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Projects Updates for theme: all

  1. Law student group - weekly meeting 2/15/23

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bike Share with Veo

    Sarthak Prasad met with Warren Lavey, Matt Musipa, Emily Sajkowski, and Habeeb Adekola on Feb 8, 2023. We discussed the concession agreement and the dissolution of the Bike Share IGA between the City of Champaign, City of Urbana, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and to incorporate the relevant information from the IGA to the concession agreement.

    The student group will share the draft amendment during the next week's meeting. Sarthak Prasad will get them a contract template (ZipCar) for reference. The student group will send the final draft by Friday, February 24, 2023, so that Sarthak Prasad can do a final review before sending it to the Contract Specialist by Feb 28, 2023.

  2. Resilience iCAP Team February Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Resilience iCAP Team

    Resilience iCAP Team had its February meeting virtually on Friday, February 10th, at 1 PM. The team discussed the revised Sustainability Economics Analysis Recommendation, next steps for Coordinated Rainwater Management Plan project, and additional help for Biodiversity Master Plan project. 

    Meeting minutes are attached. 

    Attached Files: 

  4. February 10, 2023 Illini Lights Out

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out

    At Friday's Illini Lights Out event, 3,694 light bulbs were shut off that otherwise would have been left on all weekend, saving $562 in energy costs. This also prevented 4.5 metric tons of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 4,996 pounds of coal being burned. That's a huge impact!

     

    The next Illini Lights Out event is on Friday, February 24th, and you can sign up using this link. Stay up to date with other sustainability-related events and news by signing up for the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) newsletter here!

     

    Illini Lights Out addresses objectives 2.2 and 2.2.2 of the iCAP, or Illinois Climate Action Plan, to increase energy efficiency and reduce building-level energy. Find out about other iCAP objectives here and read the entire iCAP here.

     

    Illini Lights Out is a certified Green Event! Click this link to learn how to green-certify your own event.

  6. iSEE Green Event and Chapter Certifications

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Green Chapter Program
    Certified Green Event Program
    Certified Greener Campus Programs

    Congratulations to the newest recipients of our Green Event and Green Chapter certification programs! 

    Green Chapter: Kappa Delta, Gold, Recertified February 2023

    Green Event:

    -Krannert Art Museum SPEAK Cafe: Rest and Rejuvention, Certified February 2023

    -F&S, iSEE, DIA, Coca-Cola partnered event Zero Waste Basketball Game, Certified February 2023

    -University of Illinois Office of the Chancellor for Special Events Holonyak Memorial, Certified February 2023

    -Office of the Chancellor for Special Events Filler Scholar Dinner, Certified February 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events University of Pretoria Dinner, Certified February 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events Strategic Planning Summit, Certified February 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events Illinois vs. Rutgers Men's Basketball Game, Certified February 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events Illinois vs. Minnesota Men's Basketball Game, Certified February 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events Illinois vs. Northwestern Men's Basketball, Certified February 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events Illinois vs. Michigan Men's Basketball, Certified February 2023

    -Chancellor's Office for Special Events University-wide Commencement Ceremony, Certified February 2023

    Keep up the great work!

       


     

  8. Sustainability Career Panel Newsletter

    Associated Project(s): 
    Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS)
    Sustainability at Career Fairs

    Image

    SECS Newsletter 02/13/2022

    WHEN: Wednesday, February 15, 2022

    TIME: 5:30 - 7:30 PM

    WHERE: Campus Instructional Facility, Room 2035 (1405 W. Springfield Avenue)

    Image

    Happy Monday! I hope you guys are enjoying the sweater weather outside! We will take a break from our projects this week as our sustainability career panel will take place on Wednesday at the CIF. The panel will feature leaders from the Illinois EPA, Illinois Environmental Council, Prairie Rivers Network, Urbana Park District, Sola Gratia Farm, and more. This event will be broken into two 50-minute sections separated by a break, and there will be plenty of time for a Q&A session. Food will be provided (👀), with vegetarian-friendly options available.

    Also, don't forget about our Valentine's Day fundraiser this Tuesday! Stop by our table at the quad from 12-4 to buy some V-Day cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and roses! If you want to bake out or help, it's not too late - use this link to sign up. Thank you!


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    We hope to see you on Wednesday! Go green or go HOME!

     




     

     

    Join the Discord!

