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Projects Updates for key objective: No name

  1. Engagement iCAP Team Meeting Minutes 1/26/2024

    Associated Project(s): 
    Engagement iCAP Team
    Green Sports Alliance (GSA)
    Certified Greener Campus Programs

    The Engagement iCAP Team met on 1/26/2024 to discuss the Campus Sustainability Survey and provide updates on AY 23-24 objectives. Daphne Hulse attended as a guest speaker to discuss the Green Sports Alliance and Green Tailgate event volunteer engagement.

    Attached Files: 

  2. iCAP Portal Admin Meeting - February 2, 2024

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Agenda

    Discussion/Decisions:

    • Discussed the idea of creating a new content type called "iCAP Recommendations" to pull together information about a Recommendation. This idea has merit, but our discussion yielded perhaps an even better approach. Project Updates are already being used for this purpose, and could potentially be augmented to provide the functionality we want, as follows:
      • Create a tag called "iCAP Team" with the following fields:
        • Title [e.g. "Energy", "ECBS", "eGen", "Transportation", etc.]
        • Description
        • iCAP Theme (associate this team with one of our 10 themes) [e.g. "Energy", "Transportation", etc.]
      • Create a tag called "iCAP Recommendation" with the following fields:
        • Title [e.g. "Energy001 Anaerobic Digester Feasibility Study", "ECONS001 Conservation Budget", "EGen001 Wind PPA", "Trans001 TEM_DMI"]
        • Description
        • iCAP Team (associate this recommendation to an iCAP Team) [e.g. "Energy", "ECBS", "eGen", "Transportation", etc.]
        • Supplanted by (associate this recommendation with another iCAP Recommendation)
      • Add the following optional fields to Project Updates:
        • iCAP Recommendation (associate this update to an iCAP Recommendation) [e.g. "Energy001 Anaerobic Digester Feasibility Study", "ECONS001 Conservation Budget", "EGen001 Wind PPA", "Trans001 TEM_DMI"]
        • Recommendation Status (e.g. Submitted, Transmitted, Withdrawn, Accepted by campus unit, Implementation in Progress, Implementation Complete, Accepted, Implementation Stalled, Returned, Denied/Declined)
        • Recommendation Date (only necessary if we need to allow it to be different from the date of this Project Update)
      • So the basic information structure would be:
        • Theme pages can show a listing of iCAP Recommendations (w/statuses) for the iCAP Teams associated with that theme
        • An iCAP Team can show a listing of iCAP Recommendations (w/statuses) associated with it, as well as a link to the Theme it's associated with
        • An iCAP Recommendation can show a listing of associated projects updates (with statuses & dates), as well as a link to the iCAP Team it's associated with, the Theme that team is associated with, and all the Projects its associated Project Updates are associated with.
        • A Project Update can show a link to the iCAP Recommendation it's associated with, as well as its status and date, along with the other information a Project Update usually shows.
        • A Project can show the iCAP Recommendations associated with that project, as well as their statuses (this information is obtained by looking up info from the iCAP Recommendation for each Project Update w/recommendation info filled out that's associated with this project)
        • We can offer a general listing of all recommendations which can be searched and/or filtered by Theme, iCAP Team, Project, etc.
      • Questions:
        • What about the Implementation Chapter on the iWG page? There's no Implementation theme, so what Theme would we associate it with?
      • See Discussion about updating iCAP recommendations - February 21, 2024 for additional information.
    Attached Files: 

  3. Discussion about updating iCAP recommendations - January 25, 2024

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Miriam Keep, Sarthak Prasad, and Michael McKelvey met to discuss the process of updating iCAP recommendations.

    Background Info

    Miriam's original request: "I was wondering if we could talk about developing some kind of a landing page for iCAP recommendations. Right now it’s a bit tedious to add updates related to iCAP recommendations because updates have to be made in multiple places. It also seems the only way to link updates back to the original recommendation is to link to the submitted recommendation in the description for the project update."

