The EGEN SWATeam held their third meeting for the Fall 2016 semester. Topics covered include:
Discussion focused on finalizing information for Poster for the Campus Sustainability Celebration in October of 2016.
Niharika Kishore, masters in Urban Planning (MUP) student, and Corey Weil, sophomore in Electrical and Computer Engineering, are working with Morgan Johnston on the iSEE objective for on-campus solar. Niharika will continue her efforts for promoting rooftop solar to meet the iCAP objective for 12,500 MWh/year of on-campus solar energy generation as part of a MUP capstone project this year. Corey will volunteer in various efforts to support the development of solar solutions for campus, from the Net Zero Energy ECE efforts to advocating for solar energy funding.
After the August 5th presentation by Niharika Kishore to College of Engineering facilities contact Greg Larson, Greg spoke with Mechanical Engineering facilities contact Damon McFall about roofotp solar for the Mechanical Engineering Building (MEB). Morgan Johnston explained that MEB had been left off the list Niharika worked on because of the upcoming Capital Programs project in that facility. Greg indicated that they are interested in pursuing rooftop solar for MEB. Potentially the design could be included in the Capital Project design effort, and the installation would need to be funded separately. This roof could hold approximately 130 kW array.
August, 2016, a new initiative towards promoting departments to start their own bicycle fleets began. Lily Wilcock, Active Transportation Coordinator, took on myself (Logan Ebeling), a student intern to help with this project. I am participating in the project as part of ENVS 491, a class required for my Sustainability Minor.
This project is an evolution from the Departmental Bike Sharing project (see Associated Projects) and is using materials from that project and is drawing off its success.
We met August 24th at the Campus Bike Center to discuss goals for this semester. We settled on two broad goals: First, assessing the health, challenges, and success of already existing departmental bicycle fleets and second, promoting the formation of new bicycle fleets on campus.
Niharika Kishore will send an email to potential facilities for adding rooftop solar, in support of the 2015 iCAP objective. The draft email is attached and the list of potential facilities is as follows:
| Building | Estimated Yearly Output (kWh/yr) |
| Physical Plant Services Building | 791,522 |
| Activities and Recreation Center | 725,562 |
| Law Building | 395,761 |
| Ikenberry Dining Hall | 382,569 |
| Abbott Power Plant | 263,841 |
| Digital Computer Library | 263,841 |
| Plant Sciences Laboratory | 164,900 |
| Timothy J. Nugent Hall | 164,900 |
| Institute of Genomic Biology | 158,304 |
| Richard T. Ubben Basketball Complex | 151,708 |
| Oak Street Library | 151,708 |
| Bousfield Hall | 145,112 |
| Garage and Carpool | 125,324 |
Today, Morgan Johnston met with Niharika Kishore to discuss the rooftop solar iCAP objective. Niharika is going to review the work already done, in the iSEE solar box folder, and draft a proposal for getting the engineering design work done for a set of building. She will be working towards meeting the FY20 on campus generation goal of 12,500 MWh/year, and possibly additional installations for FY25.
A group of seniors completed the attached report for the Art and Design Building, for rooftop solar. They recommended a flexible solar material, with micro-inverters. The Art and Design department is interested in working with a student in the fall to seek funding for the rooftop solar from the Student Sustainability Committee.
The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), completed in 2010, identifies several goals related to energy production and distribution on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus. The iCAP called for a detailed study of the University's Energy and Utility systems. That study is now ongoing and is intended to be interactive with the sustainability goals of the iCAP. The University is working with a multi-disciplinary consulting team to study the requirements and opportunities necessary to safely and reliably meet the current and future campus energy needs. The areas of study will examine factors including safety, system reliability, environmental impacts, environmental permit requirements, cost, budget constraints, pending/likely changes in legislation and regulations related to energy utilities, fuel costs, industry trends, innovative technologies and sustainability. Note that the study is limited to the Utility enterprise. Comments regarding improvements in transportation and buildings should be made directly to the sustainability office.
To that end, we are reaching out to the broader campus community to understand what ideas you have in mind that might help the University community meet our energy-related iCAP goals and objectives. If you have specific ideas we would love to hear from you. Please use this form to offer suggestions.
Here is an article from ISTC: Senator Supports Plan to Capture More Carbon for Beneficial Use
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Several SWATeam recommendations were discussed. Also, an update from the Sustainability Council was provided:
"Review of Council Meeting/Status of iCAP Approval - The Sustainability Council meeting went very well with lots of good discussion. There were not too many serious objections to the iCAP. They would like to see financial information, such as cost-benefit analysis on projects. This information will be included in the study for accelerating our carbon neutrality date. The cover letter from the Chancellor affirming our commitment will include language about the current fiscal climate in Illinois. The Chancellor was keen to be able to reach carbon neutrality by 2035. Other concerns were in regard to the net zero space item and they suggested a space audit be included in the iCAP."
Facilities & Services unit rejected the recommendation. F&S's response was sent to the iWG and EGen SWATeam on June 15th, 2015. However, this recommendation led to the EGen004 Electrification Study recommendation.
See SWATeam recommendation EGen004 Electrification Study here.
See Transmittal of EGen002 Utilities Master Plan Review to the unit here.
See iWG Assessment of EGen002 Utilities Master Plan Review here.
See SWATeam recommendation EGen002 Utilities Master Plan Review here.
Brendan McDonnell is working with F&S to identify the best buildings on campus for rooftop solar. Brendan is a MechSE graduate student working toward an MS in ME with a certificate in Energy Systems Engineering, and this is his summer capstone project. Professor Elif Ertekin is his advisor for the project, and Morgan Johnston is his supervisor at F&S. The files Brendan is collecting are stored in the iSEE Solar box folder at https://uofi.app.box.com/files/0/f/2802975201/iSEE_-_Solar_Working_Group....
Following the completion of iWG Assessment, the recommendation was forwarded to the Facilities & Services unit on May 29th, 2015.
See iWG Assessment of EGen002 Utilities Master Plan Review here.
See SWATeam recommendation EGen002 Utilities Master Plan Review here.
The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on May 21st, 2015, to discuss the EGen002 Utilities Master Plan Review recommendation, and started the recommendation. Their official comment on this recommendation was:
"We recommend that the Utilities Master Plan be vetted by outside experts with specific expertise in renewable energy and geothermal heat pump technology."
See the attached file for the complete iWG Assessment with comments from all the iWG members.
See SWATeam recommendation EGen002 Utilities Master Plan Review here.
see file
The eGen SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG stating, "Seek expert external reviews of the Utilities Master Plan."
See attached the SWATeam recommendation EGen002 Utilities Master Plan Review complete with comments from all the eGen SWATeam members.
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your letter from the iWG about the Utilities Master Plan (attached for reference).
F&S shares the iWG’s concerns with the slow pace of getting an acceptable draft product from AEI. This has taken much longer than the original goal of completion; however, it is important to have an accurate and good quality report even if it takes longer than planned. The scope of this study was developed in cooperation with the Office of Sustainability, and approved by FY12 Acting Director of the Office of Sustainability, Associate Chancellor Pradeep Khanna. It is attached here for your records, as well as the executed contract.
It has always been our intention to share the draft report with campus stakeholders, especially those participating in campus sustainability efforts. Once we get an acceptable product, we will share it with the SWATeam and iWG for feedback. At this time, we expect to have a draft ready to share later this month.
Thanks,
Morgan
