This project is the first major step towards using renewable energy sources for campus power needs. The 2010 iCAP: A Climate Action Plan included the goal of using renewable energy sources for at least 25% of campus energy by 2025. This will help the University of Illinois achieve its climate commitment to being carbon neutral by 2050. The first interim target for renewables is to obtain 5% of campus electrical needs from renewables by 2015. The Solar Farm project was conceived as a method to reach that full 5%; however due to space limitations only 20.5 acres was available for the Solar Farm. This acreage will generate 2.18% of the anticipated 2015 electrical demand combined with the Business Instructional Facility rooftop solar array. The full 20 year project cost is estimated as $15,525,926, including the inverter warranties. The Solar Farm will increase the cost of electricity over 20 years by $5,297,218. The majority of this subsidy will come from utility rates for the campus, which will increase approximately $0.0006/kwh. SSC is providing a subsidy for the net present value of 25 percent of the subsidy. This request is for $1,050,000, payable in annual installments of $350,000 per year for three years, starting in fiscal year 2014.

This project will have three primary impacts on campus. 1) It will reduce carbon emissions by nearly 6000 metric tons of carbon-dioxide-equivalent each year. 2) It will be a highly visible and notable sustainability project that will be included in numerous sustainability discussions both on and off campus. 3) It will be the first major implementation of an iCAP project taking social, environmental, and economic aspects of sustainability into consideration, rather than only economic pay-back considerations. Additionally, although this project is on a greenspace site, there will not be increased run-off from the site because of the many open areas between panels. After ten years, there will be an opportunity for campus researchers to seek ways to continue to produce food from land that holds solar panels. Finally, while the old barn at the Cruze site is not on the historic register, the wood will be salvaged from the barn so that it does not go into a landfill or get burned for disposal.