    Reference projects

    Discussion

    • iCAP Recommendations can go through a winding process, cycling back and forth through many statuses until they are ultimately successful, denied, or supplanted by another recommendation. Sometimes their journey is straightforward and linear, but usually it's more complex.
    • Current process involves manual editing of the Background field for multiple projects, updating the link to the most recently added relevant Project Update and the updated status. This is tedious, time consuming, and error prone.
    • Ideal solution would minimize duplication of effort and make it easy for visitors to understand the history of an iCAP recommendation.
    • The current hierarchy for groups making recommendations is 
    • Recommendations come from iCAP Chapters, each with a single iCAP Team (2020 iCAP). The 2010 and 2015 iCAPs were organized differently. We should try to make sure our solution is as future-proof as possible in case of future reorganizations.

    Ideas/Recommendations

    • Create a new content type called "iCAP Recommendation" which will function vaguely similarly to Metrics
    • An iCAP Recommendation will contain the following fields:
      • Name (text field)
      • iCAP Team (curated listing, need to allow future modifications)
      • Status (e.g. Submitted, Transmitted, Withdrawn, Successful, Returned, Denied/Declined)
      • Date
      • Related Project (allow multiple?)
      • Related Project Update (allow multiple?)
    • How will these iCAP Recommendations be associated with projects so they're shown on Project pages?
      • Need to be able to group the recommendations together, possibly by both iCAP Chapter and iCAP Team
      • How much flexibility do we need in how they're displayed? Can we decide on a rigid structure that will work for displaying recommendations on all projects, or are there several different ways they should be displayed? (e.g. different groupings, orderings, etc.)
      • Should Projects link to iCAP Recomendations, iCAP Recomendations link to Projects? Question applies even if there's a grouping mechanism in the middle, e.g. iCAP Chapter, iCAP Team, etc.
    • The attached Excel file contains examples of what iCAP Recommendations might look like in the new proposed content type. Each sheet groups together iCAP Recommendations for a team, and each row within a sheet demonstrates a single iCAP Recommendation with its fields filled out.
    • We will present our questions and ideas for discussion at the next iCAP Portal admin meeting.
    Attached Files: 

  4. ECE Net Zero Celebration

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

    https://ece.illinois.edu/about/calendar/eceb-anniversary 

    The Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was certified as the university’s first zero-energy facility in January 2023. Join the ECE Department and The Grainger College of Engineering to celebrate this milestone on the path to building a more sustainable future. 


    When: Wednesday January 24, 2024 from 4 p.m.
    Where: Electrical & Computer Engineering Building Atrium, 306 N. Wright St, Urbana, IL 61801

     

  5. Vehicle Organization and Department Outreach

    Associated Project(s): 
    Fleet Replacement Plans
    F&S Sustainable Fleet Plan

    Shawn Patterson gathered a current vehicle and equipment record from Facilities and Services. Sarthak Prasad, Olivia Messerges, and Shawn Patterson met on December 21, 2023 and January 18, 2024 to discuss the vehicle records. Olivia identified departments with five or more vehicles and Sarthak will draft an email to departments requesting that they appoint a fleet administrator. See the attached meeting notes, excel file, and summary of the excel file. 

    Attached Files: 

  8. iCAP Portal Admin Meeting - January 19, 2024

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Agenda

    Discussion/Decisions:

    • Agreed to move meetings to once per month; Quinn will take care of that
    • Agreed to make the tabbed navigation layout the default layout for projects; Christina will consider possible alternate designs for the Project Header layout
    • Decided to only show the SSC tab for projects which have SSC funding; hide it for all others
    • Discussion of representing SSC and other student-initiated fees
      • If we start adding information about other fees (e.g. bike fee), should we group all the student-initated fees in a single tab (SSC, bike fee, etc.) or have separate tabs for each?
      • Single tab would group together logically related info, avoids tab overload
      • Multiple tabs would allow SSC to retain prominence on project pages, not dilute its impact and prestige
      • Decided to do a single SSC tab now and revisit if we add information about other student-initiated fees in the future

  9. Discussion about SSC projects in iCAP Portal - January 16, 2024

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Miriam Keep, Codie Sterner, and Michael McKelvey met to continue the discussion about embedding SSC project information in the SSC website. Discussion topics included:

    • Rough draft of SSC project embed filtering - still in development phase; need to add additional filters, map, only allow one Category to be selected, and several additional fields (e.g. file uploads)
    • Discussed how to represent the SSC view of a project - e.g. custom project embed on SSC website, separate SSC-specific project page on iCAP Portal

    Takeaways:

    • SSC project embed filtering is looking promising - aesthetics need work and additional filters need to be implemented
    • Christina's new Header Project layout would work well as the default layout for all projects - then SSC could just have its own tab! Would need to figure out how to make Header Projects stand out. Will bring this idea up at the larger group meeting on Friday.

