In the past two years, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has made a substantial and systemic commitment to sustainability. This commitment is expressed in our strategic plan, in the development of a campus Sustainability Council, a new Office of Sustainability, and in a host of other ways that impact our curriculums, physical design, and our daily practices.
See file.
The lighting fixtures in the English Building were changed from T-12 fixtures to T-8 fixtures as part of the ICECF Lighting Retrofit. In this facility, 1,006 fixtures were changed. This will allow an Annual kWh Savings of 245,319 hours. The Simple Payback for changing the fixtures in the English Building is 1.31 years. Occupancy sensors were also installed in the lighting retrofit of this building in order to provide further energy savings.
Phase 2 of the LED Exit Sign project to replace incandescent exit signage with LED fixtures started on June 30, 2008. This phase of the project will replace fixtures in the Armory, Foellinger Auditorium, Harding Band Building, Illini Hall, the Optical Physics Building, the Illinois Program for Research & Humanities, the Architecture Building, Noble Hall, the Art & Design Building, the Music Building, Flagg Hall, and University High School.
In May 2008, ICECF approved the university's request to build only one wind turbine instead of three because of insufficient funding (based on estimates from GE Wind Energy proposal).
In February 2008, the students leaders in the environment movement wrote letters to the Provost Linda Katehi, Chancellor Robert Herman, and Facilities and Services Administration, Dr. John Dempsey. These letters were signed by the student leaders and expressed their excitement and support to the project.
In FY08, the UI funded a Transit Analysis for the University District by MAB. The study reviewed options for Bus Rapid Tramsit lines and methods for reducing bus traffic on Wright Street.
In December 2007, Electrical Utility Estimate was performed by the engineers of ITG - Henneman Engineering, Inc.
The project proposal was received from GE Wind Energy on September 10th 2007, and opened on September 16th 2007. According to the proposal, the estimate for construction is a range of $11.4 million to $12.6 million and for the total project budget would be $12.1 million to $13.4 million.
Also, GE Wind Energy proposal stated an October 1, 2007 expiration date! This estimate infers that the university's current budget ($5.7 million) is enough to build only one turbine.
GE Wind Energy were the only ones who would quote the University of Illinois. (Vistas said they were not taking orders for anything less than 30 MW, however, the UI project was for only 4.5 MW)
GE could not meet the August 16th deadline and therefore, the university extended the deadline to September 20th. The university received GE's proposal on September 10th. However, GE quoted the turbines to be delivered by late 2009 or early 2010.
Phase 1 of the LED Exit Sign project will replace incandescent exit signage with LED fixtures in facilities used for the Engineering Open House. The building involved are the Material Sciences and Engineering Building, the Mechanical Engineering Building, the Transportation Building, Altgeld Hall, Morrill Hall, Burrill Hall, Noyes Laboratory, and the Undergraduate Library.
We received the final report from EAPC, regarding the proposed wind turbines.
The parking was removed from Gregory Drive, and a continuous on-street bike lane was striped in both directions, in alignment with the CATS endorsement of complete streets. The old bike path near the sidewalk had striping removed.
In June 2007, the News-Gazette published the article "UI making concerted effort to conserve energy".
On June 20, 2007, campus released a Request for Proposal for the UIUC south campus wind turbine project.
Midwest Engineering Services, Inc. completed a geotechnical exploration for three proposed wind turbines to determine and evaluate the subsurface conditions and to establish related parameters for use by the design engineers.
The Chancellor at Urbana recommends for approval of a refundable $5-per-semester Sustainable Campus Environment fee, effective fiscal year 2008, based on a student referendum held on March 6 and 7, 2007. This is in addition to the $2 per-semester fee approved in 2003.
Rain, rain, come this way
The campus’s first rain garden, the Red Oak Rain Garden, southwest of Allen Hall, was dedicated April 19. The rain garden collects storm water, directing it away from sidewalks into a garden planted with native plants that soak up the water and improve the quality of groundwater. Students designed and installed the sculptures and the garden, which is a Building a Lasting University Environment (BLUE) project funded by Facilities and Services in conjunction with the Environmental Council.
Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation grant extension:
The 2007 University of Illinois Master Plan includes a composting site on the South Farms Master Plan map.
In December 2006, Facilities and Services held a meeting with College of ACES to negotiate the location of the towers. ACES's approval was required for the FAA submit.
