Energy savings allow OSU to open new buildings without increasing utility budget

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Multi-million dollar energy savings over the last year through Oklahoma State University’s conservation program have enabled the university to open five new buildings on the Stillwater campus without increasing the overall maintenance and operation budget. 

“This is a testimony to the school’s priority to contain costs while still moving forward with significant new facility construction on the campus,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. 

The new buildings are the North Classroom Building, the Multimodal Facility, Murray Hall, Old Central and the Henry Bellmon Research Center.

“Our energy conservation program is a tremendous example of our cost containment priorities at OSU,” stated Hargis.  “The $3.3 million in energy savings we have realized over the first nine months of our fiscal year have allowed us to open these facilities – over 320,000 square feet – without increasing our monthly utility budget a single penny. In simple terms, the monthly savings from our energy program offset the additional monthly utility costs of these new buildings.”

Since 2007 OSU has partnered with Energy Education, recipient of the 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, to reduce energy consumption on the OSU campuses in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Okmulgee.  As a result, OSU has saved over $10.6 million in energy costs and reduced carbon emissions by 86,000 metric tons of CO2, which is the equivalent to planting 2.2 million trees.  Plus, for the second year in a row the General University utilities budget has not increased as a result of savings from the energy conservation program.

OSU’s energy conservation program was also selected as the Southern Association of Colleges and Universities Grand Finalist Best Practice for 2008-2009.