This week we continue with guest blog posts from our Summer 2024 TURC students’ research project. Each student was challenged to write a brief post that showcased an element of their research from this summer, in addition to an original visual representation of data they have been analyzing. Students will present their full research project on August 9th from 1-2pm (Helmerich Hall, Room 219). The presentation is open to the public and you can find more information and RSVP here: https://pp.events/a8l1nMpb
Today’s guest blog is a bit different in that it features work from Collins College of Business senior Silas Hughes. Silas worked on the first TURC real estate project last summer and this summer mentored this year’s real estate students while also working on research on clean energy infrastructure in Oklahoma. Silas will be graduating in December 2024 and you can connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/silashughes1/ or email him at sch7390@utulsa.edu.
This summer I have had the pleasure of having my hand in two different Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC) projects. The Real Estate Development Redevelopment project, led by Dr. McCollum, has been my legacy project as I worked on it last summer, and the Clean Energy Infrastructure project, led by Dr. Olson, has been a new challenge I have taken on this summer. Through my work in the real estate project, I was able to map and identify varying levels of economic activity and local GDP based on tax incentivized projects. Similarly, this summer my focus has been on identifying, mapping, and tracking clean energy initiatives in Oklahoma in order to track the economic impacts that these projects bring to both local communities, and the state as a whole.
My first step was to familiarize myself with legislation in order to answer questions I had such as who was providing funding, how the funding was pooled and allocated, the different tax benefits of these projects, and the economic impacts beyond just providing clean sources of energy. Thus far, I have compiled a list of fourteen wind, solar, or battery storage projects; six projects in the most recent five years, four projects that are under construction and soon to be operational, and four projects that are currently being planned.
Oklahoma naturally provides an advantageous geographical landscape for wind farms, solar farms, and vast land space for battery storage. All these projects go to power households with clean, renewable energy at lower costs and outpacing the demand for power in the hottest months of the year. Beyond producing clean energy, the projects provide opportunities for local economic growth. Entities bringing outside dollars into the state of Oklahoma, both government and corporate, fuel growth in the economies themselves. Hundreds of construction and permanent jobs are created from these projects. Millions of dollars in tax revenue are generated for local economies that go to fund better schools, public facilities, and infrastructure. Furthermore, households are given access to lower energy costs and higher local spending power which improves the overall lives of Oklahomans.
While the figure below shows the total dollar impact per project, the important thing to notice is the source of the dollars. Many of these projects are funded through public corporations and government entities all bringing outside dollars into the local economies of Northern Oklahoma. This is the imagery of a growing economy, and its impact cannot be underestimated.