  10. iCAP Portal Admin Meeting - January 5, 2024

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Done:

    Discussion:

    • Question about a TODO: "Collections page: Add image upload option". At a previous meeting we had this TODO, but what was the context? Was it to have a thumbnail for each Collection? Or a banner image? Or an image gallery?
    • Should we link to "Take Action" project from homepage?
      • Replace map link in Highlights?
      • Need to finish Take Action page content
    • Continue discussion of Fancy Page Layout (see the 4 mockups in the October 21, 2022 meeting notes)
    • Continue discussion of improving site's aesthetics
    • Archiving projects
      • Add "Archived" checkbox?
      • Add "Archived" to Visibility options?
      • Add "Archived" to Project Status options? (probably not - this mixes the status of the project itself with whether we still want it to show up on the site)
      • Remove from nested listings, still publicly available?

    TODO:

    • Print styles:
      • ✅ Objectives page:
        • ✅ Do not bold metric titles
        • ✅ Put "(not shown)" on own line
      • Footer:
        • ✅ Replace old iSEE logo with current iSEE wordmark
        • ✅ Hide social media icons
        • ✅ Show F&S and iSEE logos side-by-side
    • Main map:
      • See CSU's campus map (Sustainability section) for inspiration
      • Campus boundary, like ArcGIS Bicycle Map
      • Improve mobile filter?
      • Use heatmap when zoomed out, switch to markers when zoomed in?
    • (long term goal) look into importing information from another source, e.g. SSC students without iCAP Portal access can put together info in a structured format for automatic import into iCAP Portal
    • Metric search/display:
      • Theme (via connected Project, i.e. Theme -> Project -> Metric)
      • Most recent updates as of: (list of years) -> can we query Tracking data?
      • (Internal only) Last updated before (list of years) -> can we query Tracking data?
    • (Low Priority) Make column headers click-sortable on Projects by Project Status page
    • Fancy project layout mockups - keep tweaking #3 to improve contrast
    • Discuss metrics
      • Metrics with lots of data
      • Consider how to handle old metrics that no longer track new data. Archive somehow?
      • Fun with math (e.g. combining multiple metrics)
      • Calculated Metrics on Dev site

    Ideations:

    • Map brainstorming:
      • What if we had a separate Campus Sustainability Tour expandable section, alongside Collections and Themes? Perhaps with a specific order to the locations and information about each location in the infowindow popup? We might have to hand-craft it rather than using Collections, but it might be worth it if we want an interface more like the CSU sustainability map. This could also work for any other bespoke sections we might want to include in the future.
      • Are there other things we'd like to highlight on the map beyond Themes and Collections? If we can think of them, Michael can try to figure out how to make it happen.
      • Michael is working on trying to make the map queries work asynchronously so each filter doesn't require a new pageload. This would make interactions with the map much snappier.
      • Would we like to provide the ability to view individual projects for each section in the sidebar, à la CSU's map?
      • Are there other categories we would like to include, either in addition to or instead of Collections and Themes? Is that information already in the iCAP Portal? If so, perhaps there's a way we can use it... If not, perhaps a new tagging system specifically for the map might help us achieve it?
      • Sarthak: would like to create a Biking Tour
      • Reed: highlight things students can see/experience
    • SSC projects
      • May want to use this Archive of Funded Projects on old SSC site (2019) as a reference for showing SSC project info
      • Discussed using iCAP Portal projects for SSC projects page vs. maintaining own project pages directly on SSC website.
      • One possible challenge - SSC sometimes funds part of a project or provides funding for a period of time (e.g. 1 year) for a longer-term project, so only the project updates for that period of time are relevant, not all updates in perpetuity. How do we handle that?
      • Decided to start with map embed from Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects collection, then look at adding card-based project embed as well.
      • SSC project integration discussion on 11/30/2023:
        • New projects need to be approved and located appropriately in portal hierarchy
        • Codie considers an SSC project worth adding once it has a CFOAP
        • Projects can be updated w/SSC info by SSC students/employees once they exist in portal
        • How to show projects with multiple funding allocations over time? (e.g. $100K in spring 2020, $100K in fall 2020)
          • Is it the same project over time? Sometimes it is, but sometimes the leaders change and the direction changes significantly
          • Discussed dusting off the Project Funding feature we'd deprecated several years ago. It looks promising for showing SSC's funding of projects!
        • Michael and Codie will meet next week to discuss specifics about what SSC needs the iCAP Portal to be able to do in order to use the iCAP Portal for the SSC website's project listing.

