Renewable energy can supply a considerable amount our energy needs. It also creates many public benefits, including environmental improvement, increased fuel diversity and economic development benefits. Renewable energy produces no anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and reduces some types of air pollution. It also reduces dependence on imported fuels, which increases our national security. Renewable Energy is a secure, local and inexhaustible resource that can also result in lower fuel bills and heating system-running costs.

A copy of the meeting notes for the Energy Generation, Purchasing, and Distribution team meeting on Thursday, Feburary 25th 2016.

The Architecture Review Committee (ARC) approved the concept for rooftop solar on the Idea Garden shed, per this description from F&S Engineer Kristine Chalifoux: "Engineering Design has been approached by the Illinois Extension about designing solar panels for the roof of the shed at the arboretum.  They would like to cover the room with panels and use batteries in the shed to store the power.  They would like to have a light on site, ability to use power tools, and possibly some heat during the winter.

The panels would be approximately (depending on manufacturer) 3’x5’ and cover the entire south facing portion of the roof.  The roof has two slopes with a shallower slope at the front.  Both would be covered."

ARC approved the request and concept of installing the solar panels on the roof of the shed providing that the integrity of the shed could support the installation. 

ECE rooftop solar project update:

1) The original PO bought approximately 500 panels for $240,925.  This was funded with $100K from the DCEO grant, and $140,925 from the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) funding. 

2) The original funding plan was for a total project cost of $900,000.  It was made up of $225K from the SSC, $250K from DCEO, $100 from the Grainger Center for Engineering, and $325K from the department and college.  When DCEO cut the grant funding with the state budget crisis, the project stalled with just the initial purchase of panels completed.

3) Current campus project implementation methodology requires this project to go through the Capital Programs process for installation of the panels.  ECE is seeking project funding and approval for the full installation.

4) ECE has initiated a PO for the remaining 421 panels from a sole source vendor, at a discounted rate. 

These files were on the now-closed bike wiki.

The SSC requests final reports for projects they fund.  This report and the related files are attached here.

Behavioral Interventions for Campus Energy Consumption

According to Levenick Research Fellow Erica Myers:

“Fuel costs — particularly in a campus setting — are often not well understood or salient for consumers. Students, faculty, and staff do not see billing or consumption information, making it difficult to translate use of particular energy services into costs. As a result, energy consumption is often ‘out of sight, out of mind’ as we go through our busy days on campus.

“The goal of our research is to identify behavioral interventions that can be used to reduce campus energy consumption. First, in the spring of 2016, we will work with engineers and building managers on campus to identify behavioral energy savings opportunities related to office and classroom heating and cooling, electronics and lighting. Then in the summer and fall of 2016, we will design and test the relative effectiveness of behavioral interventions such as educational campaigns, usage information provision, and social comparisons for taking advantage of savings opportunities and reducing energy consumption.

“Our findings will be shared with University of Illinois stakeholders, presented at academic conferences, and made publicly available in a University white paper in early 2017. Our results will not only be relevant for the U of I in meeting its campus sustainability goals, but for other campus and commercial settings where energy use is not well understood or salient for consumers.”

http://sustainability.illinois.edu/about/partnerships/levenick-isee-fell...

http://sustainability.illinois.edu/ui-remains-green-campus-leader-as-cha...

Illinois a Green Campus Leader as Chancellor Signs Climate Resilience Commitment

Mar 2, 2016 | News Releases |

MARCH 3, 2016 — The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign took on a leadership role to more actively respond to global climate change when Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson signed Second Nature’s Climate Resilience Commitment in February.

Illinois is a Charter Signatory of the Second Nature Climate Commitment, which combines a Carbon Commitment the campus signed in 2008 with the newly signed Resilience Commitment. The full Climate Commitment formally acknowledges that the effects of climate change are already felt — and that universities and colleges must pursue both mitigation and adaptation to combat the unfolding crisis.

By adding the Resilience Commitment, Illinois has made a pledge to evaluate campus vulnerabilities to a changing climate in its landscapes, natural resources, and energy production — and to make an action plan that addresses those weaknesses.

In 2015, Illinois released an updated Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) reporting its progress toward emissions reduction and other campus sustainability goals and outlining a new path to reaching net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2050.

“While the iCAP is a plan for how campus impacts the atmosphere and climate, the resilience plan will be about how the campus reacts to atmosphere and climate change,” said Evan DeLucia, Director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE).

Resilience is a measure of the ability to react to and recover from difficult circumstances. Resilient communities bend but do not break under pressure, he said.

Wilson, who signed the document Feb. 9, said: “Signing the Resiliency Commitment is a natural extension of our efforts to carefully steward university resources. By planning ahead, we can prepare for a range of potential challenges presented by climate change — whether social, financial, or ecological.

