Many millions have been made in Oklahoma's oil and gas industries over the years, and energy remains a key sector in the state's economy. A newcomer to the sector is wind energy harvested at giant windmill farms in the western part of the state. Oklahoma has identified wind-based energy as a growth industry and is working with wind turbine manufacturers, such as Denmark-based Vestas Wind Systems, to locate manufacturing facilities in the state.
      Tom O'Neill, chief operating officer, at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce recalls a recent Vestas site search involving a $600-million investment in a facility where the average salary would be in the mid-50 thousands. "The federal government is not providing a long-term incentive for wind power energy tax relief," says O'Neill. "They're doing it a year or two at a time, and until they do so on a longer-term basis, I don't think we'll see major investments from these companies. Also," he adds, "these companies are looking for a commitment on the part of large municipalities or areas for wind energy use, or green power. That creates demand that the manufacturers can feel comfortable will be there in the initial run."
      In June, FPL Energy officially opened its second wind energy center in Oklahoma, this one near Weatherford in Custer County. The center will be capable of generating enough electricity to power more than 44,000 homes. The center features 71 turbines, but a 40.5-megawatt expansion of the facility is planned for later in 2005.

Where Food Processors Gain a Competitive Edge Oklahoma's food processing industry has a key ally in the Food & Agricultural Products Research and Technology Center (FAPC) located at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater. Its location notwithstanding, the Center (www.fapc.biz) is not an academic enterprise, but rather an industry-support organization geared to helping food companies generate value-added end products for retail or industry sales. FAPC, which gets its funding from the state, works with businesses large and small with technology delivery being the common denominator. The Food & Agricultural Products Research and Technology Center (FAPC) is on the campus of Oklahoma State University, Stillwater.       "Our total focus is industry support, not academics," says Roy Escoubas, Ph.D., director of the Center and OSU professor. "We're on campus, but that's coincidental." The point of being on the OSU campus is to take advantage of the synergy derived from proximity to faculty, staff and other university resources.       "We did a study about two years ago to determine what the true impact of the Center was," says Escoubas. "We demonstrated, based on true economic models, that we had significant effect on over 8,000 jobs or over a half billion dollars of direct food processing revenue in the state, which is pretty significant."       Although FAPC has done work for non-Oklahoma food processing companies, including ConAgra, Sara Lee and Hormel, most of the center's clients are in-state. An example is baked-goods producer The Bama Companies, headquartered in Tulsa; the company won a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2004. Among the services FAPC has performed for Bama is specialized training. Dr. Roy Escoubas is director of FAPC.       "They provide ongoing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) training and are helping us look at improving our (HACCP) plan," says Tom Black, Bama's director of quality assurance. "We're focusing on modifying (HACCP) training not just to USDA standards but to [even more stringent] standards. We tailor our (HACCP) plan as if we will be regulated one day. We want to practice it now and not wait until it becomes a regulation."       HACCP plans help food producers assess their critical control points to ensure food safety at each step in the food production process. In the case of metal detection, for example, a HACCP plan would identify where it would be most effective and the precursor steps necessary to ensure safety. All USDA facilities are already regulated, as are all seafood facilities; most other food processors are not. "We tend to pattern our programs after what it would look like if we were regulated," says Black. "FAPC has provided a lot of expertise in how we can manage that."