  11. UIUC works with Ecolab to transition to soap concentrate

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Cleaning Products and Practices

    Soap waste is especially prevalent on large campuses and facilities that experience high day-to-day foot traffic. Through North American, UIUC's custodial product vendor, the university is transitioning to Ecolab's soap concentrate. This allows soap dispensers to be refilled rather than tossed and replaced with a single-use dispenser. This choice was made in an effort to address waste reduction practices in the Building Services division of F&S.

     

    ***************************************************************************

    From: Dean, Sean <Sean.Dean@ecolab.com>
    Sent: Thursday, January 4, 2024 10:43 AM
    To: Varney, Pete <pvarney@illinois.edu>
    Cc: Walter, Christopher <Christopher.Walter@ecolab.com>; zhansen@na.com
    Subject: Thank you from Ecolab

     

    Hello Pete,

     

    Was a pleasure to meet you yesterday, thank you for the time, especially unannounced!  Look forward to scheduling a formal review once installations are done and your teams have had a chance to acclimate to the concentrated program.  Sending a recent link highlighting a topic from our discussion, environmental responsibility is key guiding principle for all Ecolab businesses.  It’s nice to be recognized for it and perhaps there’s more opportunities for North American, Ecolab, and the University to partner on sustainable initiatives in the future.

     

    Thanks again,

     

    Ecolab Honored for Sustainability Initiatives (cleanlink.com)

    Sean Dean
    Regional AVP Facility Care

    ECOLAB  T 336 207 2732  E sean.dean@ecolab.com

  14. RE: carbon credit sales fund

    Associated Project(s): 
    Utilize Carbon Credits

    Hi Rob,

     

    We have about $1.4M in Carbon Credit Sales Funds, and (as just one of the potential uses) we would like to know the most impactful energy project this could support in terms of maximum emission reductions.  Could I talk with Sylvia about that, or do you have someone else I should contact?

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

    Morgan,

     

    We have a stack of project requests that we can look at to see where the best use of the funds could be. Please let me discuss with Tony, and we will reply with our recommendations.

     

    Thanks,
    Rob

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

    Hello Morgan,

     

    Thanks for your patience. I have worked with the others in UES to develop the attached list of recommended projects. The file is sorted by the mtCO2/$ to show the projects with the most carbon emissions reduction for the money.  We recommend to use the $1.4M to fund the first three projects and partially funding the fourth or the fifth project (the fifth project has higher energy savings and is slightly less on the mtCO2/$). 

     

    Thanks for reaching out to us with your inquiry. I hope that you find these projects acceptable. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

     

    Best Regards,
    Rob

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

    Hi Rob,

     

    Thank you for this list.  Could your team please provide an estimated life in years for these projects?  If we say the Controls Upgrade at the Conference Center will last 30 years, then the footprint reduction cost is $32.44/mtCO2e.  We can assume 30 years for all the projects, but that is just a WAG from my perspective.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

     

    Morgan,

     

    I have attached an amended table to this email with a new column for life expectancy as defined by ASHRAE. Generally, ASHRAE indicates 15-20 years for each of the projects.

     

    Thanks,
    Rob

    Attached Files: 

  15. iSEE building feasibility study committee

    Associated Project(s): 
    Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)

    Sending on behalf of iSEE Director Madhu Khanna:

     

    Morgan,

     

    The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) is exploring a dedicated building to raise the profile of iSEE on campus and provide space for the institute to grow and expand sustainability research, education and operational support. I would like you to be part of the committee we are assembling to give feedback during the building feasibility study.