“We’re positioning ourselves to be the kind of nimble and responsive university that can deliver on our educational and research missions for generations to come.”

DeLucia said that carrying out the terms of the commitment will create a more holistic picture of sustainability on campus.

“I think this commitment will make us think about sustainability in a broader way,” he said. “Rather than only asking, ‘How much renewable energy do we use?’ we’ll also be asking ‘Do we have a diverse enough pool of energy resources so that if one fails, the entire system doesn’t fail?’ It will be less about being ‘green’ and more about being truly sustainable.”

A PDF of the Resilience Commitment — complete with Wilson’s signature — can be viewed on iSEE’s website.
Second Nature is a nonprofit organization with more than 20 years of experience mobilizing institutions of higher education to lead the way to a more just, healthy, and sustainable society. It sponsors the Climate, Resilience, and Carbon commitments and oversees reporting of the signatory institutions’ progress toward their goals.

Dear Partner Institutions, We hope this email finds you well. We’re writing with updates about several ongoing/upcoming projects:

1. RSVP for the Smart and Sustainable Conferences Meet-up: On Sunday, April 3rd from 5-7 PM we’ll hold our semi-annual Big Ten and Friends Sustainability Group (BTFSG) meeting at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore to discuss our governance structure and the Big Ten Prospectus, among other topics. As in Minneapolis, we plan to meet for dinner afterward as well. Please RSVP here. If you have a topic for discussion, please email Michael (mgulich@purdue.edu).
2. Progress Toward Governance Structure: Michael, Erik Foley, and Leanne Bilodeau are reengaging the Governance Working Group to discuss potential structures and the development of a BTFSG charter. They will be reaching out this spring to collect feedback from BTFSG partner institutions. If you’re interested in participating in this discussion, email Michael (mgulich@purdue.edu).
3. Big Ten Prospectus Update: The Planning Team has synthesized the feedback from the pre-AASHE meeting in Minneapolis and significantly narrowed down the outcome/metrics set for each priority area. On Monday, February 15th we met with the MWG to discuss their feedback on the outcomes and metrics, and this week the Planning Team is pulling together a final set of metrics for data collection. After considering the potential burden on partners, we hope to limit the request to no more than one metric per priority area (six total). Please look for a detailed project completion schedule with the data/feedback request next Wednesday, March 9th. No action is required at this time. For those of you interested, we’re sharing the draft resources compiled for the MWG to aid them in reviewing the narrowed outcome/metric sets. Please keep in mind that the draft resources presented here ask the MWG to narrow the bundle to a set of metrics for collection—again, since our conversation with the MWG, we have decided that only a few of these will be sent out for collection.
   • Process background and instructions: This two-pager explains the steps the Planning Team followed in synthesizing feedback and narrowing down the metrics set after the pre-AASHE meeting. It also provides review guidelines for the MWG. This (very roughly produced!) video also provides instructions. 
   • Priority area narratives: These six draft narratives provide: 1) rough background summarizing feedback collected during the pre-AASHE meeting, and 2) informal explanations of the narrowed set of outcomes and metrics, including areas where the Planning Team expressed reservations about a selection and needs specific feedback. Links to the each narrative can be found here:
     • Education
     • Research
     • Organizational Health
     • Diversity and Inclusion
     • Partnerships
     • Financial Stewardship
   • Narrowed outcome and metric set: These two figures illustrate the outcomes and metrics for all priority areas:
   •  All outcomes selected for MWG review (download and zoom-in for increased visibility)
   • All outcomes and metrics selected for MWG review (download and zoom-in for increased visibility)

Please let us know if you have any comments, questions, or concerns about the above. We hope to see you in Baltimore this April!

Denice and Michael (and Emilie)

The Revolving Loan Fund was updated in FY16.  These files were previously the main files on the iCAP Portal page.

This fund was originally called for in the 2010 iCAP, as the “clean energy fund.”  It was established in Fiscal Year 2012, with funding from the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and the Office of the Chancellor.  Within the first year, the Office of the President committed additional funds. 

With input from the campus community, Facilities & Services, the SSC, the Office of Sustainability, and the Office of the Chancellor worked through the details for selecting projects.  The agreement about the process was signed in November 2011.  According to the  agreement, any grant funds received for RLF projects in campus-funded utility buildings will be allocated entirely to the RLF.  Thus, the fund can grow over time.  Additionally, the campus agreed to match any future additional commitments from the SSC.

If an Auxiliary unit is interested in using the Revolving Loan Fund for a utility conservation project, a simple Memo of Understanding is needed to allow the repayment through utility savings over time.