NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COLLABORATIVE

HIGHLIGHTS

November 1, 2007

DATES TO REMEMBER

Registration Open! Nov 29-30, South Dakota Transmission Workshop - Sen. John Thune, Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard, and many other notable speakers are participating in Wind Energy & Transmission: The South Dakota Landscape. This event will be Nov 29-30 in Sioux Falls, SD and will focus on overcoming transmission constraints to facilitate greater wind development in the state and region. Registration is now open-visit the summit website here to view the full agenda and sign up.

US Forest Service Briefing RESCHEDULED for November 7^th at 1 pm ET - Paul Johnson and Julett Denton of the U.S. Forest Service will brief the Wildlife Workgroup on the proposed Forest Service Wind Energy Directives recently released in the Federal Register here. Teleconference dial-in information will remain the same. To request the dial-in info, contact Taylor Kennedy, tkennedy@resolv.org.

Economic Development Brief Available Online - A brief describing economic development benefits and manufacturing opportunities presented by wind power development is now online through this link. The brief comes out of a forum sponsored by Wind Powering America and NWCC this Spring and forum presentations are online here.

Critical Literature Review Complete! - The publication Impact of Wind Energy and Related Human Activities on Grassland and Shrub-Steppe Birds is complete and available online here. This is a literature review developed by the Ornithological Council for the Grassland Shrub-Steppe Species Collaborative (GS3C).

NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS

US Forest Service Directives Briefing,
November 7, 1:00 pm ET

Steering Committee call,
November 20, 1:00 pm ET

Transmission Workgroup call,
November 20, 2:00 pm ET

Transmission Update call,
December 18, 1:00 pm ET

Working Groups

Research Priorities call
November 8, 1:00 pm ET

NWCC WORKGROUP UPDATES

Grassland and Shrub Steppe Species Collaborative (GS3C) - KSU researchers reported on research from the last quarter to the GS3C on Oct 29^th. GS3C members also discussed potential new projects to pursue in 2008. Their ideas will be part of the 2008 Wildlife Workgroup blueprint discussion at the workgroup meeting on Nov 14^th.

Research Meeting VII Planning Committee - Research Meeting planners met on October 23rd to discuss further details for a Fall 2008 Wildlife Research Meeting. NWCC staff will prepare and circulate a proposed planning schedule and approach to the subgroup. Once agreed upon by the subgroup, the proposal will go to the Wildlife Workgroup for approval.

Research Priorities Subgroup - The subgroup has held two calls on developing a list of wind and wildlife research needs. NWCC staff is refining the list for approval by the subgroup on a November 8^th call. If approved, the subgroup will present the list to the Wildlife Workgroup Core Group for comment and approval at the November 14^th Wildlife Workgroup Meeting.

Wind/Wildlife Activities & Events Table - This table, updated October 30^th, 2007, tracks wind power and wildlife-related studies and meetings and is available online.

Midwest - All speakers for the Nov 29-30 South Dakota wind and transmission meeting are confirmed. The American Wind Energy Association, the Energy and Environmental Research Center, and the Midwest ISO are co-sponsoring the event and outreach is ongoing to additional co-sponsors. The planning committee is working on a list of priority activities to focus discussion at the event. The full agenda, logistics, and registration are now available on the NWCC website here.

The Eastern Midwest wind energy and transmission meeting, featuring Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, has been postponed until Spring 2008. Planning is expected to resume in December.

SPP - Presentations from NWCC's August 22^nd workshop on wind energy and transmission in the Southwest Power Pool region are available online for free download through this link. Speaker edits to the meeting summary are being incorporated and it will be released soon.

The SPP subgroup held a call on Oct 23^rd to begin discussing possible 2008 NWCC activities in the region. NWCC staff is doing additional follow-up with regional leaders and incorporating ideas into the 2008 Transmission Workgroup blueprint.

West - Presentations and a next steps memo from the Sept 27-28 Increasing Renewable Energy in the Western Grid are available through this link and a meeting summary is under development. In November, the Western Transmission Leadership Group will hold a call to discuss activities for 2008 and beyond.

The next issue of NWCC's Implementing Wind Energy & Transmission in the West quarterly newsletter is due out in December. Please send any suggestions for article ideas to Katie Kalinowski, kkalinowski@resolv.org. Past issues are available online.

Transmission Updates - Leaders from the Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wyoming infrastructure authorities spoke about their progress to-date and future plans on the Oct 31st Transmission Update call. A written brief is under development. To join the Transmission Update listserv, contact Katie Kalinowski, kkalinowski@resolv.org.

Workgroup Call - The next Transmission Workgroup call is November 20^th at 2:00 pm ET and the next Transmission Update call is December 18^th at 1:00 pm ET.