What's New
Wind on the Wires staff have made numerous presentations in an effort to work with decision makers to remove barriers that wind energy faces in accessing the electrical transmission system throughout the upper Midwest. Below are updates, news articles, reports, presentations, and other informational materials relevant to wind power. Presentation materials may be used only with permission from Wind on the Wires.
Wind on the Wires Job Opportunity
Wind on the Wires currently has an opening for the Regional Policy Manager--West. The position includes covering policy issues in the states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Applications wil be accepted until March 30, 2012.
No phone calls, please.
View the detailed job description here.
AWEA’s Regional Wind Energy Summit—Midwest
WOW encourages you to attend the Regional Wind Energy Summit--Midwest, in Chicago, March 6-7, 2012
WOW Executive Director Beth Soholt featured in Humphrey Institute video
WOW Executive Director Beth Soholt was featured in a video created by Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs students on issues surrounding wind energy and transmission in the Midwest.
Wind on the Wires Cheers the MISO Board’s Approval of the Multi-Value Projects Portfolio
Wind on the Wires congratulates the Midwest Independent System Operator (“MISO”) Board of Directors for approving the Multi-Value Project (“MVP”) portfolio, which includes 17 transmission lines, as part of the MISO Transmission Expansion Plan 2011 (MTEP). The MVP portfolio contains the Michigan Thumb Project, which was previously approved by the MISO Board; and the Brookings, SD-Twin Cities (Minnesota) Project, which was conditionally approved by the MISO Board in June 2011.
“Wind on the Wires commends the MISO Board of Directors for approving the 17 Candidate Multi-Value Project portfolio,” said WOW Executive Director Beth Soholt. “We couldn’t be more pleased by this action, which is a testament to MISO’s commitment to constructing new transmission lines in the Midwest to, among other things, enable additional renewable energy to enter the market."
View the Wind on the Wires Press Release on the MVP Approval here.
WOW and AWEA File Protest on MISO Queue Reform Proposal
WOW and AWEA have put together a joint protest to FERC that asks the Commission to reject the filing or, alternatively, require MISO to make a number of changes to their proposal.
WOW and AWEA believe that the MISO proposal is premature, as it has not allowed time for resolution of the Group 5 challenges or approval of MVP lines, both of which will likely provide relief to the current queue backlog in the western part of the MISO footprint. The proposal creates increased risk in the project development process without any increased certainty, especially at the point at which a new non-refundable deposit is required
You can view the filing in its entirety here.
University of Minnesota Wind Research Station Commissioning Ceremony – Tuesday, October 25
Please join the University of Minnesota, College of Science and Engineering and St. Anthony Falls Laboratory for a public commissioning ceremony on Tuesday, October 25 at the University of Minnesota's 5,000-acre UMore Park property for the new Eolos Wind Research Station including a 2.5 MW Clipper Liberty turbine and a 426-foot tall meteorological tower. Following brief remarks and the ceremonial “flip of the switch,” guests will be invited to tour the facilities and meet University and industry research and education partners. A range of exhibits on University research, local community and technical college opportunities in renewable energy careers, state-of-the art research technology, and plans for a sustainable community on the UMore Park property will be on display.
The commissioning ceremony will be held on Tuesday, October 25 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the research station on the eastern edge of the University of Minnesota’s UMore Park property in Rosemount, Minnesota. The event is free and open to the public. RSVPs are appreciated at http://www.eolos.umn.edu/rsvp.
Visit http://www.eolos.umn.edu/rsvp for additional information and to RSVP.
The event is hosted by the University of Minnesota and the Eolos Wind Energy Research Consortium.
Soholt Reponds To Negative Wind Op-Ed
The Sept. 26, 2011 edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune featured an editorial from WOW Executive Director Beth Soholt. The editorial, "Wind energy is not a drag on our state," responds to a previous opinion piece by radio talk show host Jason Lewis, "Right in Minnesota, a windfall of bad policy."
Small & Community WINDPOWER 2011 Conference and Exhibition
WOW encourages you to attend the Small & Community WINDPOWER 2011 Conference and Exhibition in Des Moines, IA, on September 15-17, 2011.
Produced by AWEA & DWEA, the event is an exceptional educational program focusing on all the facets of the small/distributed and community wind industries. This conference is designed to foster networking and encourage strategic thinking for the use of distributed wind technology and development of community-owned wind projects.
