NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COMMITTEE

HIGHLIGHTS

March 1, 2005

DATES TO REMEMBER

New Outreach Associate:

Resolve and the NWCC are happy to welcome Katie Kalinowski as the new Outreach Associate.

Katie is originally from Colorado and studied environmental economics at the University of Nebraska and North Carolina State University. She has worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Institute for Ecological Economy Research, and the US Forest Service. Katie will be the lead person for the Wildlife Workgroup and all related subgroups.

Transmission Update Briefing (Formerly RTO Update): After a hiatus, the Transmission Briefing is back! Kevin Porter of Exeter Associates will be leading the call, and a briefing / update document informed by the discussion will be sent following the call. The call will include discussions on the FERC Wind Interconnection NOPR and Post Dec. 1st Wind Technical Conference Comments, the Bonneville Power Administration Proposal for Conditional Firm Transmission Product & March 16th-17th FERC workshop in Portland, Oregon on wholesale transmission products, and other issues, news updates and miscellaneous items from around the country. I hope you will join us for an informative conversation!

NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS

Transmission Briefing
March 1 @ 1:00 pm ET

Siting Workgroup Conference Call
March 2 @ 2:00 pm ET

NWCC Steering Committee Call
March 3 @ 1:00 pm ET

Wildlife Workgroup Conference Call
March 16 @ 2:00 pm ET

NWCC Steering Committee Call
March 31 @ 1:00 pm ET

NWCC MEETINGS

Midwestern Transmission Meeting
June 1, 2005 - St. Paul, MN

MAGIC MOMENTS

Updated Calendar of 2005 Events: click here

NWCC STAFF CONTACTS

Miles Keogh
Outreach Coordinator
(202) 965-6209
mkeogh@resolv.org

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

NWCC WORK GROUP UPDATES

The four Wildlife Workgroup subgroups are continuing to develop action plans and determine directions forward:

Ecological Risk Assessment - the subgroup is developing a white paper on risk assessment for the full workgroup, and is trying to help define risk assessment in terms for wind power development.
Prairie Birds - this subgroup has begun discussions about how to conduct research this spring on sensitive habitats.
Mitigation Toolbox - a workplan is being drafted for the subgroup to discuss.
Methods and Metrics for Nocturnal Bats and Birds-  an early research outline is under development that will focus on research methods and tools for nocturnal birds and bats.

The Wildlife Research Meeting V proceedings are in the final stages of review and will be made available in the coming days.

The NWCC Siting Case Studies: Community Response has been revised and will be sent to the full workgroup prior to the March 2nd conference call.

On the conference call, the workgroup will also discuss plans for a fall Technical Siting meeting, focusing on sound, visuals, and property impacts. The call will also provide an opportunity for members to provide updates on their recent siting-related activities and news.

The first Bi-Monthly Transmission Briefing (formerly RTO Briefings) is scheduled for March 1 at 1:00 pm Eastern. The call, led by Kevin Porter of Exeter Associates, will focus on FERC's recently released NOPR on wind interconnection, and the upcoming BPA/FERC workshop in Portland, Oregon, on March 16th and 17th, concerning conditional firm transmission service. This will also be a chance for those across the country to catch-up and contribute to a centralized location for transmission issues. The briefing report will be published after the call.

The Transmission Workgroup is preparing for the June 1, 2005 Midwest Transmission Workshop in St. Paul, MN to discuss activities in the MISO region that affect wind energy. A Save The Date has been sent, and speakers are being recruited. More information will be available in the coming weeks.

Finally, progress is being made on the four transmission siting case studies and should be ready for the transmission workgroup’s review in March. The studies examine lessons learned from transmission system expansions that benefited wind in Lamar, Colorado; Buffalo Ridge, Minnesota; Tehachapi, California; and McCamey, Texas.