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NATIONAL WIND
COORDINATING COLLABORATIVE

HIGHLIGHTS

January 15, 2007

DATES TO REMEMBER
Transmission Products Webinar! – On Friday, February 2nd at noon ET, join the NWCC and Western Governors Association (WGA) for a webinar (web conference) on conditional firm and redispatch transmission products. The WGA Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee (CDEAC) called for implementation of these transmission products and they are currently under consideration as part of FERC’s Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT) reform NOPR. Webinar instructions and more information are online at www.nationalwind.org.

NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS

Transmission Workgroup Call
January 18 @ 3:00 pm ET

Steering Committee Call
January 25 @ 1:00 pm ET

Working Groups

Risk Assessment Subgroup Call
January 16 @ 11:00 am ET

Nocturnal Methods and Metrics Call
January 16 @ 3:00 pm ET

Mitigation Toolbox Call
January 17 @ Noon ET

NWCC EVENTS

NWCC/WGA Transmission Products Webinar
February 2, 2007 - Noon ET

MAGIC MOMENTS

Updated Calendar of Events: click here

NWCC STAFF CONTACTS

Katie Kalinowski
Outreach Coordinator
(202) 965-6383
kkalinowski@resolv.org

Madeleine West
Program Associate
(202) 965-6216
mwest@resolv.org

NWCC WORKGROUP UPDATES
Wildlife:

Recent Wildlife Workgroup subgroup activities include:

Gaps Subgroup – The Department of Energy (DOE) asked the NWCC Core Group to assist with directing available research funds to one of the priorities identified in the draft Research Priorities White Paper. The priorities outlined in the white paper and identified at the Wildlife Research VI meeting in San Antonio will be compiled into a survey format for distribution to the Core Group and technical advisors. DOE will refer to the results when proposing research needs for the Wind program.

Grassland and Shrub Steppe Species Collaborative (GS3C) – The grassland songbirds monitoring protocol authors responded to GS3C member feedback on the draft protocol. Once the GS3C members are comfortable with the protocol content, it will be made available as a resource on the NWCC website.

The Ornithological Council is reviewing the GS3C literature review advisory committee feedback on the second draft literature review on avian grassland/shrub steppe species and wind projects.

Mitigation Toolbox – Subgroup members are currently reviewing mitigation toolbox documents and determining next steps for completing the toolbox. The deadline for commenting on revised documents is COB Thursday, January 18th. The next Subgroup call is scheduled for Wednesday, January 17th at noon ET.

Nocturnal Methods and Metrics – The first draft of the primer on nocturnal methods and metrics for studying wind interaction with birds and bats has been sent to the Nocturnal subcommittee and other identified technical experts. Reviewers will submit comments by COB Wednesday, January 24th. The Subgroup has identified an independent expert review process for the document that will be taken to the Core Group for consideration. The next conference call is TBD.

Risk Assessment – The subgroup has been discussing an outline for a workshop to explore the application of a risk assessment framework to wind developments. NWCC staff will be revising the workshop outline, based on subgroup comments, for discussion on the next conference call. The next conference call is TBD.

NWCC Wildlife-Wind Research Meeting VI – Presentations from this meeting are on the NWCC website here. Proceedings are being written and will be posted at this site once completed.

The next Wildlife Workgroup call is scheduled for March 14, 2007 at 2:30pm ET. Please mark your calendars.
Transmission:

West – Natalie McIntire, Renewable Northwest Project, and Don Furman, PPM Energy, will be the featured speakers on the Feb 2nd transmission products webinar. Brendan Kirby, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will also be on hand to answer questions. Factsheets on these transmission products are also being made available on the NWCC website. NWCC and WGA thank the American Wind Energy Association for its financial support.

The NWCC/WGA staffs are editing the inaugural newsletter on progress made on implementation of wind energy and transmission goals in the West. The newsletter is slated for release this month.

To become involved in the Western Transmission Leadership Group (WTLG) or for more information on Western transmission activities, contact Katie Kalinowski, kkalinowski@resolv.org.

Midwest - Slides and other materials from NWCC Midwest Transmission Workshop VI held on December 4-5, 2006 in Bloomington, MN are online . The meeting summary is under development and slated for release in February.

SPP – A call will be scheduled in the next month to check in with SPP stakeholders about how NWCC can assist the region in the coming year.

Transmission Updates – The transmission products webinar replaces the January Transmission Update call.

Workgroup Call - The Transmission Workgroup call scheduled for January 16th at 2 pm ET was rescheduled for Thursday, January 18th at 3 pm ET; please update your calendars