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Project Updates

  2. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, predictably slow first week back at the Campus Bike Center. Hope everyone had a nice holiday! We totaled 10 visitors for last week. Grossed $63 for the week. Didn’t sell any bikes or even have anyone in working on a build-a-bike.

     

    Lily and I picked out three bikes for the Departmental Bike Share. The last of the new fix-it station pumps were installed. John, a Bike Project volunteer, came by to lend his architectural expertise in redesigning the bike tire storage space to be a little more efficient. I did a general inventory of wheels and was able to pull a bunch out for scrapping and reorganized the ones I am going to keep. I also found a dozen or so bikes that were beyond repair and needed to be stripped for parts.

     

    This week I will continue to parse out bikes and parts that are not salvageable which will in turn make the space a lot more useful and navigable for everyone. On Thursday I will be interviewing a student worker for the upcoming semester. I will install the new signage for the fix-it pumps this week as well.

    Sincerely,

     

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  5. KCPA ECIP funds to go towards several improvements

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)

    Krannert Center has identified several projects to tackle with the ECIP award funding: 

    • Recycling Bins and Bags - $5,000 (make in-house recycling efforts more efficient and accessible)
    • TCP Switch for Playhouse - $6,000 (electrical safety issue)
    • Imop -  $5,000 (water conservation)
    • Food Services Dishwashers - $9,750 (energy efficiency, water conservation, chemical usage reduction)
    • Energy efficient washer and dryers (2 each) for Festival Green Room -  $2,250 (energy efficiency, water conservation)
    • Ipad mini’s & Ipad & Secure Mounts for Attendant Access to Calendar and Event Sheets - $2,500  (reduce printed paper)
    • Reconfigure Stairs to Playhouse Pit  - $3,500 (safety issue correction)

    The dollar amounts listed are approximations.  Any additional funds not used for these items would be allocated to expanding the stock of replacement LED bulbs.

  6. Freezer Challenge launching January 15, 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam [ARCHIVED]
    Green Lab Program
    Freezer Challenge

    U of I Campus Labs Encouraged to Join Freezer Challenge

    Members of iSEE’s Energy Conservation & Building Standards Sustainability Working Advisory Team (ECBS SWATeam) invites U. of I. labs of all shapes and sizes laboratories on campus to register for the North American Laboratory Freezer Challenge, which uses friendly competition to optimize sustainability of freezer management in laboratories.

    Any type of laboratory is eligible to participate by working at its own pace to implement optimal cold storage management practices that save energy. Participating labs from the Illinois campus will receive special recognition from iSEE at the annual Sustainability Week Celebration and find themselves one step ahead toward Green Lab certification, a proposed program being discussed on campus and at iSEE. The competition has updated the awards to include individual lab awards, including a picture in Nature!

    Register by Jan. 15. More details can be found at the competition website >>>

     

  11. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, we had 33 visitors last week to the CBC. Our gross sales were $267.20. We sold 3 memberships for $90. Two pairs of bar mitts sold (one to Lily—she might have mentioned it) for $60. No B-a-Bs nor refurbished bikes.

    Last week Lily and I posted the job offer for more help at the CBC for next semester. As of today, I’ve already gotten almost a dozen responses! Unfortunately, most of them didn’t read the job description and are woefully and impressively both under- and overqualified for the position.

    Today is the only day I am working and then the CBC will be closed until the New Year.

    Happy holidays and a happy new year to all!

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  12. News Release - Solar Farm one year anniversary

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 1.0
    Use Clean Power

    In its first year of commercial operation from December 11, 2015, to December 10, 2016, the Solar Farm generated 7,284 megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean, renewable energy for the Urbana campus, successfully meeting expectations.

    solar farmUnder a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Phoenix Solar South Farms, LLC, the university acquires all of the power generated by the Solar Farm and all associated renewable energy credits and carbon credits. Notable first-year production achievements of the Solar Farm include:

    • Provided 1.95% of projected FY17 annual electricity consumption1
    • Supplied almost 14% of the campus electrical demand at noon on April 3, 2016
    • Delivered 900 MWh of power to the campus grid in June 2016, the highest month of production
    • Frequently generated over 4 MW of power; system capacity is 4.68 MWac
    • Reduced the campus carbon footprint by more than 6,000 metric tons of CO2e

    The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), the Urbana campus’ strategic sustainability plan, set a goal of obtaining at least 120,000 MWh of power per year from low-carbon sources by FY20. With the Solar Farm’s electrical production and the university’s wind PPA with Rail Splitter Wind Farm LLC, the campus is 25% of the way toward meeting this goal.

