Celebrating 20 Years

Launched as the centerpiece of a $4.5 million, 2-year project of the Izaak Walton League to develop renewable energy resources by the McKnight Foundation and the Energy Foundation. The project was unveiled May 1 at the National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) Upper Midwest Transmission Workshop in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

WOW and NWCC sponsored a transmission workshop in St. Paul, Minn. The Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) transmission planners were active participants in the workshop and educated attendees on the MISO transmission planning process. In turn, the wind developers and other participants conveyed to MISO transmission planners the need for long-term, comprehensive transmission planning that takes into consideration wind development plans for the Midwest.

Together with the American Wind Energy Association, Wind on the Wires developed the Midwest Wind Development Plan (Plan). The Plan was submitted to MISO on June 1, 2002 for consideration in the MISO transmission expansion planning process.  The plan projects new wind power development in the Midwest during the 2003-2007 timeframe at 5,500 MW with a new wind power for high transmission case at an additional 4,500 MW, for a total of 10,000 MW. 

On June 20, 2002, MISO recommended using the "high wind scenario" of 10,000 MW in their transmission planning process.

MTEP 03 was WOW's first big project aimed at increasing the amount of wind energy on the MISO system.

WOW got the Governors from five Midwestern states together to help advocate for the Multi-Value Project portfolio of transmission lines. Governor Pawlenty of Minnesota, and the governors of Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota coordinated their efforts among state regulatory agencies, transmission companies, utilities, independent generation owners and their stakeholders to work with MISO on transmission planning studies. The goal of  the UMTDI project was to identify wind generation resources, transmission projects and infrastructure needed to support those resources in a cost-effective manner.

Read the press release.

Wind on the Wires advocated for the broad cost allocation of the $10 billion 17-line Multi-Value Project portfolio of transmission lines. These lines had the capability to deliver 25,000 - 29,000 megawatts of renewable energy around the Midwest.  

WOW's board of directors held a strategic planning retreat, which included a hard look at our overall vision and misssion.

A new mission statement was unveiled: "Advancing renewable energy in the Midwest."

This broader mission reflects our work and allows us to include work in solar, storage and other emerging technologies that provide further benefit to customers. This broader focus further recognizes that WOW members have also expanded their work beyond wind, and propted a refresh of our logo as well.

WOW supported the CapX2020 transmission lines, which were comprised of five specific lines and more than 800 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines that were energized between 2012 and Sept. 8, 2017 when the Big Stone South-Brookings Country transmision line was energized. These lines enabled 3,600 MW of wind development in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Beth Soholt spoke at the event saying, “Major transmission lines, like the CapX2020 project, are helping to unlock the potential for a major build out of wind energy in the Midwest, while also offering important reliability benefits for customers."

Beth Soholt and Natalie McIntire arranged and facilitated several meetings with commissioners and staff from MN, IA, WI, IN, MO, MS, MI, SD, and New Orleans to discuss market issues in MISO related to the conclusions of the Power Markets of the Future report put out by the Wind Solar Alliance. The focus was on the need to create or adjust market products or structures to facilitate the changing resource mix in the MISO footprint. We urged creation of a seasonable capacity construct (which MISO is already exploring under the RAN effort), support for the RIIA study, and the need for holistic transmission planning that addresses reliability and economic planning as well as generator interconnection issues .

At the "Start your Day with CGA" virtual breakfast event entitled, "Delivering a Renewable Energy Future,”  CGA presented David Saggau with a Leadership and Innovation Award.

“Over the past decade, CGA has been fortunate to work closely with Great River Energy and witness the track record of success that the GRE leadership team and company have achieved including clean energy and carbon reduction, adopting renewables, electrification, leading on building new transmission through the CapX2020 initiative, working on long-duration energy storage, service to members, and fiscal excellence. As a cooperative utility that is member owned, at the end of the day, GRE must meet member expectations while being fiscally prudent for those who pay the bills.”