The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“WIND TRANSMISSION FUNDING” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Senate section on pages S137 on Jan. 24, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WIND TRANSMISSION FUNDING
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I rise to discuss funding for a wind transmission study that was included in the fiscal year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill signed into law last December. As a member of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, I appreciated the efforts of Senators Domenici and Reid, the chairman and the ranking member of our subcommittee, to include $500,000 for the Western Area Power Administration, WAPA, to continue its work on the placement of additional wind capacity in the Dakotas. They have generously provided funding for similar work for the past two years, and I am glad these efforts will be continued during this coming fiscal year.
North Dakota is the ``Saudi Arabia'' of wind. The Department of Energy has long identified North Dakota as having the greatest wind energy resource and potential for wind generation development in the lower 48 States. During my time in the Senate, I have been pushing hard on a number of fronts to develop our wind energy resources. For example, I have been a strong supporter of the Renewable Portfolio Standard, RPS, which requires utilities to produce 10 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. In addition, I believe the Federal Government should be a leader in this area and develop a policy of purchasing electricity from renewable energy sources.
Last February, I hosted the Fifth Annual Wind Energy Conference with the Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota to further promote this clean and limitless energy resource. Wind energy stakeholders from around the Nation attended this successful event, which attracted 436 people from 30 States and three Canadian provinces. Last year, the conference included a second day of events because of the overwhelming interest in wind energy. As a result of the wind energy industry's growth, North Dakota's skyline and economic future are forever changing and progressing forward. We will be doing another conference in February 2005, which more broadly embraces renewable energy in the Upper Midwest.
Despite my continued efforts to increase the use of wind as an energy source, North Dakota faces many transmission challenges in moving wind energy to other parts of the country. I have held field hearings in North Dakota on these issues and have also supported the development of new transmission technologies. While the Senate has wisely included funding for the last several years for WAPA to make some progress on these transmission problems, the fact remains that more needs to be done. WAPA and others have done a number of general studies on this issue and I think the next steps are clear. WAPA should use the funding earmarked in FY2005 for an Environmental Impact Study, EIS, that would allow transmission expansion for wind generation to be placed in North and South Dakota and should use the remaining funds to support specific demonstration projects in the region.
With respect to site-specific projects to support wind development for future electric generation, I believe that WAPA should first develop parameters for determining what constitutes a bona fide wind project. In doing this, WAPA should ensure that projects meet the following requirements: a minimum period of at least one year; minimum anemometer height of at least 40 meters; multiple monitoring points allowing calculation of wind shear; a defined system interconnection point and wind right easements adequate for the proposed project. To make these limited funds stretch farther, I would expect any proposed project to include a 50-50 cost share provision. It is my hope that WAPA will be able to support projects that will accurately determine the transmission requirements and related costs associated with the installation of specific wind and coal generation projects.
Following this guidance, it is my expectation that WAPA will use this funding to make real progress on these transmission problems in the next fiscal year, and provide wider benefits to the large region of the U.S. served by WAPA. After all, WAPA was created to market hydropower, a renewable energy resource. Wind is the next step.
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