    Hourly information on the Solar Farm’s energy production and impact to campus since first-connected in November 2015 is available at: http://go.illinois.edu/solar.

    Attached Files: 

  13. Final Report by Logan Ebling

    Associated Project(s): 
    Departmental Bike Sharing
    Sustainability Minor

    Logan’s final paper. Pretty fun.

     

    Highlights:

    • “[Bicycle fleets] promotes positive social interactions.”
    • “..I think most of these worries go away [about bike fleets]… one issue that  I saw coming up almost every time a discussion …was money. While totally understandable, it is also frustrating that there is a lack of desire to spend even a low amount of money to purchase one bicycle for employee use.”
    • “…If they [departments] truly don’t have the money to spend, then perhaps the University as a whole should be assigning a sustainability budget specifically to each department that they can spend at their discretion in the name of sustainability.”
    • “Bicycling on campus is the fastest mode of transportation; however, that would not be the case if the bikes are not located conveniently right outside your door or at least at a building next door. For bike sharing dock-style to match the convenience of a dedicated bicycle at the department’s building, the docks would have to be ubiquitous across campus, quite literally outside every building. Financially and logistically, I don’t think that is possible. To me, departmental bicycle fleets would be entirely more convenient for staff needing to get around campus quickly and efficiently.”

     

    And, lastly, “In my opinion, the benefits are so numerous [for bike fleets] that the University should be aggressively funding and initiating bicycle fleets on campus.”

    ~per Lily Wilcock

    Attached Files: 

  14. Sarthak Prasad Final Report: Independent study with Morgan Johnston ENG 573 (fall 2016)

    Associated Project(s): 
    LED Campus
    LED Exterior Lights
    LED Exit Signs
    Sustainability iCAP Portal

    Sarthak Prasad completed his independent study with Dr. Rizwan Uddin in fall 2016. Please see attached the final report from this study.

    Attached Files: 

  15. Idea for LEED transportation credit

    Associated Project(s): 
    Decrease Emissions from UI Fleet
    LEED Certification
    Support Zipcar in Champaign-Urbana
    Use Electric Vehicles (EV)

    The LEED transportation credit for encouraging low emission vehicles can be obtained if there are dedicated spaces for low-emission vehicles near the building in question.  In general, the University is not adding new parking spaces for new buildings, so it is difficult to achieve this LEED point.  One method is to add a Zipcar space for the building, and another is to add an Electric Vehicle charging station.  Grant Colella, a Project Manager at F&S, suggested a long-term plan to change all of the campus fleet to low emission vehicles, so the dedicated service vehicle spaces would also be low emission vehicle spaces.

  16. News Release - Wind PPA signed

    Associated Project(s): 
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

    CHAMPAIGN, IL –  A 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) between Prairieland Energy, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Illinois, and Rail Splitter Wind Farm LLC, a subsidiary of EDP Renewables (EDPR) North America LLC, will significantly increase the amount of renewable energy used by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

    For 10 years, through October 2026, the Urbana campus will receive a percentage-based portion of the wind-generated electricity and associated environmental attributes from the Rail Splitter Wind Farm located north of Lincoln, Illinois. The PPA specifies that 8.6% of the total wind generation from the farm will be sold to the university, which is expected to be an annual amount of more than 25,000 megawatt-hours (MWh).

    This acquisition of wind power — in conjunction with energy generation from the utility-scale 20.8 acre Solar Farm (7,863 MWh/year) brought online last December, and other solar installations on campus — raises the amount of Urbana campus clean energy to approximately 33,200 MWh/year, or 8.9% percent of projected FY17 annual electricity consumption.

    Director of Utilities & Energy Services Kent Reifsteck said, “Obtaining wind power on this scale is a tremendous next step in diversifying and optimizing the university’s energy portfolio to meet future campus demand for more than 54,000 students, faculty, and staff. This long-term contract for low-carbon energy produced in Illinois reinforces the university’s commitment to achieving sustainability goals and developing partnerships for statewide economic development.”

