About a mile and a half south of Tuttle’s elementary and middle schools is an oil field with some wells drilled in the mid-1980s. While there are ongoing oil and gas operations, the site also serves a new purpose.
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma have been investigating whether they can produce geothermal energy from retired oil and gas wells with the help of a federal grant. Geothermal uses Earth’s natural subsurface heat to produce energy. It can produce electricity with steam rising from deep below ground or use fluid pumped from the formations to heat nearby buildings.
The project was paused by the Trump administration last year and is waiting for approval from the Department of Energy to start its next phase. Eventually, the researchers want to pipe heat to the nearby schools to offset their utility costs…