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Projects Updates for key objective: No name

  1. FY19 Green Power Partnership renewal submitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    EPA Green Power Partner
    Use Clean Power
    Solar Farm 1.0
    BIF Rooftop Solar PVs
    Wassaja Hall Rooftop Solar PVs
    ECE Rooftop Solar PVs
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
    Apply for Recognition

    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.

  3. Check out the I-Pollinate citizen science research initiative

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    Sustainability Engagement and Outreach
    Support Regional Sustainability

    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/.

  6. Covid-19 shut down of recycling sort line on campus

    Associated Project(s): 
    Establish a Net Zero Waste Plan and Policy

    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:

    • DSC staff has been notified and will not be sending their staff to the waste transfer station starting Monday, March 23, 2020.
    • No waste will be sent to the sort line. All collected mixed waste will be sent directly to the landfill.
    • Pre-sorted materials such as a paper and cardboard will be continued to be collected and processed on the floor as normal.
    • Pre-sorted materials such as bottles and cans will be stored in a roll-off container to be processed at a later time.
    • All staff that will continue to work during this time at the WTS must adhere to the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    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.

  8. Seeking participants who are passionate about sustainable consumer products

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainable Procurement
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Seeking participants who are passionate about sustainable consumer products

     

    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

  9. Restoring the Ecology of Stone Prairie Farm

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainable Landscapes Plan

    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

    Restoring the Ecology of Stone Prairie Farm

  10. Status update from WEF Design Team Co-Captain

    Associated Project(s): 
    Independent Student Projects
    Green Infrastructure
    Water Environment Federation (WEF)

    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:

    • Chose project topic: Green Infrastructure Solutions for Veterinary Medicine Facility Flooding
    • Made team site visit to Vet Med, surveyed areas for potential green infrastructure applications
    • Came up with preliminary ideas on solutions and locations for implementation
    • Conducted research on past green infrastructure projects to establish a base understanding of the options available

    Click here to find out more and how you can become involved with WEF!

     

     

  13. Transportation SWATeam Meeting: 9 March 2020

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Support Zipcar in Champaign-Urbana
    Support a Ride-Matching Program
    Incorporate Sustainability Principles into Campus Master Plan [ARCHIVED]

    Attached are the meeting minutes from the Transportation SWATeam meeting on 9 March 2020. 

    The Agenda is as follows:

    Recommendations Selection

    • Support CMP by increasing pedestrian safety by reevaluating current pedestrian routes and conducting traffic studies.
    • Zip-Car Continuity
    • UI Ride Survey 
    • Teleconferencing Assessment
    • Faculty/Staff Vanpool Survey
    • Identify Campus Intersections and Mid-block Crossings with high potential for crashes, and develop/implement design improvement strategies.

    Future Recommendations

    • Working with MTD to promote better bus service to Research Park and I Hotel
    • Establish a University of Illinois Foundation fund to support campus efforts to reduce and within ~10 years eliminate use of fossil fuel.
    • Sustainable Asphalt Binders

  15. iSEE Awards Levenick Teaching Sustainability Fellowships

    Associated Project(s): 
    Encourage Course Development or Modification

    iSEE is pleased to announce that eight instructors have been named 2020-21 Levenick iSEE Teaching Sustainability Fellows.

    Funded by a generous endowment from Illinois Alumnus Stuart L. Levenick and his wife Nancy J. Levenick, this second cohort of faculty and teachers from across the University of Illinois campus (and one from University Laboratory High School) will incorporate sustainability into existing classes or create entirely new courses built around sustainability elements.

    Associate Director for Education & Outreach Gillen D’Arcy Wood said applications nearly doubled for the Levenick iSEE Teaching Sustainability program this year, a positive sign of a growing program — and growing interest in adding sustainability thinking in all academic units.

    The 2020-21 cohort and the courses they will undertake:

    • Alison Anders, Associate Professor of Geography, “GIS for Geology and Environmental Science”;
    • Kim Curtis, Adjunct Lecturer in Theatre, “Theater Design and Production”;
    • Sean Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Urban + Regional Planning, “Food and the City”;
    • Eleftheria Kontou, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, “Urban Transportation Models”;
    • Daniel Schneider, Professor of Urban + Regional Planning, “FAA 230: Sustainable Design of the Built Environment”;
    • Andrew Stillwell, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, “ECE 330: Green Electric Energy”;
    • Chiara Vincenzi, Adjunct Instructor in Art + Design, ” ARTS 321: Sustainable Fashion Development & Branding”; and
    • Andrew Wilson, Teaching Associate in Social Studies at Uni High, “World History”.

    Read more about the Fellows and their projects >>>

    The Levenick iSEE Teaching Sustainability Fellowship program consists of four elements to help the 2020-21 Fellows best incorporate sustainability into their courses:

    • a retreat for developing lesson plans, held in Spring 2020 and available via teleconference for interested instructors from other U of I campuses;
    • summer feedback from iSEE and sustainability subject matter experts;
    • a fall progress check-in; and
    • a Spring 2021 debriefing, at which time the cohort will meet the newly named 2021-22 Fellows.

  16. solar on parking estimated costs

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Power on Campus

    Good morning Morgan,

     

    I have gathered the numbers that correspond to an acre of solar cover. 

     

    The estimate is that an acre of solar canopy could generate 760,536 kWh annually (this estimate takes into account the weather patterns of our location and possible shading/system inefficiencies).  

     

    I remember you saying that right now the University pays $0.05 per kWh.  Our solar farms are charged $0.045 per kWh that they generate.  This means that $0.005 is saved for every kWh generated.  That can be used to estimate that an acre of solar canopy would save roughly $3,800 per year.  

     

    I thought that I would also include the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s estimate for what a solar retailer would charge per kWh of electricity in our area: $0.036.  This would mean that $0.014 could be saved per kWh on a solar canopy system, or roughly $10,650 per acre.  

     

    Let me know what else I can find,

     

    Ryan Day

  18. Info from Andy Robinson at F&S

    Associated Project(s): 
    ECE Net-Zero Energy Building
    ECE Rooftop Solar PVs
    Retrocommissioning (RCx)
    Electrical and Computer Engineering Building: LEED Platinum

    I am on the team that did the Retrocommissioning project in 2018 and I would be happy to share some of our knowledge from that process.  Below is the link to a presentation of that project that we took to a Big Ten energy conference.   Some of our main takeaways are that the combination of chilled beams, dual HX wheels, coil sizing, occupancy ventilation, and thoughtful building pressurization have led to one of the most efficient buildings on campus.  Also, the heat pumps work well to heat/cool with electricity, but would be optimal if there were more of a reheat load, or a hot water loop to send reject heat to a neighboring building in summer, which campus is looking into in certain locations. 

     

    https://www.fs.illinois.edu/services/utilities-energy/energy-conservation/rcx-energy-results

    https://webtest2.fs.illinois.edu/docs/default-source/retro/big10-friends-mechanical-energy-conference-2018-09-30.pdf?sfvrsn=7a85cbea_2

     

    Andy Robinson, LEED-AP, CEM

    DDC Specialist, F&S Energy Services - RCx

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