the Illinois Space Advisory Committee, about to learn more about how campus space can be managed more efficiently as a way to reduce energy consumption. The University moving from hybrid learning to more in-person instruction and the new IVCB budget model that assigns bills individual colleges for their energy use will have significant impacts on space usage. The team also discussed our recommendation for Green Labs, or ways to integrate sustainability in research labs and reduce their energy consumption. We will also be moving forward with recommending an Energy Planning document to outline steps towards carbon neutrality by 2050. 

Meeting minutes and agenda are attached!