 |
NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COMMITTEE |
HIGHLIGHTS
May 15, 2006
DATES TO REMEMBER
Registration Open! July 18-19, 2006, NWCC Western Transmission Workshop in Denver – Join Western leaders, including Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal, at NWCC’s next western transmission workshop, Leadership Forum: Implementing Transmission Recommendations in the West. At this hands-on event, participants will collaborate on action plans to implement wind and transmission recommendations formulated by the Clean and Diversified Energy Action Committee (CDEAC). The draft agenda, logistics, and online registration are available here.
NWCC Steering Committee Issue Forum – On May 18–19, the NWCC Steering Committee is meeting in Washington, DC to hear from various speakers on major activities to develop long-term national energy strategies and their projections for wind power’s contribution to the U.S. energy picture. This event may be the precursor to subsequent meeting on this topic to inform NWCC members at large. Questions about this event may be directed to Katie Kalinowski, kkalinowski@resolv.org.
NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS
Steering Committee
Call
May 25 @ 1:00 pm ET
Transmission
Update Call
June 13 @ 1:00 pm ET
Working Groups
Western
Transmission Planning Call
May 16 @ 12:00 pm ET
Mitigation Toolbox
Subgroup Call
May 22 @ 1:00 pm ET
Midwest Transmission Planning Call
June 15 @ 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 - Denver, CO
Wildlife Interaction with Wind
Developments: Research Meeting VI
November 14-16, 2006 -
San Antonio, TX
Midwest Transmission Workshop
December 4-5, 2006 - Minneapolis, MN
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
Phone surveys with the Wildlife Workgroup core group and technical advisors to identify research gaps on wind power and wildlife continue. The Wildlife Workgroup Core Group will meet on June 20-21 in Boulder, CO to discuss and prioritize the gaps. The June meeting will also feature a session exploring peer review and publication options for NWCC wildlife documents. Please register for the meeting here.
Following the gaps prioritization exercise, 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.
6th NWCC Wildlife-Wind Research Meeting – Registration is open at www.nationalwind.org! This event is November 14-16, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas and topics to be covered include:
- Interaction of wind power facilities and birds pre- and post-construction;
- Interaction of wind power facilities and bats pre- and post-construction;
- Applicable methods and study designs specialized for birds, bats, and common to both;
- Assessing impacts and risk to wildlife;
- Identification of critical gaps in knowledge related to wind project decision-making. Attempt to identify what is needed to fill these gaps.
Individuals interested in presenting on any of these topics are invited to submit an abstract. Review committees headed by session chairs are being assembled to identify recommended speakers. For more information, contact Madeleine West at mwest@resolv.org.
Recent Wildlife Workgroup subgroup activities include:
Grassland and Shrub Steppe Species Collaborative (GS3C) – On May 9th, the GS3C circulated a press release on its research project investigating the potential impacts of wind power on prairie chickens. The press release is available on the NWCC homepage and the Wildlife Workgroup page.
Comments from the technical advisors on the draft grassland songbirds monitoring protocol have been compiled and sent to the protocol authors. 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.
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 soon.
Risk Assessment – Panels on risk assessment are planned for the November 2006 NWCC Wildlife Research VI meeting. For the NWCC draft white paper on ecological risk assessment, click 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 put together a recommendation to the Core Group for review of the document which the Core Group will discuss at the June 20-21 meeting in Boulder, CO.
Mitigation Toolbox - The Mitigation Subgroup has reconvened to develop a panel on mitigation for the November wildlife research conference and to determine next steps on a mitigation toolbox workplan. The Subgroup is currently hiring a summer intern to begin assembling a mitigation toolbox. A job description can be found at www.nationalwind.org; the deadline for submission of resumes and cover letters is June 1. For more information or to become involved, 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 July 12th, 1 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.
The state siting guidelines fact sheets are available for free download. Hard copies are being printed and 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. CDs with the proceedings and presentations are on their way to meeting participants.
The next Siting Workgroup call is scheduled for June 22, 12 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.
On July 18-19, NWCC is hosting Leadership Forum: Implementing Transmission Recommendations in the West in Denver. Forum attendees will discuss and reach consensus on draft action plans for implementing the CDEAC wind and transmission recommendations. Teams are being assembled to create the draft action plans and invitations to speakers, co-sponsors, and the public have gone out. For more on this event and to register, click here.
The next Midwest Transmission Workshop will be held December 4-5 in Minneapolis, MN. The planning committee is revising the draft agenda and a meeting venue is being secured.
Discussion with SPP stakeholders about regional needs for a forum to discuss transmission issues continues, feeding into the drafting of a meeting concept by NWCC staff.
A written brief is under development for the last Transmission Update 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). Once complete, the brief will be sent to the transmission update listserve and posted online. To join this listserve, contact Katie Kalinowski at kkalinowski@resolv.org. The next Transmission Update call is scheduled for June 13th, 1 pm ET.
The next Transmission Workgroup call is scheduled for June 27th, 1 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.