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Projects Updates for collection: Living Lab Facilities / Programs

  1. EGEN SWATeam Meeting (1.20.17)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Solar Energy on Campus
    Explore Options for 100 Percent Clean Campus Energy
    PPA for National Petascale Computing Facility
    Rooftop Solar Potential
    Power Purchase Agreements for Clean Energy

    The EGEN SWATeam held their first meeting for the Spring 2017 semester. Topics covered include:

    • Review draft recommendations for 1) on-campus solar and 2) petascale offsets
    • An update from Morgan Johnston on the Associate Director of Campus Sustainability position
    • Updating iCAP portal project pages for EGEN objectives
    • Clean Energy PPA
    • Potential for future solar farm
    • Asking for feedback from EGEN team members regarding recommendation proces
    Attached Files: 

  2. Water001 BIF Greywater Meter recommendation - Assessment with comments

    Associated Project(s): 
    BIF Greywater Pipe System
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Water and Stormwater Recommendations Summary

    The iCAP Working Group (iWG) met on December 20, 2016, to discuss and start the assessment of SWATeam recommendation, Water001 BIF Greywater Meter. The iWG's official comment on the recommendation was:

    "A permanent real-time water meter should be installed on the greywater piping system in BIF, and the collected data should be made available in the Energy Billing System and through an online dashboard."

    See attached the iWG assessment of Water001 BIF Greywater Meter complete with official comments from all the iWG members.

    See SWATeam recommendation Water001 BIF Greywater Meter here.

    Attached Files: 

  3. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, surprise! When the semester nears, students return! We had 26 visitors in last week. Grossed $388.75. Sold one membership ($30) and one bike ($225). One member was achingly close to finishing his Build-a-Bike but alas, it was not meant to be.

    This past week I interviewed a student for staff help here at CBC. I also spoke with another student and set up an interview for him this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday a TBP volunteer came by and we reconstructed the tire rack storage shelf to accommodate more tires as well as make them more accessible. It will greatly help the effectiveness and ease by which members can utilize the space—especially once it gets hectic and busy.

     

    This week I will be interviewing more potential student staffers, ironing out the schedule for the staff semester, prepping for the incumbent staffers to return, and of course the general clean, organize, and building of bikes.

     

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  4. Correction to system generation capacity

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 1.0

    The Solar Farm system capacity is 4.68 MWac and 5.87 MWdc. Original materials produced before 2017 generally referred to the capacity as 5.87 MW, which does not match the industry standard of using the AC generation capacity.  The correct figure to use is 4.68 MW, when sharing information about the Solar Farm on the UIUC South Farms.

  5. 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

  7. 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.

  10. 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

  11. News Release - Solar Farm one year anniversary

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Farm 1.0
    Use Renewable / Low-carbon / Clean Energy

    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: 

  12. Idea for LEED transportation credit

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

    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.

  13. 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

  14. Resilience commitment deadlines

    Associated Project(s): 
    Resilience Sustainability Working Advisory Team (SWATeam)

    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.

  17. Water001 BIF Greywater Meter recommendation - Submittal

    Associated Project(s): 
    BIF Greywater Pipe System
    Water and Stormwater SWATeam
    Water and Stormwater Recommendations Summary

    The Water and Stormwater SWATeam submitted a recommendation to the iWG stating, 

    "Monitoring the water usage in the Business Instructional Facility (BIF). Specifically, both the total water use and the amount of water used by the raw water system should be measured and the data made available to the campus community.

    BIF is unique in that it was constructed with a separate raw water system that conveys non-potable water to be used for purposes such as flushing toilets. While the system is in place inside the building, it was never connected to an outside source of non-potable water. Use of non-potable water for purposes such as toilet flushing, landscape irrigation, cooling, etc. is recognized as a sustainable practice (e.g., Asano et al, 2007; EPA, 2012). Data to quantify the impact this could have on water use at UIUC, however, is largely unavailable. Metering the raw water system at BIF would provide data about the temporal total and non-potable water demand at a typical campus class/office building. These data would be valuable to consider whether such systems should be considered in future campus construction and renovation.

    F&S installed a temporary meter to measure the flow to the raw water system and operated this meter for approximately one month (April – May 2016), so this recommendation has already been demonstrated to be feasible. However, because building usage is highly variable over the course of an academic year, we recommend that this should be a permanent installation. We also recommend that the data be made available to the campus community to encourage consideration of such water reuse options."

    See attached the SWATeam recommendation Water001 BIF Greywater Meter complete with comments from all the Water and Stormwater SWATeam.

    Attached Files: 

  18. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, this past week we did not see a lot of visitors. We totaled 50 visitors for the entire week. We grossed 311.70; we sold one bike; we sold 2 memberships for $60; we sold 6 tubes; and we had one nice volunteer, Jeremy, just stop by to say hello and hang out for a minute.

    Looking at the numbers, we had only a single sale all week at non-member prices. It would appear that those that are still coming to the CBC are familiar and invested in the space. I take that as a good thing.

    This past week I have also cut back on hours for student workers. This happened organically, as a lot of staffers were sick or busy with school, but I plan to retain one staffer per day for the winter and then ramp back up to 2-3 for the warmer months. Winter is a good time for one-on-one training for those staffers who will be returning for the spring.

    Last week I attended the Campus Master Plan public forum on Wednesday.

    This week I plan to build more bikes, organize the shop, attend the Monthly Members’ Meeting for The Bike Project and start the initial work on a Winter Maintenance class, now that it has snowed.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  19. EGEN SWATeam Meeting (12.2.16)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Generation, Purchasing, & Distribution (eGen) SWATeam
    Rooftop Solar Potential
    Solar Energy on Campus
    Explore Options for 100 Percent Clean Campus Energy

    The EGEN SWATeam held their final meeting for the Fall 2016 semester. Topics covered include:

    • Guest presentation by Niharika Kishore regarding rooftop solar on campus
    • Potential recommendations to Working Group
    • Potential solar: greenspace vs. rooftop vs. parking lot cover
    Attached Files: 

  20. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, we were closed this past week for the Thanksgiving break. The week prior to that was slow; we only had 46 visitors. Gross sales were $403.50. We sold three memberships for a total of $90. We didn’t sell any build-a-bikes nor any shop builds.

    On Friday (18th) Working Bikes came down and took all of the scrap bikes that they did not want for their earlier shipment. The warehouse is now completely empty and ready for next year’s crop of abandoned bikes.

    This week I plan to continue shop builds and move some bikes to the Urbana shop as this space is beyond its bike-capacity. I will work on bettering the staff manual/list of guidelines in advance of next semester’s student workers. I will be attending the public forum for the Campus Master Plan on Wednesday evening.

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

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