The ribbon cutting event was attended by Oklahoma state senators Mary Boren and Lonnie Paxton, officials from the City of Tuttle and Tuttle Public Schools, as well as George Stutz, a representative from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office in Golden, Colorado.
“This project shows the synergy that can occur when we work together,” said Mike Stice, dean of the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy.
The research project was made a reality through the collaborative efforts of university researchers and staff with a privately owned company, a federal-level grant, and a local city government and school district.
Saeed Salehi, associate professor in the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering and project principal investigator, believes this project could have significant impact on Oklahoma and other areas not traditionally viewed as prime locations for geothermal energy.
Salehi noted that the thousands of retired oil wells across Oklahoma are a unique asset.
“We are blessed with so many of these wells throughout the state. They are close to schools, close to factories, close to farms. In Oklahoma, we do not need to invest in miles of pipelines to deliver energy to end users,” he said.
