Feds pick OSU for expansion of energy efficiency program

Dale Denwalt, Oklahoman
·1 min read
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U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks during an event in Devens, Massachussetts, earlier this year. Granholm and Douglas Emhoff, huband of Vice President Kamala Harris, will be in Oklahoma on Friday as part of the Biden Administration's Investing in America tour.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks during an event in Devens, Massachussetts, earlier this year. Granholm and Douglas Emhoff, huband of Vice President Kamala Harris, will be in Oklahoma on Friday as part of the Biden Administration's Investing in America tour.

Oklahoma State University has been selected as a potential site for one of five regional Centers of Excellence in the field of energy efficiency assessments.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm made the announcement during a visit to Stillwater. The decision could lead to the expansion of OSU's Industrial Assessment Center into a regional hub for other IAC programs.

An IAC allows small and medium-size businesses to identify opportunities to improve productivity and competitiveness, reduce waste and save money by finding energy efficiencies. The assessments will be performed by engineering students and faculty and will cost nothing to participating businesses.

Once complete, the Great Plains Center of Excellence would help with the mentoring of engineering students, train staff and help develop leaders in energy efficiency, the Department of Energy said.

According to the department, IACs typically identify more than $130,000 in potential annual savings for every manufacturer assessed. As part of the infrastructure bill, up to $400 million in grants will be available to companies to implement recommendations from these assessments.

Granholm was visiting Oklahoma with Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, as part of the Biden administration's Investing in America tour. It's the latest in a series of visits by high-profile members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona visited with CareerTech students in January, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was in Oklahoma City last month on a tour of the Federal Aviation Administration's facility here.

After their visit to Stillwater, Emhoff and Granholm planned to participate in a roundtable discussion on geothermal energy at the University of Oklahoma in Norman with representatives from tribal nations.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Feds pick OSU for expansion of energy efficiency program