The Western Governors’ Association ("WGA") gathered in Park City, Utah for its annual meeting, which was held on June 14-16, 2009.   Attendees at the meeting included Governors Bill Ritter (Colo.); C.L. "Butch" Otter (Idaho); Brian Schweitzer (Mont.); Dave Heineman (Neb.); Bill Richardson (N.M.); Benigno Fitial, Northern Mariana Islands; Ted Kulongoski (Ore.); Mike Rounds (S.D.); Dave Freudenthal (Wyo.); and Jon Huntsman, Jr. and Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert (Utah) , along with Canadian Premiers Ed Stelmach, Alberta; Gary Doer, Manitoba; and Brad Wall, Saskatchewan. 

The morning session on Monday, June 15, 2009, was kicked off with the unveiling of the Western Renewable Energy Zones-Phase 1 Report, which was a product of a joint initiative between the WGA and the U.S. Department of Energy (the "WREZ Initiative").  The intention of the WREZ Initiative is twofold:  (1) to identify Western Renewable Energy Zones in the Western Interconnection and (2) to facilitate the development of high voltage transmission to those areas with abundant high-quality renewable resources and low environmental impacts.  Governor Schweitzer provided an overview of the WREZ Phase I report, which included a summary of the process for obtaining feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders to provide the analysis and tools for constructing a plan to facilitate the construction of new, utility scale renewable energy facilities and any needed transmission to deliver that energy across the Western Interconnection.  The WREZ Initiative has developed a modeling tool for evaluating the relative economic attractiveness of costs of delivered renewable energy, including transmission costs, from specific renewable resource areas delivered to specific load centers. …

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