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Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) (Ongoing)

Project History

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Project Family

Description

The Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) was established in 2011 as a financing source for utility conservation projects requested by departments with a less than 10-year payback period. The savings from steam, electricity, and chilled or potable water costs are paid back annually, based on initially calculated savings. The RLF can grow through a direct allocation from the Chancellor, President, or Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) or through grant funding (e.g. Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity or Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation). 

 

Background

As of FY14, the emission factors for the following forms of energy used on campus are as follows:

  • Electricity: 0.821 kg CO2 / kWh
  • Propane: 5.22 kg CO2 / gallon
  • Steam: 28.9 kg CO2/ 1000 pounds of steam

The Revolving Loan Fund is managed by Facilities & Services (F&S) Utility and Energy Services that calculates cost avoidance from an RLF project using the fully loaded utility rates. The loan will be repaid at a fixed 1% interest rate with an annual payment equal to the calculated annual savings until the loan is fully repaid. When a project is funded by multiple funding sources, the annual savings to be returned to the RLF will be calculated by the payback associated with the work completed by the entire project.

Project Submission and Selection

Potential projects will be solicited from campus units by F&S Utility and Energy Services when there is at least $1M in funds available for allocation. Projects will be submitted through a web​-based PDF form by the requesting campus department. 

Project selection will be handled through the RLF Committee that includes the Executive Director of Facilities and Services, Associate Provost for Capital Planning, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Student Sustainability Committee Chair, Illinois Student Senate President, and a representative of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment. The Committee will meet on a semiannual basis to approve/reject projects. 

Project selection will be based on the following weighted criteria: 

  1. Payback Period (30%)
    Project has a short payback period.
  2. Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (25%) 
    Does this project reduce greenhouse gas emissions for campus?
  3. Revolving Loan Fund Size Impact (20%)
    Projects that increase the Revolving Loan Fund size through grants or additional allocations.
  4. Visibility (5%)
    How visible/noticeable is the project to users of the facility, space and/or campus community?
  5. Project Coordination (20%)
    Projects that can be executed in conjunction with other planned or ongoing projects. The intent of the coordination is to make the RLF project more efficient to deliver for the University and/or departments.

Project Tracking 
Revolving Loan Fund projects are tracked using the Green Revolving Investment Tracking System (GRITS). This interactive system tracks annual energy, financial, and carbon savings from energy efficiency and other resource conservation measures.  ​

Website URL(s)

Total Balance in Revolving Loan Fund (Tracked by Fiscal Year)

Annotations

  • FY 2012:

    Includes original $1.5M and $750K from President's Office.

View details for metric: Total Balance in Revolving Loan Fund (Tracked by Fiscal Year)

Related Files

Project Team

  • Primary Contact:

    Josh Whitson

    Project Leader:

    Kent Reifsteck

    Team Members:

    • Mike Marquissee

Dates

  • Proposed January 1, 2010
    Proposed by Suhail Barot
    Approved May 1, 2010
    Approved by Richard Herman
    Started July 1, 2011
    Started by Bob Easter

Themes

Project Location(s)

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