UWIG Update

January 2008

In this issue

• UWIG Co-sponsors International Wind Integration Workshop
• Wind Interconnection Workshop - January 23-25 in Golden, CO
• Updates on Spring and Fall Workshops - Dates, Locations
• UWIG to Offer Wind Integration Short Course in 2008
• UWIG Revamps Scope of Turbine O&M User Group Meetings

UWIG Co-sponsors International Wind Integration Workshop

UWIG is co-sponsoring the 7th International Workshop on Large-Scale Integration of Wind Power into Power Systems as well as on Transmission Networks for Offshore Wind Farms. The event will be held May 26-27 in Madrid, Spain. This workshop provides an international forum to:

• Discuss technical and economic issues of the large-scale integration of wind power including the recent advances in transmission technologies (AC and DC)
• Discuss project experiences
• Discuss innovative ideas and present results from ongoing research
• Stimulate interdisciplinary thinking between wind energy and power transmission industries, as well as universities •
• Identify subjects requiring more research efforts

The workshop will be followed by the Second Workshop on Best Practice in the Use of Short-term Forecasting of Wind Power on May 28.

The workshop organizers are accepting abstracts. Interested parties should send e-mail to info@windintegrationworkshop.org by January 18, with an abstract of 300 words maximum describing the paper to be presented, as well a short background on the presenter. Notifications on acceptance will be sent by February 4 and papers will be due by April 28.

For more information, please visit http://www.windintegrationworkshop.org.

UWIG Co-sponsors January Wind Interconnection Workshop

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, American Public Power Association, American Wind Energy Association, UWIG, Western Area Power Administration, and DOE’s Wind Powering America Program are presenting a wind interconnection workshop January 23-25, 2008 at the Western Area Power Administration’s Electric Power Training Center in Golden, CO.

This workshop will focus on the interconnection of wind turbines to electric cooperative and public power distribution systems as well as other distributed generation (DG) applications. The workshop will begin with an overview of wind energy, distributed wind applications, economics, and development issues and opportunities. Following the overview, participants will use tools developed by UWIG to assess the impact of wind generation on distribution systems. Training will include an introduction to the theory behind the use of each applet and practical examples of their use using actual cooperative feeder data.

Additionally, WAPA’s Electric Power Training Center (EPTC) instructors will discuss North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations pertaining to wind energy and offer tours of the center. Participants will have the opportunity to operate the EPTC’s hands-on miniature power system, which includes a Wind Farm Simulator developed in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Wind Powering America Program. There will also be an optional tour on January 25 of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Technology Center.

Workshop registration is $300 and is limited to the first 30 registrants. For more information, and to register, go to http://windworkshop.govtools.us/.  More information is available by contacting Bob Putnam of CH2M Hill, at 315-751-2638 or rputnam@ch2m.com.

Updates on Spring and Fall Workshops - Dates, Locations

UWIG will hold the Spring Technical Workshop and Annual Meeting April 16-18, 2008 at the Hilton Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas. This will include meetings of the Operating Impacts and Integration Study, Market Operations and Transmission Policy, Distributed Wind Applications, and Wind Turbine Modeling and Interconnection Study Users Groups. The Wind Turbine Operations and Maintenance Users Group will meet on April 15 at the Hilton Garden Inn DFW South (see story below). Details on the Fort Worth meeting will be posted to the UWIG web site in the near term.

UWIG will hold the Fall Technical Workshop in Denver, Colorado October 1-3 at the Brown Palace Hotel. Additional information on this meeting will be forthcoming.

UWIG will offer Wind Generation in Power Systems: A Short Course on the Integration and Interconnection of Wind Power Plants into Electric Power Systems in September 2008. Additional information will be posted on the UWIG web site.

UWIG Revamps Scope of Turbine O&M User Group Meetings

UWIG is restructuring the scope and scheduling of meetings of the Wind Turbine Operations & Maintenance Users Group. This change, undertaken to better meet the needs of the membership, will be effective with the next meeting of the user group, which will take place on April 15 at the Hilton Garden Inn DFW South. This meeting will run the entire day, with the morning devoted to a general session and the afternoon split into three discussion groups specific to particular turbine types. 

UWIG has undertaken these actions in hopes that the change in structure and holding the meeting at a location closer to the airport will facilitate the attendance of more wind plant operations & maintenance personnel as well as enhance the program for this user group.

Following the Dallas meeting, the Turbine O&M Users Group will meet at a location in the Midwest around the time of the fall meeting, date and site to be determined. For more information on this meeting or the Turbine O&M User Group, please send e-mail to sandy@uwig.org. 

UWIG Board of Directors

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