Car Culture and Climate Change: A Student Op-Ed
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VIRTUAL POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT RULED LEGAL
F&S and the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment hired attorney Paul Durbin to evaluate the legality for the campus to enter into a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) to meet the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) goals for purchasing renewable energy. The analysis concluded that the Board of Trustees has the legal authority to enter into a VPPA, if it is financially reasonable; said agreement would be performed by Prairieland Energy, Inc. (PEI), a subsidiary wholly-owned by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
SOLAR FARM LANDSCAPE BUFFER
F&S representatives shared detailed designs for the pollinator supportive landscape buffer along the future Solar Farm 2.0 site to the Village of Savoy. Village leaders were pleased with the design plans and thanked us for being responsive to their neighborly request. When completed, this site will serve as a demonstration for pollinator-friendly solar arrays, following the requirements of the Pollinator Friendly Solar Site Act (Illinois Pub. Act 100-1022). Solar Farm 2.0 will produce approximately 20,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually, and will generate the equivalent electricity use of more than 2,000 average American homes.
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Attached are the meeting minutes from the Transportation SWATeam meeting on 30 March 2020.
The Agenda is as follows:
Recommendations Review
April Agenda
Attached are the meeting minutes from the Zero Waste SWATeam meeting on 27 March 2020.
The agenda is as follows:
March Formal Recommendations
April Agenda
Recommendations for next round of submissions?
Please see attached.
F&S completed the renewal of our recognition as a Green Power Partner through the US Environmental Protection Agency. Green Power Partners of our scale now have to use renewable power for seven percent of their annual consumption, an increase from the previous requirement of three percent. Fortunately, the FY19 green power supply for FY19 was 7.28%. See attached file.
Overview submitted: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is proud of its sustainability initiatives, as documented in the Illinois Climate Action Plan. The first project was a 32.76 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) array on the Business Instructional Facility in 2009. The 14.7 kW PV array, ground mounted at the Building Research Council, is a research platform for the Information Trust Institute. The most significant on-campus renewable energy generation project to date went into operation in December 2015, with the completion of the 5.87 megawatt (MW) Solar Farm, producing approximately 7,200 MWh/year. In December 2015 another solar array was installed on the new Wassaja Residence Hall roof with a capacity of 33 kW. In September 2016, campus signed a ten-year Wind Power Purchase Agreement for 25 million kWh/year. Most recently, the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building had 970 rooftop panels installed. Since production began in April 2019, 11% of all power supplied to the ECE Building has been from the rooftop panels, not including the panels that are used for student-oriented research. The University will soon be home to Solar Farm 2.0, which is projected to produce 20,000 MWh/year, nearly tripling on-site production.
Energy consumption is less this week (Friday, March 20 - Thursday March 26) than last (Thursday, March 12 - Wednesday, March 18). We will continue to monitor energy consumption at BIF as most students and employees are not on campus due to COVID-19 concerns.
I-Pollinate is a citizen science research initiative, through the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, designed to collect state-wide pollinator data. I-Pollinate enlists citizen scientists to participate in three research projects and collect data on monarch egg and caterpillar abundance, pollinator visitation to ornamental flowers, and state bee demographics. If you are interested in participating and want more information, visit the website site at https://ipollinate.illinois.edu/.
The Transportation SWATeam made the recommendation below, which was transmitted to iSEE and approved at an iSEE Management Meeting. Meredith Moore is in communication with Julie Cidell regarding moving forward with this initiative.
"The Transportation SWATeam kindly requests the creation of a survey which would question faculty and staff who travel out of town for conferences or other university-sponsored activities on their decided mode of transportation. This survey would be voluntary and facilitated by the Transportation SWATeam. An example of a question would be something like: 'In the past year, what has been the main reason for the travel you selected?'"
See the submittal of Trans010 Mode Switch Survey here.
See the recommendation for the Trans010 Mode Switch Survey here.
For future updates, see the Reduce Driving on Campus project here.
Minutes from the Marth 13th 2020 Education SWATeam meeting. This meeting focused on revising recommendation froms to be sent to the iWG.
The power consumption at the Busines Instructional Facility (BIF) is lower this week, as students leave for spring break, and staff transition to working form home. Stay tuned for additional screen shots as the COVID transition continues.
All:
Staying consistent with the guidelines issued by the CDC and University of Illinois effective Friday, March 20, 2020 at 3PM the sort line will be closed at the University of Illinois Waste Transfer Station until further notice Enumerated below are the changes effective 3/20/2020:
Please note that there will be no change in waste and recycling collection schedules. Facilities and Services will continue to collect source separated trash and recycling from campus dumpster there will be no change in collection service. As there will be no material going to the sort line we do not anticipate an increase in material as most of campus is currently working remotely. Facilities and Services will be working with Area to monitor generation and evaluate if additional hauling service would be needed.
We thank you for your support and understanding during these unprecedented times. As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach me or my team directly.
Attached are the meeting notes from the iWG meeting on 3/16/2020. The focus of this meeting was on the Outreach section (renamed: Engagement) of the iCAP 2020.
We are seeking individuals who are willing to participate in a short 30-minute conversation about sustainable and consumer lifestyles. Participants of all ages and backgrounds are welcome. If interested, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/LukTEJpRcY5Y8EY3A
Angel Han • In Affiliation with Cozad
Mr. Apfelbaum will tell us about his life-long project to restore his land on the border of Wisconsin, taking it back to its original state, before the changes brought about by farming, described in detail in his book Nature’s Second Chance. Having carried out ecological restorations world-wide, he is presently working in Urbana, restoring the Stone Creek golf course to its natural state.
March 12, 6:30 PM • Stone Creek Golf Club (Formerly known as Attie's), 2560 Stonecreek Blvd Urbana, IL
Amanda Christenson • Cooperative Extension Service
Justin Chen, from the University of Illinois joint student chapter of the Water Enviroment Federation-American Water Works, and the rest of his design team have been hard at work this school year!
Some project updates via the co-captian:
Click here to find out more and how you can become involved with WEF!
Minutes from the Land and Water SWATeam meeting on March 9th, 2020. This meeting focused on revising a recommendation for a sustainability data respository.
Attached are the meeting notes from the iWG meeting on 3/9/2020. The focus of this meeting was on the Energy section of the iCAP 2020.