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:

• ICECF accepts the extension of the grant period
• Grant period is now 11/1/2005 through 6/30/2009

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.

Engineers and Architects PC (EAPC) created a noise map on November 9, 2006.

The UI Board of Trustees approved hiring a North Dakota company, Engineers Architects PC, to develop plans for building three wind turbines on the UI's South Farms. The UI will pay the North Dakota firm, Engineers Architects PC, $87,500 to design the project and prepare construction documents, plus $24,000 in additional fees. Reimbursable expenses are not to exceed $46,000. 

Illinois Department of Natural Resources Consultation Agency Action Report was received by the university on May 18, 2006.

Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) grant that was filed in September 2005, was approved. On December 1st, 2005, the university received the grant award notification with following main points:

• Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation awards a grant of up to $2,000,000 to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for the Installation of 3 Wind Turbines (4.5MW) on Campus South Farms.
• Grant is to be used during the period of November 1, 2005 through August 31, 2007.

Inside Illinois published an article about renewable energy's prospect on campus: "Wind turbines, solar power to bring renewable energy" -- https://web.archive.org/web/20101206114603/http://news.illinois.edu/ii/0...

Navigant Consulting Inc completed the feasibility study for the wind energy project.

Main points from the Navigant Consulting Inc's wind study:

• The study found no fatal flaws that would exclude the entire South Farms area from the installation of one or more wind turbine-generators.
• Site D was identified as the best-fit location, located along Philo Road south of Curtis Road and north of Church Road.
• Power costs are estimated to be in the range of 3.5 cents/kWh to 6.2 cents/kWh (third party contributions can significantly lower these values).

The Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) posted this project summary online in September 2005. University Proposal to Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) for Turbine Purchase

• Proposes to install three, 1.5 MW wind turbines on the campus South Farms.
• Estimated total project capital cost will be $5,700,000.
• UIUC requests $2,000,000 in aid from the ICECF Renewable Grant Program to help establish this wind turbine project.
• The request is ~1/4 of the total cost ($1.4M), plus a two-to-one (2:1) match on the student fees ($600K).
• To date, the student initiated “clean energy fee” has raised and committed $300,000 for this project.
• Also, the university is investigating the possibility of an additional $250,000 in support directed by the Illinois Department of Community and Economic Opportunity through Vestas Wind Systems A/s.
• The UIUC is prepared to fund the remaining $3,000,000+ in capital costs.
• UIUC facilities will use 100% of the electricity generated by the wind turbines; the energy will feed directly into the University’s electric distribution system.
• The wind turbines will displace electricity generated by natural gas turbines at the UIUC Abbot Power Plant and purchased electricity, depending on the time of day and year.
• The three turbines will produce ~10,500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity (=2.7% of the total campus energy consumption).
• Location: South Farms area- Curtis/Windsor Rd on the north and Old Church Rd on the south and by Philo Rd on the east and First St. on the west.
• Wind turbines renewable energy production will annually eliminate the release of 6,700 tons of carbon dioxide, 32 tons of sulfur oxides and 15 tons of nitrogen oxides.
• The turbines generation capacity will be enough for the UIUC to voluntarily meet the State of Illinois’ Renewable Portfolio Standard through December 31, 2007.
• College of Engineering (Dean Ilesanmi Adesida) wrote a letter to ICECF supporting the project.
• Robert Easter wrote a letter to ICECF saying that ACES “is delighted to support the proposal to install wind turbines”.

The wind farm project at the South Farms was approved by Steve Rugg in the first week of September. He approved the request for $5.7 million to install three wind turbines at the proposed site.

Breakdown of $5.7 million: $300,000 would come from the student fees, $2,000,000 grant from ICECF (proposed), and the rest would be covered by the University.