     

  9. Funding Approval for Micro-Agrivoltaics - Salvage of Equipment

    Associated Project(s): 
    Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) with Second Nature
    Agrivoltaics: Crop Production and Solar Panels on the Same Land
    Ground Mounted Solar PVs BRC Research Test Bed [ARCHIVED]

    Ehab Kamarah and Madhu Khanna approved $10,000 in funding to support Agrivoltaics projects on campus.

    Tim Mies sent the following email excerpt to Madhu Khanna on Feb 7, 2023:

    I would like to update a bit on how this project might go forward, and ask for your thoughts on possible funding to complete this project (connect to campus grid).

     

    Carl to date has purchased 3 solar frames which can hold up to 72 of the size panel I have in storage (from the 2007 Solar Decathlon house).  Unfortunately I have only 40 panels, which will lead to a gaps in shading with only 12 panels per structure.

     

    My initial intention was to apply to SSC for funding to fill the space, purchase inverters, and hire electricians to connect to the campus grid.  This application would occur after the initial goal, shading research plots, is complete.

     

    Since this last email, I was contacted by Brent Lewis at F&S regarding potential surplus panels available immediately due to a demolition project under way for the failed building the panels connect to.  The picture below shows 60 panels of larger capacity (245 watt instead of 180) that would be able to fully populate the footprint of Carl’s frames.  In addition, there are inverters and ancillary connection parts that can likely be reused to allow these panels continued production on the campus grid.

     

    A ballpark estimate from F&S would be 5-10K to salvage all of the panels and equipment.   Do you think there would be support from Ehab to utilize carbon credit funds to at least salvage the panels and reinstall on the new frames?  I would be willing to apply to SSC again for the final connection if carbon funds could not cover this all.

  11. It's official! ECE is Net Zero Certified!

    Associated Project(s): 
    ECE Net-Zero Energy Building

    https://ece.illinois.edu/newsroom/news/net-zero-certification

    The Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has become the university’s first zero energy certified facility through innovative facility design and clean energy produced on campus. All of the operational energy associated with the building is now offset through a combination of on-site solar production and solar renewable energy credits (SRECs), which earned the 238,000 gross square foot facility official Zero Energy (ZE) Certification from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI).

    According to ECE department head Bruce Hajek, “achieving net zero energy was an aspirational goal of everyone who contributed to the project and is the embodiment of the teaching and cutting-edge discovery excellence taking place in this world-class facility. The ability to meet this goal—in less than 10 years since the building’s opening—by using solar energy generated on campus showcases the relentless campus focus on reducing carbon emissions and what is possible through collaboration and leadership in this critical area.”

    The ECE Building produces about 11 percent of its energy through its rooftop array, a 300 kW setup featuring 970 panels. The rest of its consumption is supported through SRECs from Solar Farm 2.0, a 12.32 megawatt (MWdc) utility-scale installation on south campus bordering the Village of Savoy.

    Aerial view of Solar Farm 2.0 south of campus.Aerial view of the Solar Farm 2.0 south of campus. (Photo courtesy of Jim Baltz)

    The IFLI standard for meeting ZE certification includes accounting for all heating, cooling, and other energy a facility uses. Any non-electrical consumption is converted to a kilowatt-hour electricity equivalent to assess the efficiency performance and necessary offset. The certification process required a full year for verification and guarantees for continued zero energy operation into the future. Offsite renewable energy production must also be located within the same regional power grid and linked to building energy usage.

    Ehab Kamarah, associate vice chancellor and executive director of Facilities & Services, said, “Being an active partner with ECE on these types of projects is an example of why the university is a recognized leader in sustainable building design, construction, operations, and on-site renewable energy production. Finalizing this certification is a credit to the U of I’s expertise in solar innovation and expanding clean energy portfolio.”

    Reaching energy conservation and clean energy targets as a part of overall sustainability efforts is fundamental to Illinois’ land-grant university mission. The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) is the university’s strategic plan to meet the Climate Leadership Commitments, including becoming carbon neutral as soon as possible and building resilience to climate change in the local community. The Urbana campus renewable energy portfolio already meets more than 12 percent of annual electricity needs.

