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NWCC NATIONAL WIND COORDINATING COMMITTEE |
HIGHLIGHTS
June 1, 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.
Wind Power & Radar Issue Forum & NWCC Business Meeting, July 27 in Reno, NV – In conjunction with Nevada’s first statewide wind conference, the NWCC will convene experts to share their work on interactions between wind power and radar. Following the issue forum, NWCC will hold its 37th business meeting. Continue to watch www.nationalwind.org for more details.
NWCC CONFERENCE CALLS
Transmission
Update Call
June 13 @ 1:00 pm ET
Siting Workgroup Call
June 22 @ noon ET
Transmission
Workgroup Call
June 27 @ 1:00 pm ET
Steering Committee
Call
June 29 @ 1:00 pm ET
Working Groups
Midwest Transmission Planning Call
June 15 @ noon ET
Western
Transmission Planning Call
June 16 @ noon ET
GS3C Call
June 19 @ 2:00 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
The Wildlife Workgroup Core Group will meet on June 20-21 in Boulder, CO to discuss and prioritize research gaps in the wind/wildlife arena. 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 by June 20. Abstracts are also being accepted for a possible poster session during the meeting. 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) – A press release on the GS3C research project investigating the potential impacts of wind power on prairie chickens is available on the Wildlife Workgroup page.
Authors of the draft grassland songbirds monitoring protocol are reviewing the comments submitted by the Wildlife Workgroup technical advisors.
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 – A panel on risk assessment is being 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, along with other options, at their June 20-21 meeting in Boulder, CO.
Mitigation Toolbox - The Mitigation Subgroup is currently working to develop a panel on mitigation for the November wildlife research conference. The Subgroup is also in the process of evaluating candidates for a summer intern position designed to research and assemble a “toolbox” of possible mitigation options. 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 now available by request. For information about this project, please contact Madeleine West at mwest@resolv.org.
CDs of the final proceedings from the December NWCC workshop on technical considerations for siting wind facilities have been sent to meeting participants. The proceedings and presentations are also available here.
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. Western leaders will meet to develop action plans for implementing the CDEAC and Western Governors’ wind and transmission recommendations, as well as obtain commitments from regional and national leaders on their roles in implementing the action plans. Two teams are putting together 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.
The next Transmission Update call is June 13, 1 pm ET and will focus on the recently issued FERC NOPR to update Order 888, featuring guest speaker Daniel Hedberg of FERC's Office of Energy Markets and Reliability. 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 Workgroup call is scheduled for June 27th, 1 pm ET. Please mark your calendars.