     

    This committee will help shape the way the physical space can facilitate building multi-disciplinary research teams, hosting classes for the sustainability minor, supporting sustainability student groups, and overall, being a hub for sustainability activity on campus.

     

    The feasibility study was recently approved and a design firm has been selected. We anticipate meeting monthly through the Spring semester.

     

    If you accept this invitation then you will receive a formal charge letter from VCRI Martinis. You may also delegate this to a colleague or staff member if appropriate. Please respond by December 22. Thank you for your consideration.

     

    Elizabeth A. Murphy

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

    Sure, no problem.

    Morgan White

  16. IACT - Energy for Service and Source Well Procurement

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainable Procurement
    Use Clean Power

    Good morning, Mike!

     

    Great to hear from you.  Absolutely can provide you with some additional information on both of those procurement pathways:

     

    1. Sourcewell:

     

     

    The University is a member of a purchasing co-op which provides pre-negotiated pricing for a variety of solutions – including microgrids – which enables them to purchase directly through Sourcewell without needing to go out to bid.  Please see attached for an example of the Siemens Sourcewell contract offerings and below for the University’s member information:

     

    1. Energy as a Service:

     

    Siemens could design, develop, own, implement and maintain a turn key energy system allowing the University to avoid capital investment and simply pay a “subscription cost” if you will for all their energy needs for I-ACT.  This would also enable them to stay up to date on new technologies as they come on line.  Please see attached “4-Steps for Integrating EaaS” for additional information.

     

    Again, we would be very happy to get on a call to walk through how to customize either of these offerings to meet their needs in cooperation with the work they are doing with AECOM.

     

    Could be a really exciting collaboration!

     

    I warmly welcome your thoughts.

     

    Thank you and

     

    All the best!

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

    Kevin,

     

    Here is the info I received from Siemend for your review.


    Thanks

     

    Mike

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

     

    Hello,

     

    Regarding the ongoing discussion of the electrical microgrid design (including PV panels on site) for U20029:IACT the PSC has wondered if UIUC has ever participated in either of this type of programs for procuring such systems by what appears a more design/build method?

     

    Kevin

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

     

    Good Afternoon Aaron and Graham,

     

    Can you advise if the attached Sourcewell Contract is one that we can utilize, if not, is there an IPHEC contract that would provide this type service? I tried to research the existing IPHEC vendors.

     

    Thank You

     

     

    MARIA THOMPSON

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

     

    Hi, Maria

     

    The awarded contracts on the flyer all appear to be expired per the Sourcewell website.

     

    #031517-SIE for building technologies

    #051017-SIE for EV supplies and equipment

    #030817-SIE includes HVAC systems and mechanical

     

    Which contract were you interested in using? We may have something already.

     

    Also, IPHEC must adopt a consortia award first before a member can leverage it.

     

    Thank you

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

    Graham,

     

    I am not really sure. Morgan or Kevin can you advise on Graham’s question?

     

    Thank You

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

    Hello Graham,

     

    I’m the F&S-CP Project Manager for the U20029: IACT track and fleet building project.  This is an automated and connected track for testing autonomous vehicles and anticipates having renewable energy production from wind turbines and PV panels on the large track site.

     

    The question which launched this email chain was received from the track designers who became aware of the existence to programs such as Sourcewell when discussing the PV design with potential sub designers for that portion of the track design.  I’m afraid I am not familiar enough with the three projects to know for sure but from the thumbnail descriptions perhaps the first one might be most similar to what is involved here, although this project would involve a large system covering both site elements producing renewable energy and only one building.  Their questions were really if the UIUC had interacted with Sourcewell in the past, and if Sourcewell might be an avenue to explore further as part of their design work.

     

    Would it be acceptable to share your contact information with the designers so that they could determine if your program could help provide some of the elements required for the IACT track and fleet building?