    The ECE building is a sustainable learning laboratory with features that reduce energy consumption and help make zero energy a reality. In November 2019, the building achieved LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for advanced energy efficiency features, such as LED and fluorescent lighting, intelligent systems to optimize energy usage, excellent space configuration, recycled materials incorporation, and other green design attributes. The facility was designed with most windows facing south for optimal daylighting, heat recovery chillers, chilled beams, exhaust heat recovery wheels, and occupancy sensors. Also, following the opening, the F&S Retrocommissioning team worked to enhance building control systems for peak efficiency by modifying programming, set points, and some controls.

    <<see video of solar panels at https://youtu.be/iU4SqjMxB1A>> 

    Many characteristics of the ECE Building directly contribute to research and educational use. A section of the rooftop solar array connects to a major research laboratory in the building and provides hands-on experience with photovoltaic technology. There is a weather station on the roof for collecting data about conditions that affect solar production, like wind speed, temperature, humidity, insolation, and cloud cover. For all visitors, interactive digital signs show updated energy usage and a power dashboard in the building’s atrium.

    More information about the ECE building is available at: https://ece.illinois.edu/about/buildings/energy-efficiency

  12. ISTC assists Project Revert to Earth with project inception

    Associated Project(s): 
    Project Revert to Earth

    From: Scrogum, Joy Joann <jscrogum@illinois.edu>
    Sent: Friday, February 10, 2023 2:11 PM
    To: Kim, Hannah <hannahk9@illinois.edu>
    Cc: Jacobson, Debra F <djacobso@illinois.edu>; Feher, Savannah <sfeher@illinois.edu>; Samaras, Zach <zsamaras@illinois.edu>; Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>; Patterson, Shawn L <spttrsn@illinois.edu>
    Subject: Food waste on UIUC campus

     

    Hello, Hannah. I’m a member of the Technical Assistance Program (TAP) at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC). You recently contacted our director, Kevin OBrien, about a project you’re planning related to separating food waste from the rest of the waste stream to see if this might improve capture and quality of recyclable materials at the Waste Transfer Station. Kevin suggested in his reply that TAP may be able to help you because of our work on zero waste projects and interest in food waste reduction in particular, and he copied Debra Jacobson, who leads TAP, on his reply. She in turn discussed your inquiry with our zero waste team—Zach Samaras, Savannah Feher, and myself—and we reached out to Daphne Hulse, our campus zero waste coordinator at UI Facilities & Services (F&S) to discuss this further. TAP has worked with F&S on multiple waste management projects over the years, and have been discussing potential campus waste audits that are tentatively planned for the fall.

     

    Daphne recalled that you were recently part of a tour of the Waste Transfer Station and that you had spoken briefly about this with her and Shawn Patterson, who oversees operations at the transfer station. All of us—ISTC TAP and F&S staff—are interested in learning more about your ideas and supporting you however we can. We’re all passionate about improving waste management on campus and love to see students showing interest and initiative!

     

    Note that of our TAP crew, I’m the only one based here in Champaign, but we’ve all worked with this and other universities on waste management projects. TAP staff won’t be able to directly advise you if you require a faculty advisor for your project, but we’re happy to work with F&S to help you think through logistics, potential challenges, and how best to take your next steps. If we’re not able to serve as official advisors, we’ll do whatever we can to help you identify campus contacts who can.

     

    For the sake of efficiency, we’d like to try to schedule a conversation with you, TAP’s zero waste team, Daphne, and Shawn so we all hear about your ideas directly from you and can better collaborate. Before I send out a poll to select a time for a Zoom or Microsoft Teams meeting, I want to be respectful of your class schedule. Please let me know if there are particular days/times M-F between 8 AM and 5 PM that you’re regularly free from school or work obligations. From there, I’ll create and send out a poll so we can schedule a virtual meeting that works for everyone’s schedules.

     

    We look forward to learning more about your ideas. Best wishes,

    Joy

     

    Joy Scrogum
    Assistant Scientist, Sustainability
    LEED Green Associate | Sustainability Excellence Professional (SEP)
    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    Prairie Research Institute
    Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC)
    Champaign, IL 61820
    217.333.8948 | jscrogum@illinois.edu
    www.istc.illinois.edu | www.prairie.illinois.edu

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyscrogum/
     
    Bu0VAhW8+s0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=

    Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act any written communication to or from university employees regarding university business is a public record and may be subject to public disclosure.