    Since the Illinois Renewable Portfolio Standard was passed in 2007, EDPR has invested more than $1.5 billion in new Illinois wind farms. EDPR is the largest owner of wind energy in the state with an operating fleet of the Rail Splitter Wind Farm, the Top Crop I & II Wind Farms, and the Twin Groves I & II Wind Farms.

    “The PPA with the University of Illinois marks a new path forward for college campuses to play an important role in building a clean energy future,” Tommy Greer, EDPR Director of Energy & REC Sales, said. “We are excited to partner with the campus on a long-term agreement to produce clean, renewable energy in Illinois. This is the first time we have signed a long-term PPA with a university, and we are eager to see other academic institutions follow Illinois’ lead.”

    The Rail Splitter Wind Farm began commercial operation in 2009 with 100.5 MW of installed capacity, which can power roughly 35,000 average U.S. households. The farm’s annual environmental benefits are equivalent to taking more than 45,000 cars off the road.

    The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), the Urbana campus’ strategic sustainability plan, contains specific clean energy targets, including an objective to obtain at least 120,000 MWh per year from low-carbon sources by FY20.

    The idea of signing a wind PPA was supported by a formal recommendation from the Energy Generation, Purchasing, and Distribution (EGEN) Sustainability Working Advisory Team (SWATeam). These SWATeams, created by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE), are charged with tracking progress on the iCAP targets and making recommendations to advance campus sustainability goals.

    The new Provost Fellow for Sustainability, Physics Professor Scott Willenbrock, was previously the chair of the EGEN SWATeam and led the development of the wind PPA recommendation. “It was a natural recommendation to make, but we did not appreciate at the time how nuanced the PPA would be. Many people worked hard to make this a reality,” Willenbrock said.

    Pursuing additional renewable energy projects and power purchase agreements to achieve clean energy targets was one of the recommendations of the Utilities Production and Distribution Master Plan released in September 2015.

    The university is proactively shaping its energy enterprise through improved utility production, distribution, and monitoring methods and systems. Through dedicated energy conservation programs, such as Retrocommissioning, Energy Performance Contracting, campus-wide lighting retrofits, and building system upgrades, the campus has reduced energy consumption by 28% since 2008.

    The university’s good work to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions has allowed the Urbana campus to sell approximately $1.5 million in verified carbon credits since 2014 to fund additional emission reduction and energy conservation projects.

    Wind PPA Factsheet
    Wind PPA news release

     

  17. archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 
    Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

    The campus is investigating options for a Wind Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).  There are various potential energy providers, and the costs of such power is currently unknown.  Therefore, the UI is starting with a Request for Information (RFI) which will give campus decision makers an idea of the cost of the wind energy.  Once the information is received, the UI may elect to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP), which would be the first step toward signing a Wind PPA.

  18. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, we had 34 visitors total for last week. We grossed $260.50. We didn’t sell any memberships, nor any bikes (refurbished or B-a-Bs). We did sell $40 worth of tubes, so we’re still keeping people rolling.

    Last week I had two very dedicated volunteers who worked almost all five days during open hours. They were a tremendous help in organizing small parts and culling some of the worn and old parts that really have no value to us and are simply taking up space. We scrapped almost a dozen bad and/or broken bikes, which will nicely clear up space for more usable projects and builds.

    This week I will continue cleaning and building bikes. On Thursday a Bike Project volunteer and I will go to Champaign Public Works to retrieve some bikes they are giving away. I will work on a handout for student workers’ guidelines. But most importantly, on Tuesday we are having a CBC holiday get-together where the student workers will be able to learn about how the CBC fits into TDM/F&S and the larger university plan for sustainability!

     

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  19. Resilience commitment deadlines

    Associated Project(s): 
    Resilience iCAP Team

    The Resilience Commitment instructions are online at http://secondnature.org/climate-guidance/sustainability-planning-and-climate-action-guide/building-blocks-for-sustainability-planning-and-climate-action/climate-resilience/.   UIUC Chancellor Wilson signed the commitment on Feb. 9, 2016, so we need to have a fully formed Joint-Task Force with the community, actively working by April 9, 2017.  iSEE has identified key contacts who have agreed to participate.  By April 2018, we need to complete an assessment of the town/gown Resilience strengths and weaknesses, and by April 2019 we need to have a written plan for addressing the weaknesses and building on our local strengths. This could then be incorporated in the next iCAP.

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