NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COMMITTEE

HIGHLIGHTS

March 31, 2005

DATES TO REMEMBER

NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS

NWCC Steering Committee Call
April 7 @ 1:00 pm ET

Siting Workgroup Conference Call
April 13 @ 2:00 pm ET

Transmission Update Briefing
April 26 @ 1:00 pm ET

Working Groups

Midwestern Transmission Planning Group
March 30, 1:00 PM ET

Risk Assessment Subgroup
April 18, noon ET

NWCC MEETINGS

NWCC Business Meeting 35
June 9, 2005 - Richmond, VA

Midwestern Transmission Meeting
June 22, 2005 - St. Paul, MN

NWCC Business Meeting 36
Fall 2005 - Michigan

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 next Risk Assessment Subgroup call is April 18th at noon ET to prepare for the upcoming Wildlife Workgroup meeting in Denver. The subgroup is developing a white paper on risk assessment for the full workgroup and is trying to help define risk assessment in terms of wind power development.

Grassland Species (formerly Prairie Bird) - An in-person meeting of the Grassland Species Subgroup is being held March 29-30 in Wichita, Kansas. The meeting will include presentations on wind project site selection and grassland species and their habitat, as well as discussion of research opportunities and a site field trip.

Mitigation Toolbox - A workplan is being drafted for the subgroup to discuss.

Methods and Metrics for Nocturnal Bats and Birds - A research outline is currently being revised with additional content for the consideration of the subgroup. The research outline will focus on research methods and tools for nocturnal birds and bats.

All comments have been incorporated into the Wildlife Research Meeting V proceedings; they are being made available online and to participants and speakers via CD.

The NWCC Wildlife Workgroup will meet May 4-5 in Denver, Colorado to update participants on subgroup activities, review the workplan, and present new research. An agenda and meeting location are forthcoming.

The NWCC staff is still accepting comments on the NWCC Siting Case Studies: Community Response that went out to the Siting Workgroup for comments in early March. Please forward comments to Miles Keogh at mkeogh@resolv.org.

The Siting Workgroup is assembling a planning group to develop a draft agenda for a fall Technical Siting meeting, focusing on sound, visuals, and property impacts.

The March 2005 Bi-Monthly Transmission Briefing (formerly RTO Briefings) has been distributed to interested parties and is available on the NWCC website at www.nationalwind.org/publications/transmission/updates/default.htm. The next call on April 26th at 1 pm ET will focus on transmission issues in SPP, the Day 2 Market in MISO, and activities in the west by the Western Governors Association’s Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee. The call will also continue to track developments at FERC, and a briefing will be distributed after the call.

The Transmission Workgroup is preparing for the June 22, 2005 Midwest Transmission Workshop in St. Paul, MN to discuss activities in the MISO region that affect wind energy. An agenda and logistics sheet will be forwarded shortly.

Transmission case studies for Lamar, CO and McCamey, TX are being reviewed by Transmission Workgroup members. Transmission case studies on Buffalo Ridge, MN and Tehachapi, CA will be available in the coming weeks. Comparative analysis of the four cases is being performed. All four case studies and this analysis will be complete by the Business Meeting in Richmond on June 9th.

A meeting is being organized in Kansas for Fall 2005 to discuss transmission issues in the SPP. If you are interested in being on the planning committee, please contact Miles Keogh at mkeogh@resolv.org.