  13. Energy Farm Mini Agrivoltaics

    Associated Project(s): 
    Agrivoltaics: Crop Production and Solar Panels on the Same Land
    Carbon Credit Purchasing Program (C2P2) with Second Nature
    Ground Mounted Solar PVs BRC Research Test Bed [ARCHIVED]

    Below is an email from Madhu Khanna regarding the energy farm mini agrivoltaics. 

     

    From: Khanna, Madhu <khanna1 at illinois.edu> 
    Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2023 3:37 AM
    To: Kamarah, Ehab <ekamarah at illinois.edu>; White, Morgan <mbwhite at illinois.edu>
    Subject: Energy Farm mini agrivoltaics

     

    Hi Ehab

     

    While we are waiting for doing the agrivoltaic experiments at Solar Farm 2 and build our own AV farm, Carl Bernacchi has been working on creating a small AV experiment at the Energy Farm with a few solar panels that can be set up to grow vegetables underneath. This project will generate solar energy that will be connected to the campus grid.

     

    Tim Mies and Carl Bernacchi have sent the following information.  Carl has used his USDA funds to purchase solar frames. They have been able to acquire panels from storage and  Brent Lewis at F&S.  But need $5-10K to salvage the panels and reinstall them.

     

    Can we approve up to $10K funds from the carbon credit fund to cover these costs? Tim plans to apply for SSC funding as well and if he gets funding then these costs can come down. We can justify it as a project that will contribute to increasing renewable energy generation in the future.

     

    Best

    Madhu

     

     

     

    Madhu Khanna

    Pronouns: she, her

    Alvin H. Baum Family Chair & Director, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment

    ACES Distinguished Professor in Environmental Economics

    Co-Director, Center for Economics of Sustainability

    University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

    1301, W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801

     

    email: khanna1@illinois.edu; phone: 217-333-5176; fax: 217-333-5538

     

    http://ace.illinois.edu/directory/madhu-khanna

    https://ceos.illinois.edu/bio-khanna

    https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LPH4gbUAAAAJ&hl=en

     

    https://illinois.zoom.us/j/2173335176?pwd=Ri8rTzQ0S1RxZHpiY2tEWVdaSlhtZz09

     

    _____________________________________________________________________

    From: Mies, Tim <tmies at illinois.edu> 
    Sent: Tuesday, February 7, 2023 1:50 PM
    To: Khanna, Madhu <khanna1 at illinois.edu>
    Cc: Bernacchi, Carl J <bernacch at illinois.edu>
    Subject: Energy Farm mini agrivoltaics

     

     

    Good Morning Madhu,

     

    I would like to update a bit on how this project might go forward, and ask for your thoughts on possible funding to complete this project (connect to campus grid).

     

    Carl to date has purchased 3 solar frames which can hold up to 72 of the size panel I have in storage (from the 2007 Solar Decathlon house).  Unfortunately I have only 40 panels, which will lead to a gaps in shading with only 12 panels per structure.

     

    My initial intention was to apply to SSC for funding to fill the space, purchase inverters, and hire electricians to connect to the campus grid.  This application would occur after the initial goal, shading research plots, is complete.

     

    Since this last email, I was contacted by Brent Lewis at F&S regarding potential surplus panels available immediately due to a demolition project under way for the failed building the panels connect to.  The picture below shows 60 panels of larger capacity (245 watt instead of 180) that would be able to fully populate the footprint of Carl’s frames.  In addition, there are inverters and ancillary connection parts that can likely be reused to allow these panels continued production on the campus grid.

     

    A ballpark estimate from F&S would be 5-10K to salvage all of the panels and equipment.   Do you think there would be support from Ehab to utilize carbon credit funds to at least salvage the panels and reinstall on the new frames?  I would be willing to apply to SSC again for the final connection if carbon funds could not cover this all.

     

    Please let me know if you have any additional questions or clarifications that we can provide.


    Best,
    Tim

     

    Attached Files: 

  14. Education iCAP Team February Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Education iCAP Team
    100-Level Courses

    The education iCAP Team met for its February meeting on Monday, February 6th, at 4 PM. The team had Resilience iCAPTeam chair Stacy Gloss as a guest. Stacy presented the Sustainability Economic Analysis Recommendation of the Resilience iCAP Team, and the team discussed some revisions and educational support ideas for the recommendation. Afterward, the team discussed incorporating sustainability into 100-level courses.

