By 2013, OU will be powered entirely by wind energy.

A partnership with Oklahoma Gas & Electric, announced by OU President David L. Boren Wednesday, will allow OG&E to meet all OU’s energy needs with a new OG&E wind farm near Woodward, called the “OU Spirit” wind farm.

Boren signed the agreement with OG&E president and CEO Peter Delaney in front of a packed crowd Wednesday afternoon in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Beaird Lounge.

“This is a day in which history is being made,” Boren said. “We intend to be a role model and a leader in energy independence for this country. We’re ready to do it.”

OG&E currently operates two wind farms and integrates the energy from those farms into their energy supply.

The new farm will be fully operational in 2010. Until then, OU will purchase as much wind power as is available.

The “OU Spirit” wind farm will provide a maximum 100 megawatts of electricity a day. OG&E officials estimate an average of 40.5 megawatts a day or 354 megawatt/hours of electricity a year, enough to power 140,000 homes or 10 percent of the households in Oklahoma.

The new wind farm will be an investment by OG&E of nearly $260 million, according to Delaney.

The agreement between OU and Oklahoma City-based OG&E will be one of the largest renewable energy agreements by a public university in the nation, Boren said.

“It is our patriotic duty as Americans to help our country achieve energy independence and to be sound stewards of the environment,” Boren said. “All of us as Americans should unite in this effort.”

Boren also announced OU plans to expand use of compressed natural gas vehicles.

The new Transportation Operations Center, which is scheduled to open in November, will serve OU’s expanding natural gas fleet.

OU has 21 natural gas vehicles currently in operation.

Derek Smoots, vice president of Our Earth, an OU environmental group, said the announcement was a welcomed surprise.

“It is more of a commitment than we were expecting,” Smoots, entrepreneurship and supply chain management senior, said. “I’m glad to hear it.”

However, he cautioned that this partnership should stay in officials’ front minds.

“Announcing this partnership is a great first step and should not be considered an end,” Smoots said.

Delaney said the agreement struck today is a large step in solving the energy problems Americans face.

“As it relates to America’s energy situation, I can think of no other time that’s appropriate for people to get together and take some decisive action as we’re doing today to address our energy challenges,” Delaney said.

Elena Songster, professor of Chinese history with a focus on environmental history, said she was surprised by the magnitude of the agreement.

“One of the main benefits is that it would demonstrate to others that it’s possible,” Songster said. “It’s an opportunity for Oklahoma to make a statement to the nation.”

The increased demand for wind and renewable energy will create 15,000 new jobs in the state, according to Boren and Delaney.

“Not only are we living up to our obligations of stewards of the environment, we are also doing something to help a new emerging industry in our state create more jobs,” Boren said.

The wind energy industry will not only create more jobs, Boren said, but it will produce about $500 million a year in property tax revenues in Oklahoma.

Over the next five years, more than $4 billion will be invested in the state’s wind energy initiatives, Delaney said.

Another part of the agreement will increase scholarships and internships from OG&E for students interested in pursuing careers in renewable energy.

Energy saved by using all wind power will increase investment opportunities by institutions of the Chicago Climate Exchange, which allows companies and other institutions to purchase “carbon credits” from institutions like OU that use clean energy.

“This allows us to use our energy savings and to get a value for them by selling them on the Chicago Climate Exchange to other entities that need those savings in carbon emissions,” Boren said. “This is an exchange that is the heart of new cap and trade proposals that have come from both candidates from both parties for president.”

After speaking with a representative with the exchange, Boren said OU could receive about $600,000 a year from carbon credits. However, that number could fluctuate greatly depending on market conditions.

Wind energy is more expensive than traditional sources and could cost OU about 1 percent of the total budget, or more than $3 million initially, according to the OU Board of Regents’ agenda.

However, Boren said the investment could turn a profit during the life of the five-year contract.

“We think it is potentially beneficial for us financially. We think it is absolutely the right thing to do morally and ethically. We think it’s the right thing to do in terms of helping our country and helping our state,” Boren said.