NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COMMITTEE

HIGHLIGHTS

April 15, 2006

DATES TO REMEMBER

Save the Date! June 20 – 21, 2006, NWCC Wildlife Gaps Prioritization Meeting – The NWCC Wildlife Workgroup Core Group will meet again June 20 – 21 in Boulder, CO to develop and prioritize a list of current research gaps in the wind/wildlife arena. This work will feed into the November Wildlife Research Meeting VI in Texas. More details will be posted here as they become available.

Wildlife Workgroup Meeting Summary Online! The final meeting summary from the Feb 27-28 Wildlife Workgroup Core Group meeting is complete and available online. Meeting presentations and other materials are also available at this site.

Save the Date! July 18-19, 2006, NWCC Western Transmission Workshop – – In July, NWCC will host its fourth western transmission workshop, Leadership Forum: Implementing Transmission Recommendations in the West. Participants will collaborate on an implementation action plan for moving forward with the Clean and Diversified Energy Action Committee (CDEAC) wind and transmission recommendations in the West. The latest information about meeting location, registration, etc. will be posted here as it becomes available.

NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS

Transmission Update Call
April 24 @ 1:00 pm ET

Steering Committee Call
April 27 @ 1:00 pm ET

Transmission Workgroup Call
April 27 @ 3:00 pm ET

Wildlife Workgroup Call
May 10 @ 1:00 pm ET

Working Groups

Nocturnal Methods and Metrics Subgroup Call
April 18 @ 2:00 pm ET

SPP Transmission Planning Call
April 24 @ 11:00 am ET

Western Transmission Planning Call
April 24 @ 2:00 pm ET

Wildlife Research Meeting VI Planning Call
April 28 @ 11:00 am ET

Midwest Transmission Planning Call
May 3 @ 12:00 pm ET

NWCC MEETINGS

Wildlife Workgroup Core Group: Gaps Prioritization
June 20-21, 2006 - Boulder, CO

Leadership Forum: Implementing Transmission Recommendations in the West
July 18-19, 2006 - TBD

Wildlife Interaction with Wind Developments: Research Meeting VI
November 14-16, 2006 - Texas

Midwest Transmission Workshop
December 4-5, 2006 - TBD

MAGIC MOMENTS

Updated Calendar of 2006 Events: click here

NWCC STAFF CONTACTS

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

Madeleine West
Program Associate
(202) 965-6216
mwest@resolv.org

NWCC WORKGROUP UPDATES

On June 20-21, the Wildlife Workgroup Core Group will meet in Boulder, CO to compile and prioritize a list of current research gaps in the wind/wildlife arena. To prepare for this meeting, NWCC staff is conducting preliminary phone surveys with technical experts on wind energy and wildlife issues. The information collected will be used as a starting point for dialogue at the June meeting. In addition to the priorities exercise, meeting participants will also talk about options for peer review and publication of NWCC wildlife documents.

After the June meeting, a white paper on the priorities will be written and shared at the November Wildlife Research Meeting VI in Texas. For more information on these activities, contact Madeleine West, mwest@resolv.org.

Recent Wildlife Workgroup subgroup activities include:

Grassland and Shrub Steppe Species Collaborative (GS3C) – A press release formally announcing the research project on potential impacts of wind power on prairie chickens has been drafted and is under review by the GS3C. A factsheet on the GS3C and all its projects was also developed and is under review.

The Ornithological Council is assembling a body of papers to include in its literature review on avian grassland/shrub steppe species and wind projects. A first draft is expected in April.

Wildlife Workgroup technical advisors will be sent the draft grassland songbirds monitoring protocol for review and comment. The protocol authors will go through the technical advisors’ feedback and provide a revised version to the GS3C Oversight Committee for review. Finally, the songbird protocol will be made available to all Core Group members for review and possible release as a NWCC resource document.

Risk Assessment – Summaries from the ecological risk assessment and adaptive resource management presentations at the February Core Group meeting are included in the meeting summary. Panels on risk assessment are planned for the November 2006 NWCC Wildlife Research VI meeting. Additional risk assessment activities are not planned at this time, but the draft white paper on ecological risk assessment is posted here.

Nocturnal Methods and Metrics – Information on publication options for the primer on nocturnal methods and metrics for studying wind energy interaction with birds and bats is being compiled. The Nocturnal Methods and Metrics Subgroup will review and discuss this information on its next conference call.

Mitigation Toolbox - The Mitigation Toolbox Subgroup reconvenes this month to review presentation plans on mitigation for the November wildlife research conference and to determine next steps on a mitigation toolbox workplan. For more information or to become involved, contact Madeleine West at mwest@resolv.org.

The 6th NWCC Wildlife-Wind Research Meeting will be November 14-16, 2006 in Texas. Revision of the draft agenda continues and a call for papers will be issued soon. For more information, contact Madeleine West at mwest@resolv.org.

Wind/Wildlife Activities and Events Electronic Table – For the latest on wind/wildlife related research, meetings, papers, and more, check out our electronic table available here. If you have a new item or update to add to this table, please contact Madeleine West, mwest@resolv.org.

The next Wildlife Workgroup call is scheduled for May 10th, 1 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.

The Steering Committee just completed its final review of the siting fact sheets for release as a NWCC / NCSL resource document. The final version is currently being formatted for publication and will be available soon for free download on the NWCC website. Hard copies, once printed, will be available by request. For information about this project, please contact Madeleine West at mwest@resolv.org.

Final proceedings from the December NWCC workshop on technical considerations for siting wind facilities are complete and available here, as are speaker presentations. Meeting participants will receive CDs with the proceedings and presentations in the mail.

The next Siting Workgroup call is scheduled for June 22, 12 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.

The next Transmission Update call is scheduled for April 24, 1 pm ET. This call will focus on the U.S. Department of Energy’s work on identifying transmission corridors under Sections 368 and 1221 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT). Speakers will include Larry Mansueti and Julia Souder from the U.S. DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. A brief is developed after each call and these briefs are available here.

On July 18-19, NWCC will host its 4th Western Transmission Workshop focusing on a workplan for implementing CDEAC wind and transmission recommendations. The planning committee is working on the draft agenda and finalizing the meeting location. Planning is also ongoing for a Midwest Transmission Workshop, December 4-5 in either Minneapolis, MN or Grand Forks, ND (location being finalized). This meeting is an opportunity to discuss progress to date, as well as items that remain to be addressed. Updates on regional and state transmission activities and panels with utility leaders and transmission authorities are also planned. A draft agenda is under development with the Midwest planning committee. A SPP transmission workshop is also being considered, based on regional needs. If you would like to participate in the planning committees for any of these regions, contact Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org.

The next Transmission Workgroup call scheduled is scheduled for April 27th, 3 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.