    Meeting minutes are attached. 

    Attached Files: 

  16. Alec & Sarthak Meet to Discuss Alec's progress on the BFU App

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bicycle Friendly University Status
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]
    Reduce Driving on Campus

    Alec McKay & Sarthak Prasad met on 1/30/2023 and 2/8/2023 to discuss Alec's progress on reading over the Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) related materials.

     

    Alec read and took notes on the 2015 BFU application and the 2015 BFU Feedback. His notes are attached below.

    Attached Files: 

  17. Weekly capstone meetings: Meeting from 1/25 and 2/1

    Associated Project(s): 
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Independent Student Projects

    1/25 Meeting Recap:

    • Sarthak introduces the project to Ethan in their first meeting via zoom. They are expected to develop the planning process for the development of the 2024 Bicycle Plan, which is expounding upon the former 2014 Bicycle Plan. Next school year, Ethan would work alongside Sarthak in developing the plan itself. 
    • Firstly, Sarthak wants Ethan to read all of the relevant readings for understanding the context of this project, especially the 2014 Bicycle Plan and report/updates on that plan since then. Sarthak introduces the iCAP portal to Ethan and grants him access to the reports/to make edits to the developing projects. 
    • Ethan to start the readings before the next meeting on (2/1).

     

    2/1 Meeting Recap

    • Sarthak and Ethan met via zoom to discuss Ethan’s progress in familiarizing himself with the 2014 Bicycle Plan and its other relevant documents and reports. 
    • Ethan read 30 pages of the 2014 Plan so far, and had two questions for Sarthak. One was in regard to the scope of the 2024 Plan’s recommendations. Specifically, Ethan was wondering to what degree will their 2024 Plan discuss campus connectivity with the greater Champaign-Urbana areas. Sarthak said that he would need to get a confirmation from his colleagues, but he believes that the scope of this plan should only encompass the campus district. This considers the main campus, but also the adjacent northwest area that contains mostly residential and commercial spaces. This campus district stretches to the northbound-southbound railroad tracks west of campus and up to University Avenue. 
    • Ethan’s second question was in regard to the goals listed in the executive summary versus the desired outcomes listed in the introduction. The executive summary lists the primary goals of the entire plans while the introduction’s outcomes describe the specific goals of the bikeway network improvement project. 
    • Sarthak shows Ethan how to post updates to the 2024 Bicycle Plan on the iCAP portal. Ethan will begin posting his weekly updates based on their weekly meetings there. 
    • Sarthak advised Ethan to finish reading the 2014 Bicycle Plan by next week’s meeting (2/8) and to finish the rest of the relevant readings/reports by the end of the month (February). 
    Attached Files: 

  19. Law student group - Update to the Veo Contracts

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bike Share with Veo

    Sarthak Prasad met with Warren Lavey on Feb 3, 2023 to discuss the possibility of working with some students from Department of Law  to work on the amendment of the University's concession agreement with Veo. Matt Musipa, Habeeb Adekola, and Emily Sajkoski showed interest in this project. The initial introductory meeting was held on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 with all mentioned to discuss the project and the timeline. F&S TDM has to provide the Contract Specialist with the suggested amendments by the end of February.

  20. Weekly capstone meetings: Meeting from 2/8

    Associated Project(s): 
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Independent Student Projects

    Sarthak and Ethan met in person to discuss Ethan’s updates on his readings on the former 2014 Bicycle Plan. He has completed his review of the 2014 Plan and will delve into the progress reports and updates reports published in 2019, 2022, and 2023 for next week to see which projects have been completed, changed, or left unfinished indefinitely. He will also review the feedback from the League of American Bicyclists based on the University’s Bronze Bicycle Friendly Status awarded in 2019. The goal is to receive Gold Status this August, if not in 2027 because the review is done every 4 years. A main aspect of the 2024 Bicycle Plan will be to achieve Platinum Status by 2031. Sarthak also assured Ethan that many of the projects of the 2014 plan have since been completed which will be seen in the update/progress reports. Ethan’s to do list is to finish his readings relevant to the 2024 Bicycle Plan, such as the update reports. Also, he must begin preparing to consolidate the work he and Sarthak have done. This will then be presented to Sarthak’s bosses which will focus on the plan for this semester and the next two semesters.

    Attached Files: 

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