Construction is underway in Fall 2016 to install a 200 kW biomass boiler at the Energy Farm. This system will initially satisfy all heating needs for the greenhouse onsite, and will replace the current propane heating system. In the future, more buildings may be added to the boiler system.
Beginning Fall 2016, a team at the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS, a division of the prairie Research Institute) led by Illinois Professor Yu-Feng Forrest Lin is conducting a series of detailed observations of the geothermal profile on campus - including high-resolution temperature profiling and thermal analysis. The team will drill to 330 ft and install a geothermal loop and fiberoptic cables. Results will help determine the feasibility of implementing geothermal systems on campus by identifying costs and possible challenges.
Professor Lin has coordinated with faculty from the University of Wisconsin to incorporate lessons learned from their implementation of a geothermal exchange system at the nearby EPIC health care systems campus in Verona, WI.
Professor Lin's team began drilling on 9/19/16. Daily drilling progress is logged and can be found by clicking this link.
The 2015 iCAP, chapter 3, objective 2 is "Expand on-campus solar energy production. By FY20, produce at least 12,500 MWh/year, and by FY25 at least 25,000 MWh/year, from solar installations on campus property."
The 2015 iCAP also described the following potential strategies for achieving this objective:
The campus has a 33 kW photovoltaic array on the roof of the Business Instructional Facility (with an annual production of 44 MWh/yr) and a 14.7 kW ground-mounted array at the Building Research Lab (20 MWh/yr). During FY15, we began installation of a 300 kW array on the roof of the new Electrical and Computer Engineering Building (402 MWh/yr), and the 5.87 MW Solar Farm on the south campus (7,860 MWh/yr). There is also a solar thermal array on the roof of the Activities and Recreation Center. There are many other buildings, parcels of land, and parking lots that are well positioned to host sizeable photovoltaic and/or solar thermal arrays. Although each array in itself would make a small contribution to campus energy generation, taken together the contribution could be significant.
The solar consultation group is identifying the best places to install the next round of photovoltaic projects, and planning to move forward on several projects simultaneously. Solar thermal may make sense in some situations, as well. Student design teams could be organized through classes and volunteer groups to assist with the planning and prioritizing of on-campus solar installations.
The best time to plan for the installation of photovoltaics on a building is during the design phase. The campus could implement standards requiring that all new construction and additions include solar photovoltaics on the roof. In some cases it may also be effective to install photovoltaics on the exterior walls of the buildings."
The EGEN SWATeam held their third meeting for the Fall 2016 semester. Topics covered include:
AASHE Conference, October 11, 2016 presentation
Using Campus Solar Deployment Roadmaps to Guide University Investment: The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), Second Nature, and TurningPoint Energy have developed an approach with four Midwest universities to define opportunities for on- and off-campus solar investment through a Campus PV Deployment Roadmap. In this panel, participants will hear presentations about the roadmapping process in general, specific incentives to universities and students, financial modeling and assistance offerings, and first-hand experience from one of our pilot universities.
The EGEN SWATeam held their second meeting for the Fall 2016 semester. Topics covered include:
iSEE reported to the SWATeam that they have reached out to NCSA to discuss incorporating a clean energy Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in the next supercomputing grant application and agreement.
In support of the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot initiative, NREL is offering no-cost technical assistance to universities seeking to go solar.
Niharika Kishore, masters in Urban Planning (MUP) student, and Corey Weil, sophomore in Electrical and Computer Engineering, are working with Morgan Johnston on the iSEE objective for on-campus solar. Niharika will continue her efforts for promoting rooftop solar to meet the iCAP objective for 12,500 MWh/year of on-campus solar energy generation as part of a MUP capstone project this year. Corey will volunteer in various efforts to support the development of solar solutions for campus, from the Net Zero Energy ECE efforts to advocating for solar energy funding.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2016-08-26/toms-mailbag-aug-26-20...
UI solar farm
“The solar panel field located near the corner of Windsor Road and First Street has become overgrown with tall weeds. Do the panels still work with that much foliage under and above them? Also, would hiring sheep or goats to ‘mow’ the weeds be harmful to the sheep or goat (heat from the panels)?”
The Solar Farm on the University of Illinois campus was implemented as a power purchase and land lease agreement with Phoenix Solar South Farms, LLC, said Steve Breitwieser of the UI’s Facilities & Services Department.
“The agreements designate Phoenix as responsible for all maintenance of the Solar Farm during the 10-year contract, and this includes vegetation control.
“A contractor hired by Phoenix was on site in mid-June, and they are performing additional weed control activities this week.”
When the agreement with Phoenix ends, Breitwieser said, the UI will assume Solar Farm maintenance responsibilities.
And — how about this? — preliminary discussions have begun with research faculty regarding the use of sheep or low-height food crops in the future, he said.
Meanwhile, neighboring plant growth has not impacted solar production, said Breitwieser.
Solar array data can be viewedat: http://go.illinois.edu/solar.
After the August 5th presentation by Niharika Kishore to College of Engineering facilities contact Greg Larson, Greg spoke with Mechanical Engineering facilities contact Damon McFall about roofotp solar for the Mechanical Engineering Building (MEB). Morgan Johnston explained that MEB had been left off the list Niharika worked on because of the upcoming Capital Programs project in that facility. Greg indicated that they are interested in pursuing rooftop solar for MEB. Potentially the design could be included in the Capital Project design effort, and the installation would need to be funded separately. This roof could hold approximately 130 kW array.
