Kishore Rajagopalan recommended adding this to the water conservation opportunities for campus: http://www.ecobluecorp.com/testimonials.php.

A long-term energy savings plan has been developed for 18 buildings which will consist of multiple agreements with Energy Service Companies (ESCO). These efforts are focused primarily on research facilities which have large energy demands and high potential for savings. The first contract associated with the plan has been approved by the Board of Trustees for $1.4M and will evaluate Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, Engineering Sciences Building, Loomis Laboratory, Superconductivity Center, and Micro & Nanotechnology Laboratory. An added benefit to these contracts is the ability to invest in upgraded systems using energy saving revenue which can improve facility operations and reduce deferred maintenance as well.

There are some environmental advocates who oppose using wood chips for energy. 

This YouTube video includes the following description: "Forests are also one of our best defenses against global warming, absorbing vast amounts of carbon pollution out of the air. But power companies are increasingly proposing to burn whole trees for energy. Trees are not a "carbon neutral" fuel source. Just like coal, when trees are burned in power plants, the carbon they have accumulated over long periods of time is released into the atmosphere. Unlike coal, however, trees will continue to absorb carbon if left alone. So burning forests for energy not only emits a lot of carbon, but also degrades our carbon sinks. This video shows what happens to the balance of carbon between and forest and the atmosphere when we burn forests to produce energy instead of leaving them standing to continue to absorb and store carbon. Burning forests for electricity is dirty and destructive!" 

It is shared by the Natural Resources Defence Council.

Joyce Mast is coordinating a Request for Purchase to buy and install the solar panels that will go on top of the ECE Building.  The building already has the structural supports for the panels, so the purchase will include the racks, PV panels, and inverters.  Joyce is working with ECE's administrative office, the Purchasing Department, and F&S Capital Programs to facilitate this RFP.

Al Stratman, Carl Wegel, Ryan Welch, and Morgan Johnston met to discuss the requirements for applying for Tree Campus USA recognition.  Al directed Morgan and Ryan to pursue the application for this fall.  Morgan will take the lead, with Ryan handling a lot of the needed writing effort.

There are five requirements to get recognized as a Tree Campus USA:

1. Establish a “Campus Tree Advisory Committee”
   
   1. Membership must include a student, a Grounds representative, a faculty member, and a community member.
   2. We are hopeful that the Arboretum would organize this committee, chair it, staff it, and we would just need to attend and participate.
   3. The required responsibilities are unclear in the Tree Campus program, but we would not need to give them any authority over us.
2. Campus Tree Care Plan
   
   1. must include
      
      1. Clearly stated purpose.
      2. Responsible authority/department - who enforces the Campus Tree Care Plan. – F&S
      3. Establishment of a Campus Tree Advisory Committee, terms of the representatives, and role committee plays. – see above
      4. Campus tree care policies for planting, landscaping, maintenance and removal including establishing and updating a list of recommended and prohibited species; managing for catastrophic events. – we would need to document the maintenance and removal policies
      5. Protection and Preservation policies and procedures - include process for implementing tree protection plan including step-by-step process that every project must follow including construction and trenching. – in the standards
      6. Goals and Targets - develop at least one goal and target for your Campus Tree Plan. These could include (but are not limited to) tree canopy target, development of a link between the Campus Tree Plan and other green initiatives on campus or in the community; completion of a campus-wide tree inventory, etc. Include how the goal will be measured. – the goal could be to update and maintain the tree inventory, currently at about 75% for tree locations
      7. Tree damage assessment - enforcement, penalties, and appeals. – we would need to complete and document this policy
      8. Prohibited practices. – in the standards
      9. Definitions of terminology related to campus trees.
      10. Communication strategy - how the campus tree care plan will be communicated to the college community and contractors to heighten awareness about policies and procedures as well as the goals of the institution. – in collaboration with Arboretum, CRC, and possibly iSEE
   2. F&S would take the lead on developing this plan.  The advisory committee could be the primary reviewers.  Morgan can help facilitate this.
3. Campus Tree Program with Dedicated Annual Expenditures
   
   1. Grounds has a dedicated budget for trees.  Ryan noted that right now we are at about $200K per year including replacements, 2 tree surgeons and 2 grounds workers
   2. Ryan would need to develop a regular process for summarizing this data to record as evidence of the funding.
   3. We could expand this effort to collect financial information from other units that handle trees on campus, such as the Arboretum
4. Arbor Day Observance
   
   1. The Arboretum is the natural lead for an Arbor Day Observance event each year.  They have indicated interest in helping with this program. 
   2. We would definitely be involved, but we would prefer they take the lead for developing and organizing the event.
   3. Certain items would need to be tracked: activity program, news coverage, pictures, and I recommend tracking participation rates.
5. Service Learning Project
   
   1. “This should provide an opportunity to engage the student population with projects related to trees and can be part of a campus of community initiative.”
   2. We agree that a student project could be to locate the campus trees and enter basic information (size?).
   3. The project must be completed within the course of the year the application is submitted.
   4. The Arboretum could help coordinate this effort.  We could get a professor to do it in a class.  Morgan can assist with the coordination of this project.

The application is due in December for the year completed, so we would need to complete this effort this fall in order to qualify for next year.

Ben,

     We will take a look at this.   But there are two points I'd like to make right away:

1. It does not appear that California considers this renewable energy (nor does Illinois, as you say):

http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=CA25R&re=0&ee=0

2.  Since this source of methane is exhaustible, I don't see any rationale to consider it renewable.   It may be a worthwhile thing to do, but that is a separate issue.   Renewable is a high standard.

                Scott

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

Hi Scott,

You raise a fantastic point that mine gas is not renewable in the sense that of renewing itself indefinitely (in contrast to wind and solar). 

However, like landfill gas, there appears to be a clear climate benefit to utilizing it rather than allowing it to leak to the atmosphere.

I suppose I should rephrase my question: should the campus consider mine gas (or landfill gas) as helping to meet our climate goals, and if so how should it fit in?  Should we consider it on the same playing field as true renewables?  Or should we separately pursue it as a way of reducing our CO2 emissions in the energy sector, but not count it towards our renewables goals?

Thanks very much,

Ben

From: Milbrandt, Janet
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 2:02 PM
To: Lavey, Warren Gary; McCall, Benjamin; Bartels, Bart A
Cc: Bohlen, Kayci; Taylor, Mark A
Subject: RE: new State of Illinois UPS contract

I am forwarding you to the Sourcing Office for the University of IL.

From: Lavey, Warren Gary
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 9:27 AM
To: Milbrandt, Janet; McCall, Benjamin; Bartels, Bart A
Subject: new State of Illinois UPS contract

Hello, Janet.  The State of Illinois is implementing a new contract with UPS for ground and air package delivery services.  UIUC is an eligible customer under this contract.

This contract was awarded pursuant to the Illinois Transportation Sustainability Procurement Program Act of 2013, with environmental factors comprising 20 percent of the bidder evaluation criteria.  The contract includes provisions for tracking emissions and fuel consumption related to the services provided.  Alternative fuels, including biofuels, and cleaner vehicles are encouraged for UPS's services under this contract. I don't have any information on the rates under the new contract.

Can you arrange a meeting with UIUC's UPS contract representative to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of migrating UIUC's shipments from UIUC's existing UPS contract to the new State of Illinois contract?  I would like to participate in this meeting.

Thanks and best wishes.

Construction is underway.  The 3rd and 2nd floors are mostly complete. Unfortunately we’re finding that the sensor coverage is not quite as broad as the spec sheets say, so there’s been a change order for some additional devices.