U. of I. President Tim Killeen; Interim Chancellor Barb Wilson; Al Stratman, the executive director of Facilities and Services; and Karen Hasara, a U. of I. Board of Trustees member presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony Nov. 19 to commemorate the campus’ Solar Farm being connected to the university’s electrical distribution system a week earlier. The farm is expected to produce 7.86 million killowatt-hours per year or approximately 2 percent of the average electrical demand for the Urbana campus.
University and campus administrators, Facilities and Services staff members, Student Sustainability Committee representatives and project partners from Rockwell Financial Group and Phoenix Solar South Farms LLC attended the invitation-only ceremony.
“Sustainability was at the core of the land grant mission originally and it has to be at the very core going forward,” Killeen said. In 2008, the university signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment pledging to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible. Two years later, the Illinois Climate Action Plan was released as the Urbana campus action plan for achieving sustainability goals.
The Solar Farm “is part of our effort toward ensuring that the campus and the university are at the forefront of sustainable energy,” Wilson said.
The Solar Farm is the largest solar array installed on any Big Ten university campus.
At work
A worker from U.S. Utility Contractor Co. Inc. installs one of the panels in November as the project nears completion. The university has a 10-year power purchase agreement with Phoenix Solar South Farms LLC, who will maintain the farm. The farm is on 20.8 acres, located along the south side of Windsor Road between First Street and the railroad tracks, to the west of a pre-existing pond.
Photo by Joyce Seay-Knoblauch
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Under construction
A tent of solar panels was under construction in November. Solar PV panels are one of the cleanest forms of power generation available. They are engineered to absorb light rather than reflect light in order to maximize energy output, but they will not noticeably affect the ambient temperature of the area.
Photo by Joyce Seay-Knoblauch
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Long life
A stack of panels awaits installation in November in front of a sea of panels that have already been installed. It is estimated that the solar panels will continue to collect energy for up to 40 years. All of the energy generated by the solar farm will be used by the Urbana campus. The university also will own or receive any and all current or future Renewal Energy Credits and emissions credits associated with energy from this project.
Photo by Joyce Seay-Knoblauch
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