As part of the call for proposals for the spring 2018 Clean Energy Fund Forum, the members of the SRI Advisory Council (SRIAC) received 11 proposals (compared to seven proposals in fall 2017) and invited seven of these proposals to present at the Clean Energy Fund Forum on March 22. One presentation was vetted by the Infrastructure Committee (see the Organizational Chart for more details) and five proposals came directly from community members under the Academics and Co-curricular Education heading. One proposal, SunShares, was an infrastructure project proposed by a member of the Infrastructure Committee but without the approval of the entire group. Evaluation of the proposals occurred using metrics developed by the SRIAC, including alignment with CEF goals, potential for impact and the quality of the overall proposal.
The SRI Advisory Council voted to fund three of the proposals from the spring forum. The SRIAC recommended fully funding one proposal, a student-led Sustainable Transportation Education Initiative, and partially funding two proposals, the Waste to Clean Energy Lecture Series and the RSENR Net-Zero Ready proposal.
The SRI Advisory Council recommends no funding for the student-led AERO Club. The three remaining proposals show potential and SRIAC recommends sending its suggestions, (collected during the deliberation) for strengthening each application, with encouragement to resubmit for the fall 2018 forum.

Proposal summary: This proposal is an education initiative to increase awareness of sustainable transportation options on campus. Through Facebook posts (including “boosting”, using a specific software strategy available for purchase), flyers, banners and ads across campus, the proposers aim to increase students understanding of the bike share, CarShare Vermont, bus options and rideshare options.

Recommendation: This request for funding passed unanimously. Members were strongly in support of this proposal. It’s not costly, has clean energy benefits across campus and involves all students.

Proposal summary: This proposal is part of a broad effort to achieve Net-Zero energy at the Rubenstein School, which is defined by creating as much renewable energy as is consumed.

Recommendation: The project proposed is part of a much larger effort to make RSENR competitive among its peers for its sustainability efforts. However, the funding request is large, will benefit only one school with UVM that has already made significant gains toward energy use reductions, and the need from Physical Plant staff is a concern. Members propose funding half of the request and suggest the Rubenstein School commit more funds to the effort. Members passed a motion to fund the project at an amount not to exceed $50,000 and request that the Rubenstein School contribute half of the necessary funds to move forward as part of a cost-share model.

Proposal summary: This course focuses on opportunities to turn waste into usable clean energy. Prof. Krivov proposes to invite multiple speakers over the course of a semester to discuss relevant topics and allow course credit for class attendance. This model mirrors the Clean Energy Lecture series, which has received CEF funds several times.

Recommendation: Members passed a motion to fund the course at $17,500, minus the cost of the instructor ($7,500). This is the same approach used for funding the Clean Energy Lecture Series. Members also propose stipulating that the lecture series must be open to the university community and broadly marketed.