     

    Thank you,

     

    Kevin

  17. iCAP Portal Admin Meeting - December 15, 2023

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Done:

    Discussion:

    • Discuss Christina's iCAP Portal Header Page Layout designs
    • Question about a TODO: "Collections page: Add image upload option". At a previous meeting we had this TODO, but what was the context? Was it to have a thumbnail for each Collection? Or a banner image? Or an image gallery?
    • Should we link to "Take Action" project from homepage?
      • Replace map link in Highlights?
      • Need to finish Take Action page content
    • Continue discussion of Fancy Page Layout (see the 4 mockups in the October 21, 2022 meeting notes)
    • Continue discussion of improving site's aesthetics
    • Archiving projects
      • Add "Archived" checkbox?
      • Add "Archived" to Visibility options?
      • Add "Archived" to Project Status options? (probably not - this mixes the status of the project itself with whether we still want it to show up on the site)
      • Remove from nested listings, still publicly available?

    TODO:

    • Main map:
      • See CSU's campus map (Sustainability section) for inspiration
      • Campus boundary, like ArcGIS Bicycle Map
      • Improve mobile filter?
      • Use heatmap when zoomed out, switch to markers when zoomed in?
    • (long term goal) look into importing information from another source, e.g. SSC students without iCAP Portal access can put together info in a structured format for automatic import into iCAP Portal
    • Look into Collection embedding again, à la Drawdown Solutions Library Sammy had found ("Filter by sector or area of action" section)
      • SSC project embedding: add category filtering options
    • Metric search/display:
      • Theme (via connected Project, i.e. Theme -> Project -> Metric)
      • Most recent updates as of: (list of years) -> can we query Tracking data?
      • (Internal only) Last updated before (list of years) -> can we query Tracking data?
    • (Low Priority) Make column headers click-sortable on Projects by Project Status page
    • Fancy project layout mockups - keep tweaking #3 to improve contrast
    • Discuss metrics
      • Metrics with lots of data
      • Consider how to handle old metrics that no longer track new data. Archive somehow?
      • Fun with math (e.g. combining multiple metrics)
      • Calculated Metrics on Dev site

    Ideations:

    • Map brainstorming:
      • What if we had a separate Campus Sustainability Tour expandable section, alongside Collections and Themes? Perhaps with a specific order to the locations and information about each location in the infowindow popup? We might have to hand-craft it rather than using Collections, but it might be worth it if we want an interface more like the CSU sustainability map. This could also work for any other bespoke sections we might want to include in the future.
      • Are there other things we'd like to highlight on the map beyond Themes and Collections? If we can think of them, Michael can try to figure out how to make it happen.
      • Michael is working on trying to make the map queries work asynchronously so each filter doesn't require a new pageload. This would make interactions with the map much snappier.
      • Would we like to provide the ability to view individual projects for each section in the sidebar, à la CSU's map?
      • Are there other categories we would like to include, either in addition to or instead of Collections and Themes? Is that information already in the iCAP Portal? If so, perhaps there's a way we can use it... If not, perhaps a new tagging system specifically for the map might help us achieve it?
      • Sarthak: would like to create a Biking Tour
      • Reed: highlight things students can see/experience
    • SSC projects
      • May want to use this Archive of Funded Projects on old SSC site (2019) as a reference for showing SSC project info
      • Discussed using iCAP Portal projects for SSC projects page vs. maintaining own project pages directly on SSC website.
      • One possible challenge - SSC sometimes funds part of a project or provides funding for a period of time (e.g. 1 year) for a longer-term project, so only the project updates for that period of time are relevant, not all updates in perpetuity. How do we handle that?
      • Decided to start with map embed from Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects collection, then look at adding card-based project embed as well.
      • SSC project integration discussion on 11/30/2023:
        • New projects need to be approved and located appropriately in portal hierarchy
        • Codie considers an SSC project worth adding once it has a CFOAP
        • Projects can be updated w/SSC info by SSC students/employees once they exist in portal
        • How to show projects with multiple funding allocations over time? (e.g. $100K in spring 2020, $100K in fall 2020)
          • Is it the same project over time? Sometimes it is, but sometimes the leaders change and the direction changes significantly
          • Discussed dusting off the Project Funding feature we'd deprecated several years ago. It looks promising for showing SSC's funding of projects!
        • Michael and Codie will meet next week to discuss specifics about what SSC needs the iCAP Portal to be able to do in order to use the iCAP Portal for the SSC website's project listing.

