State officials approved 10-year power purchase and land lease agreements with Phoenix Solar South Farms LLC, the San Ramon, Calif.-based company that will design, build, operate and maintain the solar farm. The project site is situated on 20.8 acres of land. Once installed, the arrays will produce 7.86 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, which is approximately 2 percent of the expected electrical demand for the Urbana campus in fiscal year 2015.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $15.5 million over 20 years, which represents a $5.3 million premium for clean energy ($1.05 million provided by the Student Sustainability Committee and $4.25 million from the Campus Utilities Budget). Solar energy researchers on campus estimate that the solar panels will continue to collect energy for up to 40 years.

The Urbana campus will use all of the electricity generated by the solar farm. The university will also own or receive any and all current or future renewable energy credits and emissions credits associated with energy from this project.

“The solar farm represents the success of numerous efforts, including those made by the many hard-working students committed to advancing renewable energy and environmental sustainability,” said Amy Liu, chair of the Student Sustainability Committee, in a statement. “Its construction will be a historic project and a source of great pride for the campus.”

The university committed to being a leader in sustainability when it signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2008, pledging to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In 2010, the university also submitted its Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) to the ACUPCC. The iCAP set target goals to have 5 percent of total campus energy come from renewable sources by fiscal year 2015 (2 percent of which will come from the solar farm).

The solar farm will be the fifth completed solar-energy project on campus, according to Steve Breitwieser, the university’s manager of communications and external relations for facilities and services. Most notably, the Business Instructional Facility’s rooftop array provides an estimated 55,000 kWh of electricity per year, or 5 to 7 percent of the building’s annual energy consumption. A solar PV study published in 2011 at the university found that Champaign-Urbana receives an average of 4.74 kWh per square meter per day of solar radiation.

“This is a new type of project for the campus, with a power purchase agreement and lease agreement for renewable energy generation,” Breitwieser said. “There were a lot of unknowns when project discussions started in 2011. We were able to address the questions and end up with the solar farm thanks to the commitment of a dedicated team of individuals working together from across campus.”

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At 230,000 square feet, the ECE Building will nearly double its original home and greatly expand the department’s physical capabilities. The terra cotta structure will provide office space for an estimated 120 faculty members, and comprise state of the art laboratories, classrooms and project spaces. Here, students will explore fields including optical physics, electromagnetism and thin film and charged particles, among others.

Designed to reduce the department’s environmental impact and reach its net-zero goal, the building will also utilize a variety of energy efficient systems and sustainable materials. The roof will eventually hold 1,200 solar panels estimated to provide roughly 300 kilowatts of energy. Meanwhile LED lights will be used across 70 percent of the building, reducing its energy consumption. An innovative chilled beam cooling system will also be used to throughout, while careful orientation, window shading, heat recovery systems and a high R-value envelope will ensure a comfortable and efficient interior year-round.

According to a statement by architects SmithGroup JJR, the building will also help streamline the department, consolidating it into one two-wing, multi-story building, and “creating a flexible environment to inspire and support interdisciplinary learning and collaboration.” According to Andy Vazzano, FAIA, LEED AP, leader of SmithGroup’s Corporate Science & Technology Practice, "This new building is where future innovations and sustainable research practices are imagined and refined."

Designers from SmithGroup JJR Chicago and consultants from KJWW Engineering Consultants of Rock Island are confident the ECE building will earn LEED Platinum certification, joining the school’s Business Instructional Facility. They also expect an EPA Energy Star rating of 99 on a 100-point scale, and that the building will serve as a prototype for future sustainably built additions to the university’s network of campuses, and help it work toward a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

ECE Department Head Andreas C. Cangellaris also spoke highly of the new facility in a statement. "This building will be a great benefit to our students,” said Cangellaris, “not only in the ECE Department, but in our college and beyond. This new building is designed to inspire engineering education driven by societal needs and opportunities. With these new facilities and labs, we will continue to educate the leaders in our profession for generations to come."


Construction of the ECE building is projected to cost the school roughly $71 million, while the entire cost is estimated at $95 million. The school will provide half of the total cost, while private donations and state funds will cover the remainder.

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