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NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COMMITTEE |
HIGHLIGHTS
November 1, 2005
DATES TO REMEMBER
Nov 30, NWCC Business Meeting 36. Plans for 2006 and beyond will be the focus of the next NWCC business meeting. Updated blueprints for all workgroups are being prepared, and any and all ideas are welcome. Please send your ideas to Katie Kalinowski, kkalinowski@resolv.org. More meeting details are coming soon on our website.
Dec 1-2, Washington, DC: Technical Considerations in Siting Wind Energy: NWCC Research Meeting. (New date!) The meeting will engage researchers and those involved in the permitting process for wind energy to review and discuss existing research, methods, and tools available to address non-wildlife related technical issues associated with siting and operation of wind energy systems. The registration fee is $200 and the draft agenda, logistics, and online registration are online.
NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS
Steering Committee Call
November 3 @ 1:00 pm ET
Wildlife Workgroup Call
November 16 @ 1:00 pm ET
Transmission Workgroup Call
November 17 @ 2:00 pm ET
Working Groups
Siting Technical Meeting Planning Committee Call
November 2 @ 1:00 pm ET
Environmental Caucus Call
November 2 @ 2:00 pm ET
Grassland/Shrub Steppe Species Subgroup Call
November 3 @ 11:00 am ET
Risk Assessment Subgroup Call
November 22 @ 10:00 am ET
NWCC MEETINGS
NWCC Business Meeting 36
Nov. 30, 2005 - Washington, DC
NWCC Technical Siting Research Meeting
Dec. 1-2, 2005, Washington, DC
MAGIC MOMENTS
Updated Calendar of 2005 Events: click here
NWCC STAFF CONTACTS
Katie Kalinowski
Outreach Associate
(202) 965-6383
kkalinowski@resolv.org
Madeleine West
Research Fellow
(202) 965-6216
mwest@resolv.org
NWCC WORKGROUP UPDATES
The next Wildlife Workgroup conference call is Nov 16 and will be the first convening of the core group. Everyone continues to be invited to take part in the workgroup; however core group members will first be called on, then comments will be sought from others on the call. Any additional nominations for the technical advisory committee (TAC) should be sent to Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.
A planning committee is being formed for the 6th NWCC Wildlife-Wind Research Meeting, proposed for Fall 2006. Suggestions on meeting topics, location, or dates are encouraged; please send these ideas to Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.
Recent Wildlife Workgroup subgroup activities include:
Grassland/Shrub Steppe Species - A full proposal was submitted this week to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for grant money to carry out the Effects of Wind Power Facilities on Prairie Chickens research plan drafted by the subgroup. Outreach to and coordination with wind developers on potential experimental study sites is also taking place. A RFQ for the prairie chicken project is expected to be approved soon by the subgroup. Individuals interested in receiving the RFQ when it is completed should contact Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.
Comments on the grassland songbirds monitoring protocol have been provided to the protocol authors for their review.
A contract is being drawn up with the Ornithological Council to write a literature review on avian grassland/shrub steppe species and wind projects.
Operating protocols for this subgroup have been drafted and are being revised based on member comments.
Risk Assessment - Following the subgroup’s latest conference call, NWCC staff members are updating the subgroup’s draft white paper describing ecological risk assessment and its potential application to wind power. When the draft white paper is complete, a conference call or meeting will be convened to present it to the Wildlife Workgroup and the workgroup will decide how and whether it wishes to proceed in this area.
Nocturnal Methods and Metrics - A conference call is being scheduled for this subgroup to review the letter of intent received to write a companion document to the NWCC publication Studying Wind Energy/Bird Interactions: A Guidance Document. On the call, the subgroup will review the letter together and discuss how to proceed.
The factsheets on state siting guidelines under development by NWCC and NCSL are currently being verified with the appropriate parties in each state. The factsheets will provide an overview of each state’s guidelines, model rules, or regulations that govern wind energy. For information about this project, please contact Madeleine West at mwest@resolv.org.
On Dec 1-2, NWCC is hosting a workshop in Washington, DC on technical considerations for siting wind facilities. The meeting will bring together researchers and those involved in the permitting process for wind energy to review and discuss existing research, methods, and tools available to address non-wildlife related technical issues associated with siting and operation of wind energy systems. Panels on sound, visual, safety, communications interference, and other impacts associated with wind development will be featured. More details are available here. A limited number of fee waivers will be available to state and local officials. For additional information, contact Katie Kalinowski, kkalinowski@resolv.org.
The next Transmission Workgroup conference call has been rescheduled for November 17, 2 pm ET. Please update your calendars.
The latest Transmission Update on October 11th focused on low voltage ride-through interconnection standard for wind turbines and on the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority's recent announcements on financing transmission. A related briefing is under development and will be posted on the NWCC homepage.
The meeting summary for NWCC’s “Wind Energy and Transmission in the Southwest Power Pool” workshop, held September 19th in Topeka, Kansas, is being prepared. Presentations and other meeting materials are already at the above link.
45 people took part in NWCC’s first webcast of an issue forum, in addition to 25 participants in Lansing, MI. Presentations from this meeting on the relationship between wind energy and air quality are available online, and an issue brief on this topic is under development.