Oklahoma State University is a land-grant university founded in Stillwater as the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1890. Today, OSU is the state’s academic center for agriculture, engineering and technology research and education and boasts more than 24,000 students at campuses in Stillwater, Tulsa and Oklahoma City. More than $180 million was invested in research at OSU in 2010, up from just over $90 million in 2000. OSU operates its own physical plant serving 9.4 million square feet of campus facilities. The university’s utility infrastructure is valued at more than $250 million.
Today's energy environment consists of many converging issues that include alternative energy sources, regulatory and legislative concerns and emerging technologies. Smart Energy Source offers opportunities to tap into innovative energy solutions out of reach for each partner - CREC, Oklahoma State University, the City of Stillwater and C.H. Guernsey & Co. - alone. The Smart Energy Source business plan focuses on the goal of achieving sustainability and growth through partnerships. With increased sustainability and growth come financial benefits and savings that will ultimately be passed down to all consumers.
OSU brings a wealth of information and expertise to the Smart Energy Source partnership. Gary Clark, Vice President and General Counsel, and Dr. Stephen McKeever, Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, serve on the Smart Energy Source Board of Directors, and Rick Krysiak, P.E., Director of Physical Plant Services, serves as a project manager. OSU brings research capabilities to investigate new energy technologies, as well as the opportunity to train future employees of the energy industry. OSU has invested in energy research and technologies that will benefit all Smart Energy Source partners. Some of these include:
- biomass and compressed natural gas research
- GPS of wind calculations
- monitoring and control of facility equipment
- business integration system installations within many campus facilities
- energy efficiency research
- fiber communications system
- WiFi point to point
The Smart Energy Source business model creates an integrated network of initiatives making possible each partner's participation in grid modernization, and OSU is no exception.