- Oklahoma Renewable Energy Guide
Meet our energy expert.
Bioenergy
Oklahoma State University’s Bio-based Products and Energy Center is enhancing productivity for potential feedstocks, improving conversion technologies and optimizing the value of
co-products and by-products.
Seaboard Energy, located in Guymon, is finding alternative energy sources, including but not limited to, the production of biodiesel, renewable natural gas and compressed natural gas.
Hydrogen
Oklahoma City’s Newpoint Gas, LLC is taking steps to develop and integrate processes to produce clean water, electricity, and a hydrogen energy source from natural gas technologies.
Battery Storage
The largest wind, solar, and storage project in the U.S. is being built by NextEra in Northwest Oklahoma. The Skeleton Creek energy production project will include a 250 MW wind farm, 250 MW solar farm, and a 200 MW battery facility.
Spiers New Technologies Inc., located in Oklahoma City, has revolutionized the automotive industry with battery “4R” services (repair, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and repurposing) for advanced battery packs used in hybrid and electric vehicles to optimize the life cycle of their battery pack inventory and maximize its value.
Wind
With a centralized U.S. location, immediate proximity to wind projects, and a position in the heart of the wind corridor, Oklahoma is the ideal site for wind generation, tower and blade production, turbine component manufacturing, repair and maintenance operations, and industry R&D.
- #2 in wind energy employment in the U.S.
- Oklahoma is home to the 2nd largest wind farm in the U.S. (Traverse Wind Energy Center)
- Oklahoma’s manufacturers continue to expand and thrive from castings, machining, bearings and gears to forges, fabrications and suspended climbing systems, your potential suppliers are right here in Oklahoma.
Geothermal
The University of Oklahoma’s Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy received a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Dept of Energy for a study to develop technologies to increase power production from geothermal wells while decreasing production costs.
Headquartered on the campus of Oklahoma State University, the International Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) Association utilizes state-of-the-art facilities for conducting GSHP system installation training, certification of system designers and geothermal research.
The Oklahoma state capital building is one of the largest buildings in the world to be heated and cooled by geothermal energy, resulting in savings of 25% in operating costs and zero CO2 emissions.
Solar
Oklahoma’s centralized location provides cost advantages to solar manufacturers for their supply chain and product transportation, and gives companies easy access to consumer markets across the U.S., Mexico and Canada via the state’s port and interstate system infrastructure.
- No. 6 in solar energy potential in the U.S.
- 3,000+ sunny hours per year – more than Florida, California or Texas
Oklahoma Mesonet
Collects weather data, including solar and wind speeds, across 120 stations spanning all 77 Oklahoma counties.
Location
A centralized location combined with solar and wind potential put Oklahoma at the forefront of renewable capacity.
Training a Renewable Workforce
Oklahoma’s nationally-recognized CareerTech centers offer specialized training that prepare students for work in various energy fields. CareerTech also works with companies to create
customized programs to meet specific workforce needs.
Specialized renewable and sustainable energy degree programs are offered by Oklahoma State
University (OSU), OSU-OKC, Rogers State University, Tulsa Community College and the University of Tulsa (TU).
Oklahoma’s colleges and universities graduate an average of more than 200 electrical and electronics engineers and more than 150 construction and engineering technology technicians each year.
TU is also home to the National Energy Policy Institute, a joint project between the university and the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
From OSU’s honors from the EPA for green power leadership to TU’s Alternative Energy Institute, Oklahoma’s higher education institutions are focused on the next-generation
energy research.
Oklahoma saw a 39% growth rate over the last 10 years in Energy related programs, producing over 30,500 graduates.
Renewable Energy Degree Programs
Degree programs related to renewable energy offered at Oklahoma universities and colleges:
- Electronics Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Geological Engineering
- Environmental, Health & Safety
- Management
- Wind Turbine Technicians
- Wind Energy Maintenance
- Manufacturing Production Technicians
- Quality Control Technicians
Renewable Energy Vocational Programs
CareerTech programs related to renewable energy:
- Electricity
- Electrical Technology
- Natural Resources and Environmental Science
- Wind Turbine Technology
https://www.nrel.gov/gis/geothermal.html
Draxl, C., B.M. Hodge, A. Clifton, and J. McCaa. 2015. "The Wind Integration National Dataset (WIND) Toolkit." Applied Energy 151: 355366.
Lieberman-Cribbin, W., C. Draxl, and A. Clifton. 2014. Guide to Using the WIND Toolkit Validation Code (Technical Report, NREL/TP-5000-62595). Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
King, J., A. Clifton, and B.M. Hodge. 2014. Validation of Power Output for the WIND Toolkit (Technical Report, NREL/TP-5D00-61714). Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
https://www.nrel.gov/gis/wind.html
Your Site Selection Experts
Contact us today for a confidential, no-cost incentives analysis for your project. Call the Oklahoma Team at 800-588-5959.
Jennifer Springer
Christy Busch
Geoffrey Camp
Cathy Curtis
Connie Lake
Tina Lindsay
Leshia Pearson
Martin Roberts
Sarah Short
Christopher Suttle
