NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COLLABORATIVE

HIGHLIGHTS

September 15, 2008

DATES TO REMEMBER

Wildlife Research Meeting Registration to Open Soon! – Registration for Wind Wildlife Research Meeting VII is now open at: http://wildlife08.windworkshops.org/. A draft agenda is also available for the meeting, which is sponsored by We Energies and co-sponsored by NWCC and other organizations. The plenary will be held at We Energies’ headquarters in Milwaukee, WI, on October 28-29. An optional introductory workshop will be held in the same location on October 27th and the NWCC Wildlife Workgroup will meet there on October 30th.

Please update your address books with the new last name and email for NWCC Facilitator Dana Goodson (previously Dana Mason). She can be reached at her new email address, dgoodson@resolv.org. Email sent to her old address will be automatically forwarded to the new one.

NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS

Transmission Update call
September 23, 1:00 pm ET

NWCC WORKGROUP UPDATES

Registration for Wind Wildlife Research Meeting VII (October 28-29) is open on the meeting website: http://wildlife08.windworkshops.org/. Hosted by We Energies, the meeting will be held in Milwaukee, WI, and will feature presentations on the latest wind and wildlife research in North America. An optional session will be held the afternoon of October 27th for those desiring an introduction to the issues prior to the meeting.

The Wildlife Workgroup Core Group will also meet in Milwaukee on October 30th. An agenda is under development and will be available soon on the meeting website at http://wildlife08.windworkshops.org/. Attendees may register for the Core Group meeting during registration for Wind Wildlife Research Meeting VII. Although this meeting is open to non-Core Group members, space is limited and preference will be given to Core Group members. Space is going fast, so be sure to register soon!

The Grassland Shrub Steppe Species Collaborative (GS3C) will meet in conjunction with the Wind Wildlife Research Meeting VII to discuss next steps for the KSU research on potential impacts to prairie chickens from wind energy development. In addition, the group will discuss possible GS3C activities in studying sage grouse. GS3C members who are interested in attending should contact Taylor Kennedy for additional information.

Updates to NWCC Methods & Metrics Document - Western EcoSystems Technology (WEST) has won a competitively awarded NREL contract to perform significant updates to Studying Wind Energy/Bird Interactions: A Guidance Document (aka Methods & Metrics Document). The contracting team will meet with the Methods & Metrics Oversight Committee to develop a framework for the document in a September 15^th workshop.

Wind/Wildlife Activities & Events Table The NWCC wind power / wildlife studies, activities, and events table is available online. Please send information on wind / wildlife meetings, studies, or publications to Taylor Kennedy at tkennedy@resolv.org for inclusion in this table and the NWCC calendar.

West - The Western Transmission Leadership Group held a call on September 8th to give the green light to plans for a joint meeting with WECC and the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) in December and to discuss potential activities for 2009. Group members also favored the idea of co-hosting, along with the WGA, a third Wind and Renewables Transmission Meeting in the summer of 2009.

Midwest - IInitial discussions are underway on NWCC plans in the Midwest in 2009, and potential activities include holding another Midwest transmission meeting in 2009. The summary from the Midwestern Wind Energy: Moving It to Markets meeting is underway and will be posted on the NWCC website when complete.

Transmission Updates - The next Update call is scheduled for September 23rd at 1:00 pm Eastern and will feature the recent CREZ order from the Texas Public Utility Commission and a transmission proposal now under development by the Southwest Power Pool’s Regional State Committee. More information on the call is available on the NWCC website. A brief of the August 19^th Update call on renewable energy zones has been drafted and will be distributed soon.

Layperson's Guide to Wind Integration – The revised draft of the Layperson's Guide is under review in order to determine the next steps for finalizing the guide by the end of the year.