The Office of Advancement hired Elite Air Productions LLC to create a video flyover of the new Solar Farm. The video can be seen at https://youtu.be/k7b-F0zCgxs.
The rooftop solar project for ECE is moving forward now, and installation is expected in summer 2017.
Ava Heap and Andrew Stumpf requested assistance from Morgan Johnston on an SSC project proposal for the Idea Garden rooftop solar. Kristine provided a summary of the open issues to be addressed:
Morgan will work with Ava to clarify the needs of this project.
Niharika Kishore will send an email to potential facilities for adding rooftop solar, in support of the 2015 iCAP objective. The draft email is attached and the list of potential facilities is as follows:
| Building | Estimated Yearly Output (kWh/yr) |
| Physical Plant Services Building | 791,522 |
| Activities and Recreation Center | 725,562 |
| Law Building | 395,761 |
| Ikenberry Dining Hall | 382,569 |
| Abbott Power Plant | 263,841 |
| Digital Computer Library | 263,841 |
| Plant Sciences Laboratory | 164,900 |
| Timothy J. Nugent Hall | 164,900 |
| Institute of Genomic Biology | 158,304 |
| Richard T. Ubben Basketball Complex | 151,708 |
| Oak Street Library | 151,708 |
| Bousfield Hall | 145,112 |
| Garage and Carpool | 125,324 |
F&S submitted an application for the 2016 Illinois Governor's Sustainability Award, on behalf of the Renewable Energy Program on campus and the Solar Farm. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is proud of its sustainability initiatives, and Facilities & Services (F&S) is honored to support the campuswide Illinois Climate Action Plan. One of the most important and challenging initiatives is a shift from conventional energy to a future of renewable energy.
F&S is submitting this application to the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award for the Renewable Energy Program and specifically the new 20-acre Solar Farm. Five major Renewable Energy Program projects have been implemented since signing the Climate Commitment in 2008. The first Renewable Energy Program project was a 32.76 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) array on the roof of the Business Instructional Facility. The 14 kW PV array at the Building Research Council is a research platform for the Illinois Center for Smarter Electricity Grid. Solar thermal panels on the Activities and Recreation Center roof heat the swimming pools. The fourth project was the purchase of 20,000 Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from Midwest Independent Systems Operators (MISO) wind power in April 2014. The most significant project went into commercial operation in December 2015, with the completion of the 5.87 megawatt (direct current) Solar Farm. The Solar Farm will produce an estimated 7,860 megawatt-hours annually and is expected to generate up to 91% of its original output even in Year 20 of the project. F&S is monitoring the efficiency of the Solar Farm, compared to the design specifications, and in February 2016 the Solar Farm produced 100.2% of the anticipated electricity for that month.
Given the University of Illinois’ existing reliance on coal-fired steam heating for many buildings, significant changes to campus infrastructure will be required in order to move to being truly carbon neutral. One possible option is geothermal heating, but there is somewhat of a lack of information about the feasibility of geothermal systems on campus.
This project will conduct a series of high-detail observations of the geothermal profile of campus and analyze the data. The results of the study will help identify the costs and possible challenges associated with adding a significant amount of geothermal heating systems to campus.
Developing and implementing new alternative energy sources is essential to ending the era of fossil fuels and extreme carbon emissions. The more alternative energy sources available, the more potential there is for eradicating fossil fuels as the main energy source. Numerous different innovations have developed within the last few decades because of the massive increase in technology efficiency, and the U of I has taken the initiative to implement many of them. These strides toward alternatives increased after the university committed to cease using coal at Abbott by 2017. The replacement of this power will require as many alternatives available as possible in order to meet the growing need.
Biomass energy is a great example of how the University of Illinois is converting to more renewable energy sources. Biomass can be used to create energy because it contains stored energy from plants that have absorbed energy from the sun through the process of photosynthesis. When biomass is burned, this stored energy is released as heat.
In the Spring of 2014 the SSC funded, Field to Fuel: Biomass Heating on Campus. This project involved purchasing and installing a biomass boiler at the Energy Farm, in order to heat a research greenhouse using Miscanthus that is grown on the Energy Farm. The new biomass boiler arrived in early December, and installation is nearing completion!
This project is exciting because it is the first biomass energy initiative on campus, and it will work to meet the carbon emission caps that are outlined in the Illinois Climate Action Plan. Additionally, with this project, they hope to demonstrate the feasibility of biomass on campus, engage and familiarize faculty and staff personnel with the design, installation, and operation of such systems with a view to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy production on campus, support the education and training of students, and create awareness in the larger community about alternative energy sources. The ultimate hope for the project is that a successful pilot will pave the way toward expanded use of biomass heating on our campus and greatly reduce our campus greenhouse gas emissions.
Today, Morgan Johnston met with Niharika Kishore to discuss the rooftop solar iCAP objective. Niharika is going to review the work already done, in the iSEE solar box folder, and draft a proposal for getting the engineering design work done for a set of building. She will be working towards meeting the FY20 on campus generation goal of 12,500 MWh/year, and possibly additional installations for FY25.
Phoenix Solar’s maintenance contractor, Bay Four, has hired Rubilia, LLC to perform the vegetation control, starting June 8, 2016.
