Former FERC Commissioner and Chairman James Hoecker joined the call to discuss WIRES Petition for Rule Making on Cost Allocation Principles. WIRES is a national non profit association of investor member and publicly owned entities dedicated to promoting investment in a strong well planned and environmentally beneficial high voltage electric transmission grid. Siting the changing transmission market where bulk power can serve multiple regions, Mr. Hoecker stated the beneficiaries of transmission have changed, resulting in an uncertainty about whether the public interest requires a broadening or narrowing of the pool for customers that should pay for existing or new facilities. To read the full petition, click here. Our next Transmission Workgroup call will be held on Tuesday, March 16 from 2:00-3:00 Eastern.

Our next NWCC Transmission Update call will be on Tuesday February 16 at 1:00 PM Eastern (12:00 CT/ 11:00 MT/ 10:00 PT) and will explore the proposed Tres Amigas 5,000 MW transmission superstation in New Mexico that, if built, would consist of a three-way AC/DC transmission and link ERCOT and the Eastern and Western Interconnections. The Tres Amigas proposal has been debated concerning the extent of market power the facility will or will not possess, and Tres Amigas’ request that FERC disclaim jurisdiction over transmission lines that link ERCOT to Tres Amigas. Frank Barbera of Tres Amigas LLC will be joining the call to discuss the project. For more information on Tres Amigas, click here.

We will also hear about the California ISO’s proposed Renewable Energy Transmission Planning Process (RETPP) that the CAISO expects to file with FERC in the coming months. The RETPP is designed to advance the development of transmission needed to achieve the state’s 33 percent renewable portfolio standard (RPS) by 2020 through the improvement transmission planning and generation interconnection processes. The proposed RETPP details a process that involves forming a conceptual transmission plan built on the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI), followed by input from stakeholders before a finalized plan is determined and proposals are received. If approved, a conceptual statewide transmission plan would be prepared by May 2010 and a final statewide transmission plan would be submitted to the CAISO’s Board of Directors by December 2010. Cynthia Hinman, a Senior Market Design and Policy Specialist from the CAISO, will join the call to discuss this proposal.

Please use the following call-in information to access the call:

Call Information
Call-in Number: 1-800-820-4690
Access Code: 2029878643#

There is no cost to join this briefing - feel free to forward this information to others. An opportunity for questions and answers with the speakers will be provided, and a written brief will be distributed afterwards.

On December 9th, Craig Knoell, Program Manager of Western Area Power Administration's (Western's) Transmission Infrastructure Program provided an update to the NWCC on the $3.25 billion of borrowing authority provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Western's borrowing authority is to be used for the purpose of constructing, financing, facilitating, planning, operating, maintaining, or studying construction of new or upgraded electric power transmission lines and related facilities with at least one terminus within the area served by Western, and for delivering or facilitating the delivery of power generated by renewable energy resources constructed or reasonably expected to be constructed.

Funded projects must meet guidelines of Western's Transmission Infrastructure Program and must be in the public interest, must not adversely impact system reliability or operations, and must meet other statutory obligations, among other requirements. According to Knoell, Western has received over 200 funding statements of interest for projects that range all spectrums of transmission improvement and expansion and recently chose the Montana-Alberta Tie Limited (MATL) transmission project between Great Falls, Montana, and Lethbridge, Alberta as their first project. For more information on Western’s Transmission Infrastructure Program, visit:

http://www.wapa.gov/recovery/default.htm

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers will summarize the findings of their recent analysis of the potential impacts of wind power projects on local residential property values.

The study, presented at NWCC's 2009 State of the Art Siting Seminar, was completed and made public just last week and is available by clicking here.

All are welcome to register for and listen in to the webinar: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/265150216

At NWCC's October State of the Art in Wind Siting: A Seminar, Ben Hoen of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) presented the findings of “The Impact of Wind Power Projects on Residential Property Values in the United States: A Multi-Site Hedonic Analysis." LBNL is pleased to announce the official release of the report. According to the report, "None of the models uncovered conclusive evidence of the existence of any widespread property value effects that might be present in communities surrounding wind energy facilities." To download the report, click here and for the associated powerpoint presentation, click here. 

The summary for the October NWCC Transmission Update Briefing is now available here!

The October Update featured Mason Emnett from FERC who discussed the recent Order 890 technical conferences, and Ashley Brown, Executive Director of the Harvard Electricity Policy Group at the Kennedy School of Government who discussed issues within the current transmission siting paradigm.

Reminder! Our next NWCC Transmission Update Brief has been rescheduled for December 8, 2009 at 1:00pm ET (12:00 CT, 11:00 MT, 10:00 PT). Please mark your calendars.

Nearly all the presentations from the State of the Art in Wind Siting Seminar have been posted online.  Visit: http://www.nationalwind.org/issues/siting/2009sitingseminar.aspx to download presentations, the final meeting agenda, and other materials from the meeting.