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Projects Updates for Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

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  1. Campus Recreation Water Conservation Funding Agreement

    Water conservation initiatives have generally taken a back seat to energy conservation at the University of Illinois. Campus Recreation has proposed a comprehensive upgrade of restroom facilities in all three of their buildings, with the potential of reducing water consumption by almost 6.5 million gallons annually. This work would be highly visible to students and in a fellow student-fee supported unit. Thus, the Student Sustainability Committee is in favor of proving upto $30,000 in incentives at the rate of $0.30 per $1.00 spent.

  2. Green Allerton Wood-fired Boiler Funding Agreement

    The goal of this project is to replace a natural gas heating system at Allerton Park with an Outdoor Wood-fired Boiler System. This replacement will eliminate considerable CO2 emissions from the current system and result in substantial cost savings. The use of a renewable resource (wood) in place of a non-renewable one (natural gas), combined with the greenhouse gas emissions reduction will help increase campus sustainability, thus the Student Sustainability Committee is in favor of funding the full requested amount of $25,500.

  3. Green Link at School of Art + Design & Krannert Art Museum Funding Agreement

    The goal of this project is to construct a green roof atop the Link Gallery between the School of Art + Design and the Krannert Art Museum. This project will be implemented primarily by students and faculty of the School of Art + Design and will be in a highly visible campus location. It will help reduce energy costs at the facility and provide rain water for the surrounding gardens. As Facilities & Services is expected to cover half the cost of resurfacing the roof, the Student Sustainability Committee is in favor of partially funding the  proposal in the amount of $63,900.

  4. Shut the Sash Model Program Funding Agreement

    Lowering the sashes on laboratory chemical fume hoods (CFHs) can result in significant energy cost savings by reducing the volume of room air that has to be heated or cooled. This project will evaluate the resources, components, and best practices required to develop a model shut the sash program and implement it campus-wide for variable air volume (VAV) CFHs. If successful, the project could generate over $250,200 in annual cost savings. Thus, the Student Sustainability Committee is in favor of funding the full requested amount of $4,400.

  5. Power Plant Carbon Sequestration via Algae Biodiesel Production Funding Agreement

    The goal of this project is to construct an Algae Biodiesel Production Facility at Abott power plant. This facility will sequester some of the flue gases produced at Abott power plant while providing a renewable, carbon neutral fuel source for transportation.  The project offers potential for scaling, involves many student organizations and is also expected to be of research interest. Thus, the Student Sustainability Committee is in favor of partially funding the requested amount to the extent of $13,000

  6. Solar Decathlon 2009 Funding Agreement

    This proposal seeks to provide funding for student education centered around the University of Illinois’s participation in the 2011 US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Competition. Each student team participating in this prestigious, international competition is required to build an entirely solar-powered 800 sq. foot house with innovative design features. This grant will provide funds for the development of new courses and enhancement of existing courses, provisioning of course materials and software, and the sponsorship of guest lecturers and consultants ($25,000), the employment of graduate students in coordinating roles for education and volunteer engagement activities ($15,000), and student travel associated with the competition ($10,000). The last UI entry in the Solar Decathlon competition engaged hundreds of students and was the highest-placed US finisher in the Competition; furthermore this participation will require the team to raise $700,000 at a time of severe campus budget constraints. Thus, the Student Sustainability Committee is in favor of funding this proposal in the amount of $50,000.

  7. Bike Parking Funding Agreement

    The goal of this project is to fund installation of bicycle parking facilities at the Undergraduate Library, the Ag. Sciences Engineering Building and Freer Hall. Cycling is a sustainable form of transportation, highly used by the student body, and inadequately supported on campus. Thus the students sustainability committee is in favor of funding the full requested amount of $10,600.  

  8. Mapping Sustainability Class Funding Agreement

    The goal of this project is to help inform the campus and community of sustainability related programs, facilities and organizations in the Champaign-Urbana area. This grant will pay for a student RA and GPS equipment to support a class project to map the above, thus adding an educational component to this proposal.  Thus, the Student Sustainability Committee is in favor of funding the full requested amount of $3,200.

  9. SSC and SECS letter writing campaign

    In January 2009, the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS) wrote letters to the university administration (trustees, Chancellor and Provost’s offices, deans and assistant deans, department heads, faculty and senate faculty) asking for support for the campus wind farm project.

  10. Complaint letter from SSC and SECS

    Following the cancellation of the wind turbine project on South farms, the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS) wrote a complaint letter to the Chancellor Richard Herman. SSC and SECS expressed their disappointment about the decision as well as the timing of the decision. They were also upset because the university didn't discuss or consult with the student stakeholders in this decision.

  11. University proposal for turbine purchase

    The Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) posted this project summary online in September 2005. University Proposal to Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) for Turbine Purchase

    • Proposes to install three, 1.5 MW wind turbines on the campus South Farms.
    • Estimated total project capital cost will be $5,700,000.
    • UIUC requests $2,000,000 in aid from the ICECF Renewable Grant Program to help establish this wind turbine project.
    • The request is ~1/4 of the total cost ($1.4M), plus a two-to-one (2:1) match on the student fees ($600K).
    • To date, the student initiated “clean energy fee” has raised and committed $300,000 for this project.
    • Also, the university is investigating the possibility of an additional $250,000 in support directed by the Illinois Department of Community and Economic Opportunity through Vestas Wind Systems A/s.
    • The UIUC is prepared to fund the remaining $3,000,000+ in capital costs.
    • UIUC facilities will use 100% of the electricity generated by the wind turbines; the energy will feed directly into the University’s electric distribution system.
    • The wind turbines will displace electricity generated by natural gas turbines at the UIUC Abbot Power Plant and purchased electricity, depending on the time of day and year.
    • The three turbines will produce ~10,500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity (=2.7% of the total campus energy consumption).
    • Location: South Farms area- Curtis/Windsor Rd on the north and Old Church Rd on the south and by Philo Rd on the east and First St. on the west.
    • Wind turbines renewable energy production will annually eliminate the release of 6,700 tons of carbon dioxide, 32 tons of sulfur oxides and 15 tons of nitrogen oxides.
    • The turbines generation capacity will be enough for the UIUC to voluntarily meet the State of Illinois’ Renewable Portfolio Standard through December 31, 2007.
    • College of Engineering (Dean Ilesanmi Adesida) wrote a letter to ICECF supporting the project.
    • Robert Easter wrote a letter to ICECF saying that ACES “is delighted to support the proposal to install wind turbines”.
  12. Trustees approval of the student fee

    In June of 2003, University of Illinois became the first university in the state of Illinois to implement a student fee to support renewable energy projects when the UI Board of Trustees approved the student committee's proposal of $2-per-semester fee for clean energy projects. It was expected to generate $140,000-$160,000 per year, depending on student enrollment, which could be used as the seed money for the wind energy project. The funds would be allocated through a new committee called the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC).

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