Wind and Other Renewables Activities

Quarterly News Brief

As the U.S. prioritizes establishing a clean and secure energy future, a growing number of community-owned utilities are actively looking to add renewable energy into their power supply. The APPA-NRECA team is accordingly aligning its outreach efforts to keep their utility members informed and updated on the wide range of financial and technology resources available to facilitate renewable energy projects and green programs. Working in partnership with the Western Area Power Administration and DOE's Wind Powering America initiative, APPA and NRECA are also offering several learning opportunities through 2010, including training workshops and case studies that describe experiences of public power utilities with renewable energy projects.

If you have suggestions for activities or have specific areas of interest in wind or other renewables, we would like to hear from you – please email us (see contacts at the bottom).

Upcoming Activities for 2010

• Series of Wind Webinars Announced for 2009–2010

  In October, the APPA-NRECA team began its 2009-2010 series of webinars. The first webinar, covering wind turbine maintenance, was held on October 21. The remaining three webinars will be held on the third Wednesday of the month during February, May, and September 2010. The webinar topics are Economic Development Case Studies, Interconnection Issues, and Partnering to Achieve Economies of Scale, respectively. For more information on this series and to register, please visit www.windwebinar.govtools.us. Webinar archives for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 series are available at www.repartners.org/webpres.htm.

• Registration Opens for 2010 Wind Interconnection Workshop

  The third annual Wind Interconnection Workshop is scheduled for January 20-22, 2010 in Golden, Colorado. The workshop will cover the interconnection issues faced by public power and cooperative utilities when developing wind power projects. Additionally, the workshop will provide users with hands-on training on wind power interconnection software tools developed by the Utility Wind Integration Group (see Utility-Focus Events). Register for the workshop at www.windworkshop.govtools.us. Cost of attendance is $300 ( travel scholarships are available).

• Kansas State to Host Wind Workshop for Munis

  A wind workshop is planned in the state of Kansas for May 12, 2010. The workshop will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita, Kansas as part of Kansas Municipal Utilities’ Annual Conference. The focus of the workshop will be community-based wind development. An agenda is being developed and will be available in early 2010.

• Upcoming Case Studies

  Two new wind power case studies are being developed to share experiences of public power utilities as they address challenges encountered in moving from wind power project development stages to project operation. The case studies focus on Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska. Both case studies will likely be published in spring 2010.

• APPA to Develop First Wind Annual Report

  APPA plans to publish its first annual report reviewing its members' wind-related activities. The report will include APPA members' green power programs related to wind and any new or planned wind power projects within the year. The report will also review transmission issues, current market for wind electricity, and the latest wind technology developments.

• NRECA Calls for 2009 Wind Cooperative of the Year Award Nominations

  NRECA is inviting nominations for the Wind Cooperative of the Year Award through December 31, 2009. The award will honor one electric cooperative for its leadership in wind power and is being co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America Program and NRECA. All NRECA members are eligible to apply. Cooperatives can nominate themselves or their peers and there is no cost to enter. The 2009 winner will be recognized at the NRECA TechAdvantage Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, February 11 - 15, 2010 ( www.techadvantage.org). Nomination forms, which include the award criteria, can be found at: http://www.repartners.org/wind/WindCoop09/NomForm09.doc. Please send all completed nomination forms to Randy Manion, Western Area Power Administration, manion@wapa.gov, by COB December 31, 2009.

Utility News in Spotlight

• GE to Supply Turbines for Wind Capital Group's Lost Creek Project in Missouri



• APPA Backs Proposed Legislation to Expand Grants in Stimulus Bill



• Catch the Wind Completes Field Trial Program with NPPD



• TVA to Buy 450 MW of Dakota Wind Power



• APPA Outlines Public Power Tax Priorities to Senate Committee



• Adams Electric Co-Op Hopes Owning Part of Wind Power Supply Helps Reduce Market Risk



• SMUD Establishes Feed-in Tariff for Customer-Sited Distributed Generation



• Utilities Invited to test Transmission Modeling Tool



• South Dakota Wind Farm Puts Smart Grid Technology to Work to Yield a Greater Harvest

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