[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55609-55610]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-2190]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. PL04-15-000, RM02-12-000, RM02-1-001, RM02-1-005]


Interconnection for Wind Energy and Other Alternative 
Technologies; Standardization of Small Generator Interconnection 
Agreements and Procedures; Standardizing Generator Interconnection 
Agreements and Procedures; Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference

September 8, 2004.
    In a Notice of Technical Conference issued August 27, 2004, the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced that it would host a 
technical conference on Friday, September 24, 2004 to discuss a 
petition for rulemaking submitted by the American Wind Energy 
Association (AWEA) related to the adoption of certain requirements for 
the interconnection of large wind generators. The AWEA petition is 
available at: http://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/gi/wind/AWEA.pdf.
    The purpose of this Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference is 
to provide more detail to interested

[[Page 55610]]

parties, and those who may wish to request to speak, regarding the 
issues that will be discussed at the Technical Conference.
    Commission Staff is interested in speakers who can discuss wind and 
other technologies that may require special interconnections due to the 
method in which they add electricity to the grid. Staff has prepared a 
list of potential topics, questions and issues that may be addressed by 
speakers at the conference, to aid interested parties and speakers in 
determining whether they will attend and/or submit a request to speak. 
While additional items may still be addressed at the conference, the 
topics, questions and issues Staff has identified to date include:

I. Should There be Special Interconnection Requirements for Wind 
Generators, or Should These Interconnections be Governed by the 
Requirements of Order No. 2003 and Order No. 2003-A?

    a. How are wind technologies different?
    b. What is meant by low voltage ride-through capability? How 
does it work?
    c. Is a low voltage ride-through standard necessary for the 
interconnection of wind generators? Why or why not?
    d. Do intermittent generators need special interconnection 
requirements?
    e. Are wind generators able to provide reactive power? Should 
they be required to provide reactive power?
    f. Should wind generators be exempted from the power factor 
design criteria set forth in Order No. 2003-A. Yes or No, and 
discussion of why.
    g. Are there other technologies that also need special 
interconnection requirements like wind? What technologies? Why?
    h. Should wind technologies be exempted from having to file the 
full engineering and system design information at the time of the 
interconnection request?
    i. What is the experience of transmission providers and State 
regulatory agencies with interconnecting wind and other such 
technologies?

II. How Should Any Special Interconnection Requirements be Related to 
the Size of the Wind Facility?

    a. Should there be special requirements for large wind farms? 
For example, should large wind facilities be required to determine 
SCADA (system control and data acquisition) equipment prior to the 
interconnection studies?
    b. What SCADA information is required?
    c. How do these requirements vary with the size of the wind 
facility?
    d. Are any special interconnection requirements also necessary 
for small (under 20 MW) wind facilities?

III. What, if Any, are the Reliability and Safety Implications of the 
AWEA Proposal?

IV. Are Special Standards Needed for Wind Interconnection Studies?

    a. Are wind and other such technologies properly represented in 
the current engineering models used in interconnection system impact 
studies?
    b. Is any special generating or system design information or 
models needed to conduct interconnection studies?

    As noted in the earlier notice, the conference will be held at the 
Commission's Washington, DC headquarters, 888 First St., NE., 20426. 
The event is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. and end at approximately 
4:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) in the Commission Meeting Room, Room 2-C.
    The conference is open for the public to attend, and registration 
is not required; however, in-person attendees are asked to register for 
the conference on-line by close of business on Wednesday, September 22, 
2004 at http://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/registration/wind-0924-form.asp.
    Parties interested in speaking at the conference should file their 
requests to speak no later than close of business on September 10, 
2004. An on-line form requesting to speak is available at: http://www.ferc.gov/whats-new/registration/speaker-form.asp.
    Transcripts of the conference will be immediately available from 
Ace Reporting Company (202-347-3700 or 1-800-336-6646) for a fee. They 
will be available for the public on the Commission's eLibrary system 
seven calendar days after FERC receives the transcript. Additionally, 
Capitol Connection offers the opportunity for remote listening and 
viewing of the conference. It is available for a fee, live over the 
Internet, by phone or via satellite. Persons interested in receiving 
the broadcast, or who need information on making arrangements should 
contact David Reininger or Julia Morelli at the Capitol Connection 
(703-993-3100) as soon as possible or visit the Capitol Connection Web 
site at http://www.capitolconnection.gmu.edu and click on ``FERC.''
    For more information about the conference, please contact Bruce 
Poole at 202-502-8468 or at [email protected].

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-2190 Filed 9-14-04; 8:45 am]
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