For more info and registration visit the conference website.
MISO Conditionally Approves Brookings MVP Line
On June 14, 2011, The System Planning Committee of the Midwest ISO voted to approve two reliability projects in Michigan, the Straits Power Flow Control Project and the Eaton Rapids Load Interconnection Project.
The Brookings County to Twin Cities MVP line was given "conditional approval," which "means that the Brookings project fully meets tariff criteria to be designated as an MVP and it will be afforded the appropriate cost treatment upon Board acceptance of the final 2011 Candidate MVP Study Report." The final portfolio is expected to be voted on in December, 2011.
The MISO Board of Directors voted on the recommendation of the System Planning Committee to approve both Michigan projects, and conditionally approve the Brookings Line on June 16, 2011.
FERC Approves MVP Cost Allocation for New Transmission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a proposal by the Midwest Independent System Operator (Midwest ISO), the transmission grid operator for the Midwest, that will allocate 100% of the cost of new large regional transmission lines broadly across the region's consumers.
The cost proposal reflects the broad regional benefits of these new transmission lines, known as Multi-Value Projects (MVPs). MVPs will reinforce an aging Midwest grid that has not seen robust transmission expansion since the 1970s. Such an expansion will help create a more flexible grid to deliver renewable energy, seize energy efficiency opportunities, reduce electricity bills and help keep the lights on.
The FERC approval of the new MVP designation was welcomed by regional wind energy advocacy group Wind on the Wires. According to Executive Director Beth Soholt, "Transmission is a key piece to unlocking our clean energy future, and we are pleased that FERC approved the Midwest ISO cost allocation proposal for Multi-Value Projects, which will help us realize the jobs, economic growth and environmental benefits that wind can deliver for the Midwest. We look forward to working with the Midwest ISO to move MVP lines into the Midwest ISO Transmission Expansion Plan for 2011 (MTEP'11) to boost our Midwest grid and help ensure that wind projects can deliver their energy to market."
Along with approving the cost allocation for MVPs, FERC also approved a proposal that allocates 90% of the costs for new generator interconnection lines (the "on ramps" to the regional grid) directly to a new generator. While these generator interconnection lines are generally smaller, and probably less expensive than the larger MVP lines, it will be critical to understand in the transmission study process which lines are needed solely to interconnect a new generator or group of generators and which lines bring broader benefits and should be paid for by all users of the transmission system. To keep the generator interconnection lines cost effective, it will be important to have as many of the MVP lines approved in MTEP'11 as possible.
Statement of FERC Chairman John Wellinghoff
Statement of FERC Commissioner John Norris
Regional Generator Outlet Study Released
To develop transmission portfolios for fulfilling RPS requirements in the Midwest and to meet the objective of achieving the lowest delivered dollar-per-MWh cost, Midwest ISO, with the assistance of state regulators and industry stakeholders, recently released the Regional Generator Outlet Study (RGOS). During initial RGOS phases, analysis showed that locating wind zones in a distributed manner throughout the system—as opposed to only locating the wind local to load or regionally where the best wind resources are located—results in a set of least-cost wind zones that help to reduce the delivered dollar-per-MWh cost needed to meet renewable energy requirements.
From this earlier work, a combination of local and regional wind zones were identified and approved by the Upper Midwest Transmission Development Initiative (UMTDI). Further solidifying the validity of this methodology, the Midwest Governors’ Association affirmed the method employed in selecting these wind zones as the best approach to wind zone selection. RGOS determined the best-fit solution to be a transmission overlay encompassing all Midwest ISO states, premised on a distributed set of wind zones, each with varying capacity factors and distances from load.
RGOS narrowed its focus to the development of three transmission expansion scenarios to integrate wind from the designated zones: (1) a Native Voltage overlay that does not introduce new voltages such as 765 kV in areas where they do not currently exist; (2) a 765-kV overlay allowing the introduction of 765-kV transmission throughout the study footprint; and (3) Native Voltage with DC transmission that allows for the expansion of DC technology within the study footprint. All three transmission expansion scenarios meet respective state RPS requirements within the Midwest ISO footprint. The full report, as well as a summary of submitted comments and responses, is available on the Midwest ISO’s website.