Gov. Freudenthal to Address Regional Forum on Wind Energy, Smart Transmission Planning (7/5/06)
Gov. Freudenthal to Address Regional Forum on FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Karen Deike at 303-623-9378 or Doug Larson at 303-573-8910 DENVER, COLO. -- Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal, Vice Chairman of the Western Governors' Association, will deliver the keynote address at a regional conference this month in Denver that will result in action plans for increasing the use of wind energy and other clean energy resources through better use of the existing transmission system and expansion of the grid. WGA and the National Wind Coordinating Committee are cosponsoring the July 18-19 conference, entitled, Leadership Forum: Implementing Transmission Recommendations in the West. At their Annual Meeting in Sedona, Ariz., earlier this month, Western Governors adopted a broad-based set of recommendations for dramatically increasing clean and diversified energy resources and ensuring the region has adequate transmission to deliver those resources to customers. This is the first major conference aimed at implementing those recommendations. Recent studies show significant economic, hard dollar benefits to both supplier and buyer states from diversifying electric generation resources and increasing efficiency in the West, Freudenthal said. This means we could lower costs for consumer states and increase revenues for producer states across the region. Freudenthal said every diversity scenario for the West requires more robust transmission systems to move the diverse resources from places like Wyoming, where they are abundant, to loads in cities where they are in demand. The governor is scheduled to deliver the luncheon address on July 18 at the Omni Interlocken hotel in Denver. An agenda and registration information are available on the Web at: http://www.nationalwind.org/events/transmission/western/2006. Advance materials will be sent only to registered participants. _____________ About the Western Governors' Association: The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 19 states and three U.S.-flag islands in the Pacific. Through their Association, the governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human resources, economic development, international relations and public management. Additional information about WGA is available on the Web at www.westgov.org. About the National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC): A consensus-based collaborative formed in 1994, the National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) identifies issues that affect the use of wind power, establishes dialogue among key stakeholders, and catalyzes appropriate activities to support the development of environmentally, economically, and politically sustainable commercial markets for wind power (www.nationalwind.org). The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 19 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. Through their Association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management. # # # # #
Wind Energy, Smart Transmission Planning
July 5, 2006