NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COMMITTEE

HIGHLIGHTS

December 15, 2005

DATES TO REMEMBER

Draft State-by-State Siting Factsheets out for review – The Siting Workgroup is currently reviewing the draft state siting factsheets developed jointly by NWCC and NCSL. These factsheets represent various approaches to siting guidelines and were reviewed by authorities in each state. The draft factsheets can be accessed online. For information about this project, please contact Madeleine West at mwest@resolv.org.

NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS

Siting Workgroup Call
December 21 @ 2:00 pm ET

Steering Committee
December 21 @ 3:00 pm ET

Working Groups

Grassland/Shrub Steppe Species Subgroup Call
December 19 @ 4:00 pm ET

Nocturnal Methods and Metrics Subgroup Call
December 20 @ 11:00 am ET

Wildlife Research Meeting VI Planning Call
December 21 @ 11:00 am ET

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 call is scheduled for Wednesday, January 4, 11 am ET. Please mark your calendars.

The core group will select workgroup chair(s) via an email nomination process. Both seats have one year terms, with the vice chair moving up to chair and a new vice chair selected. For more information, contact Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.

Recent Wildlife Workgroup subgroup activities include:

Grassland/Shrub Steppe Species - Two quotations were received in response to the prairie chicken RFQ. The subgroup will review these proposals on its next conference call, along with proposed work on sage grouse sponsored by the Avian Power Line Interaction Committee (APLIC). Availability of research funds and sites will also be reviewed as the subgroup determines next steps.

Research is underway for the literature review on avian grassland/shrub steppe species and wind projects in consultation with subgroup members.

Comments on the grassland songbirds monitoring protocol have been provided to the protocol authors for their review.

Operating protocols for this subgroup have been drafted and are being revised based on member comments.

Risk Assessment - Review of the subgroup’s draft white paper on ecological risk assessment and its potential application to wind power is nearly complete. It will soon be distributed to the workgroup. A conference call or meeting will be convened for the workgroup to decide how and whether it wishes to proceed in this area.

Nocturnal Methods and Metrics - The Kunz et al. team has provided a statement of work for the companion document to the NWCC publication Studying Wind Energy/Bird Interactions: A Guidance Document. The subgroup is reviewing this statement of work with Dr. Kunz on their Dec 20th conference call.

Planning is underway for the 6th NWCC Wildlife-Wind Research Meeting, proposed for October 2006. Suggestions on meeting topics and location are encouraged; please send these ideas to Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org. A planning call for this meeting will be held Dec 21 at 11 am ET.

The draft state-by-state siting factsheets are out to the Siting Workgroup for review until Dec 20th. As these factsheets were approved by each state, workgroup members are asked to submit only what they “cannot live with.” Once workgroup review is complete, the factsheets will be submitted to the steering committee for approval as a NWCC resource document. For information about this project, please contact Madeleine West at mwest@resolv.org.

On Dec 1-2, NWCC hosted a workshop in Washington, DC on technical considerations for siting wind facilities. Panels on sound, visual, safety, communications interference, and other non-wildlife siting factors associated with wind development were featured. Speaker presentations are online and proceedings are under development.

The December/January Transmission Update call held Dec 13th focused on current events in the upper Midwest. Dale Osborn from MISO and Matt Schuerger and Beth Soholt from Wind on the Wires were the featured presenters. A brief based on the call is underdevelopment and will be posted on the Transmission Updates page when completed. The next update call will be February 21st at 1 pm ET (not on Feb 14th as previously scheduled).

The meeting summary for NWCC’s “Wind Energy and Transmission in the Southwest Power Pool” workshop, held September 19th in Topeka, Kansas, is being verified with the speakers. The summary will be distributed to attendees and posted on the NWCC website as soon as approval is received. Presentations and other meeting materials are already available here.

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 being verified with presenters before being distributed.