With the final stage of Solar Farm 2.0, UIUC is now the third-largest producer of onsite clean power among U.S. universities. Solar Farm 2.0's completion marks the achievement of key sustainability goals nearly four years in advance.
Today, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Facilities & Services (F&S) announces the final stage of completion for Solar Farm 2.0, totaling 12.3 megawatts (DC), with the planting phase of the farm’s pollinator habitat commencing this month. The project is the second solar farm constructed at the U of I and achieves clean energy sustainability goals outlined in the university’s Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), nearly four years ahead of schedule.
The site’s 54 acres will serve as a major demonstration and research location for pollinator-friendly solar arrays. The University of Illinois Solar Farm 2.0 project exceeded the required 85 minimum points established by the State of Illinois’ Pollinator Friendly Solar Site Act.
A team of researchers will be measuring the impact of natural vegetation at the Solar Farm 2.0 grounds. Below the 31,122 bi-facial solar panels lie 54 acres perfect for pollinator-friendly plantings.
But how exactly does one calculate the plants’ effectiveness? How about: count the bugs.
Construction of a new 54-acre, 12.32 megawatt (MWdc) Solar Farm has been approved by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees as the sole member of Prairieland Energy, Inc. Referred to as "Solar Farm 2.0," the new utility-scale array will be located north of Curtis Road, between First Street and Dunlap Avenue near Savoy. Solar Farm 2.0 will produce approximately 20,000 megawatt-hours per year (MWh/year), nearly tripling the university’s existing on-site renewable energy generation.
The Solar Farm 2.0 developer will be planting the Solar Farm 2.0 site next week. On May 7, 2021, they will spray an herbicide mixture to prepare the site.Here are the details they provided:
Thank you for a great Earth Week, Illini! Here a few highlights:
Earth Month is here! Can you believe it? I would like to first draw your attention to the iSEE Sustainability Calendar as a reference point for the many virtual and in-person events (maintaining COVID-19 safety and social distancing precautions) held this month and beyond.
In its March 2021 edition, the F&S Insider addressed two of UIUC's innovative sources of energy: Solar Farm 2.0 and Geothermal Energy. The story highlights the origin, installation, and wide array of benefits stemming from the projects.
To read this story in-depth, please see the attached file below.
Attached is an email chain where William Pellico of the DOE Facility Fermilab in Batavia, IL inquires about the impact of UIUC's solar farm.
A Federal Renewable Energy Certificate Guide is also attached below.
Renewable energy at the UI "How much power is each of the renewable (University of Illinois) sources generating? How many houses can each provide power for? Are there plans to add more than what we currently have? How many years does it take for the cost of each to be paid off? We have a growing interest in this and many homes now also have this."
Morgan White, the UI's associate director of Facilities & Services for sustainability, has all your answers.
University Landscape Architect Brent Lewis approved the attached seed mix for the Solar Farm 2.0 project.
CCNet hosted several local solar panelists in January 2021. This Zoom meeting was also shared via Facebook Live:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=429039901765435&ref=watch_permalink
Sol Systems published a blog today sharing information about the collaborations with the UIUC Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Fellows program, the campus-wide minor in sustainability.