  19. RA Tax Credit - CDB IGA

    Associated Project(s): 
    Facility Standards

    All

    Per our discussion from the meeting on 12/8/2023 I reached out to Ebone White and Angela Jacobs with your concerns that language be included to the current IGA template that is being produced to ensure that CBD cannot file for the IRA tax credit due to property being owned by the University. Ebone informed me that they will add it to their working draft for discussion with CDB and legal.

     

    Thank you

    Angie

  20. Small Solar at Energy Farm

    Associated Project(s): 
    Carbon-Neutral Energy for Campus

     

     

     

    Energy Tax Credit Form

    Webtools Form 447240223 submitted by:
    Tim Mies 
    College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (KL), Department of Crop Sciences (802), Staff
    11/09/2023 11:52 A.M.

    Thank you for submitting the Energy Tax Credit Form. The applicable University Liaison will contact you after it has been reviewed.

    1. Location:
    UIUC

    2. Applicant College/Department:
    Crop Sciences

    3. Project number and/or building (if applicable):
    near Energy Farm

    4. Anticipated beginning of construction date:
    2/1/2024

    5. Anticipated placed in service date:
    6/1/2024

    6. Total project budget (basis or cost):
    91,000

    7. Estimated construction costs (only include total energy project cost, including contingency):
    81,600

    8. Will the property be owned by the university as a depreciable asset?
    Yes

    9. Will the property be financed with tax-exempt bonds?
    No

    10. If yes, what percentage of the property is financed with tax-exempt bonds?

    11. Is the energy property funded by a restricted grant or restricted forgivable loan**?
    No

    12. If yes, what amount is funded by a restricted grant or restricted forgivable loan?

    13. Provide a brief description of the project and the energy component that may qualify for the tax credit:
    Project will connect existing 15kw solar panels to campus electrical grid.

    14. Briefly describe the proposed intended use of the tax credit funds:
    Funds will be used to support campus ICAP efforts

    15. What tax credit is applicable for the project?
    Investment tax credit IRC Section 48: qualified energy property or technology (Appendix A)

    16. Is this energy property funded by a grant made under Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment of 2009 (The 1603 Program: Payments for Specified Energy Property in lieu of Tax Credits)?
    No

    17. Which of the following options describes the property?
    equipment which uses solar energy to generate electricity, to heat or cool (or provide hot water for use in) a structure, or to provide solar process heat, except property used to generate energy for the purposes of heating a swimming pool, or

    18. Is there qualified interconnection property associated with the project?
    No

    19. If yes, what is the basis (cost) of any qualified interconnection property associated with the energy project?

    20. Is the property part of a clean hydrogen production facility?
    No

    21. Does the project meet one (1) of the following requirements (five (5) times base credit amount for a total of 30%)?
    Yes

    22. If yes, which requirement is met?
    Item #1

    23. Does the project meet the domestic content bonus credit**?
    No

    24. Is the project located in an energy community**?
    No

    25. Do you want to proceed?
    Yes

    53. Submission and Liaisons
    Timothy Mies, Director Energy Farm Operations, 11/09/2023

     

     

     

     

     

     

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

    Hi Angie,

     

    I’ve reviewed this form (actually, Tim filled it out while I was with him), and I agree this small solar installation at UIUC should qualify for the IRA Tax Credit.  I understand that the next step is for you to review it, and then forward it to the Treasury Office for their review and processing.

     

    Please let me and Tim know if you have any questions.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

     

    Morgan,

     

    Is this project actually a solar installation or just the interconnection?

     

    From below:

    “Project will connect existing 15kw solar panels to campus electrical grid.”

     

    If this is not the purchase/construction of solar panels for original use, it is not property as described under Section 48:

    equipment which uses solar energy to generate electricity, to heat or cool (or provide hot water for use in) a structure, or to provide solar process heat, except property used to generate energy for the purposes of heating a swimming pool,

     

    I’m happy to set up a time to discuss if that helps.

     

    Kimberly A. Maxwell, CPA

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

    Hi Tim and Rob,

     

    I’d like your perspective on this question about the small solar at the Energy Farm.  If you would like to discuss it, please let me know who to include in a call with the tax office.

     

    Thank you,

    Morgan

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

    Hi Morgan,

     

    Happy to discuss this further to determine if this project can meet the requirements for the credit.  Do we want to discuss internally first?

     

    Best,
    Tim

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