NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COLLABORATIVE

HIGHLIGHTS

December 15, 2007

DATES TO REMEMBER

Transmission Updates - Join us on the December 18th NWCC Transmission Update call and learn about NERC’s 2007 Long-Term Reliability Assessment and WestConnect’s development of a regional rate structure to eliminate rate pancaking. Rick Sergel, NERC, and Charlie Reinhold, WestConnect, are our featured speakers. Email us to be added to the update listserv and received the call-in info.

The summary of our update call on state transmission authorities, featuring Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wyoming, is now online here. Check it out to learn more about how these authorities compare and what activities they are pursuing.

South Dakota Transmission Conference Presentations Online - If you were not one of the 300 in attendance at the Wind Energy & Transmission: The South Dakota Landscape conference on Nov 29-30 in Sioux Falls, SD, you can catch up on the latest developments by viewing speaker presentations here.

NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS

Transmission Update call
December 18, 1:00 pm ET

Steering Committee call
December 20, 1:00 pm ET

Wildlife Workgroup call
January 9, 2:30 pm ET

Transmission Workgroup call
January 15, 2:00 pm ET

Working Groups

Wildlife Research Meeting VII
Planning call, December 19th
11:00 am ET

NWCC WORKGROUP UPDATES

Updated Core Group Roster – The Wildlife Workgroup approved Core Group membership changes. Please see the updated Core Group roster here.

New Habitat Subgroup Formed - The Wildlife Workgroup Core Group approved the creation of a new subgroup to address habitat needs. Parties interested in joining the Habitat Subgroup should contact Taylor Kennedy at tkennedy@resolv.org.

Probability of Impact Workshop Presentations Now Available; Wildlife Workgroup Next Steps - A Next Steps Memo from the November 14th Wildlife Workgroup Meeting has been distributed to the Wildlife Workgroup. Summaries from that meeting and the Probability of Impact Workshop are in development. Once they are approved by presenters, they will be distributed to meeting attendees and the Wildlife Workgroup. Presentations from the Probability of Impact Workshop are available on the NWCC website here; Core Group meeting presentations are here.

Grassland and Shrub Steppe Species Collaborative (GS3C) - The NWCC staff is organizing a conference call briefing for the GS3C to learn about sage grouse interaction with wind energy development and consider possible next steps for the GS3C. The call is being scheduled for January.

Research Meeting VII Planning Committee - The planning committee will reconvene on December 19th to continue organizing the meeting. The Research Meeting is anticipated for Fall 2008.

Key Research Topics Subgroup - NWCC staff is incorporating comments from the Wildlife Workgroup Core Group into the Key Research Topics document and will soon circulate the document for final approval by the subgroup and Core Group.

Avian Protection Plans Briefing – A summary of the October 7th Avian Protection Plans briefing has been distributed to the Wildlife Workgroup and will be posted on the NWCC website shortly.

U.S. Forest Service Briefing –A summary of the November 7th Forest Service briefing to the Wildlife Workgroup on these directives is under development and will be distributed to the Wildlife Workgroup upon completion.

Wind/Wildlife Activities & Events Table - The NWCC tracks wind power and wildlife-related studies and meetings and posts them online. Please send any updates to Taylor Kennedy at tkennedy@resolv.org for inclusion.

2008 Transmission Workgroup Blueprint – The draft 2008 Transmission Workgroup blueprint will be made available to the NWCC Steering Committee for review and approval on its December call.

Midwest – The South Dakota transmission meeting planning committee is reconvening on Dec 20th to review potential next steps for NWCC and others. The meeting next steps memo will be made available after this call and the meeting summary is in development.

The Eastern Midwest wind energy and transmission meeting, featuring Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, has been postponed until Spring 2008. NWCC staff is reaching out to potential co-sponsors and organizing a planning committee call.

SPP – The summary of NWCC SPP Transmission Workshop III, held August 22nd in Dallas, is complete and available online, along with all of the meeting presentations.

West – The next issue of NWCC’s Implementing Wind Energy & Transmission in the West quarterly newsletter is being finalized and is due out this month. Past issues are available online. To be added to the distribution list, contact Katie Kalinowski, kkalinowski@resolv.org.

Presentations and a next steps memo from the Sept 27-28 Increasing Renewable Energy in the Western Grid are available through this link. A meeting summary has been drafted and is out to summit speakers for review.

The next Western Transmission Leadership Group call is scheduled for January 3rd.

Transmission Updates – Rick Sergel from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and Charlie Reinhold of WestConnect are the featured speakers for the next Transmission Update call on December 18th at 1:00 pm ET.

The state transmission authorities briefing is available online here. To join the Transmission Update listserv, contact Katie Kalinowski, kkalinowski@resolv.org.

Workgroup Call - The next Transmission Update call is December 18th at 1:00 pm ET; the next Transmission Workgroup call is January 15th at 2:00 pm ET.