Energy News Digest for January 14, 2009

All the links in today’s news digest lead to current stories. Please note that some media organizations update their web sites regularly, which may result in broken links in the future.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Massachusetts Residents Sue Electric Utility Unitil Over Storm Response
- Here’s more: Unitil Sued On Ice Storm Response
- Hydropower Evangelist - Chelan PUD Manager Lobbies In Nation’s Capital
- Chelan County PUD - State Legislative Radar
- Clark Public Utilities Customers Not Left Out In The Cold
- Oregon Lawmakers Hit Liquefied-Natural-Gas Plans
- Energy Nominee Shifts His Stance on Gas Prices, Coal
- Clean Coal Portfolio Standard Bill Signed In Illinois
- Bill to Regulate Coal Ash Ponds Introduced
- Constellation Energy Repays Warren Buffett $1B Loan
- European Gas Crisis, A PR Coup For French Nuclear Industry
- Serbian Power Grid Overloaded Amid Gas Dispute
- Florida – 25 percent Progress Energy Rate Increase
- Oregon's Litigation Puts Columbia River's Future At Risk
- Skokomish Tribe, Tacoma Ink Deal on Mason County Dams
- DNR, Taylor Shellfish Company Settle Harvesting Dispute
- Should You Stop Eating Salmon? Yes, says a top scientist
- Possible Damage To Green River Dam
- Dam Discharge That Swamped Pacific Spurs Finger-Pointing
- Forests Around Swift Reservoir Shielded
- Dirty Snow Causes Early Runoff In Cascade
- New Skagit County PUD Commissioner May Help Cancel Fluoride Decision
- California - Water Rationing Likely In This Spring
- Watchdog Calls For Cleaning Up Solar Industry
- Future Cloudy For California Solar Farm
- Forecasting Crucial For Future of Wind Energy
- Cape Wind Still Swirls - First Offshore Wind Farm is Meeting Stiff Resistance
- Kansas Town To Begin Producing Its Own Wind Power
- Home-Based Wind Turbines 'Don't Provide Much Electricity'
- NY Times Editorial - Geothermal Future
- Washington State Democrats Look To Add 25,000 Jobs
- Getting a Consult to 'Green' Your Home
- Alaska - Energy Conservation In Juneau Is now Automatic
- On the Heels of a Bulb Ban, Europe Mulls Pulling the Plug on Large Plasma TVs
- Seattle Times Op/Ed - Weather Response Must Be Grounded In Science
- World 'needs radical cuts' on CO2
- Google Defends Its Pollution, Energy Use
- Internet Service Speed Is Fast-Track Issue for New Administration
- Change Sweeping to the FCC - Obama's Pick Could Shift Focus to Internet
- Wave Broadband Institutes 3GB Daily Cap
- Turmoil over TV Switch Grows
- KeyBank National Call Center In Tacoma To Close
- Energy Nominee Says Cleaning up Hanford is a Moral Obligation
- New Dock Being Installed at Alderbrook Resort
- Tacoma City Council looks for money in Washington, DC

These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest

WORD OF THE DAY

Epoch • \EP-uk\ • noun - 1a: an event or a time that begins a new period or development b: a memorable event or date 2*a : an extended period of time usually characterized by a distinctive development or by a memorable series of events b: a division of geologic time less than a period and greater than an age

As smug, plump Buck Mulligan strolled down the front steps of the courthouse, he could not help smiling at his legal win. From that date forward, the “Glissando Epoch” would forevermore be remembered as the time when strumming harps were legally required whenever a flashback scene was shown in movies, television, and on radio. Sound effect purveyors cleaned up.

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?textField1=47.213805&textField2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=Shelton%2C%20WA%2C%20USA

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Massachusetts Residents Sue Electric Utility Unitil Over Storm Response (BusinessWeek)
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D95N2P4O1.htm

Here’s more: Unitil Sued On Ice Storm Response (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, MA)
http://www.telegram.com/article/20090114/NEWS/901140573/1116/NEWSREWIND

Hydropower Evangelist - Chelan PUD Manager Lobbies In Nation’s Capital (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090113/NEWS04/701139945

Chelan County PUD - State Legislative Radar (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090113/NEWS04/701139874

Utility's Customers Not Left Out In The Cold - Clark Public Utilities has more federal energy assistance funding this year (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20090112/NEWS02/701129961/-1/NEWS

Oregon Lawmakers Hit Liquefied-Natural-Gas Plans - “…bad for landowners, the environment and energy independence…” (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008625307_pipelinefight14.html

Energy Nominee Shifts His Stance: “…that gasoline prices should be higher, and that coal was his ‘nightmare’…” (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/politics/13web-chu.html

Clean Coal Portfolio Standard Bill Signed In Illinois (Utility Automation and Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=350066&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss

Bill to Regulate Coal Ash Ponds Introduced (Associated Press)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/01/14/national/w102123S90.DTL&feed=rss.business

Constellation Energy Repays Warren Buffett $1B Loan (Baltimore Business Journal, now that’s some sweet action!)
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2009/01/12/daily29.html?ana=from_rss

European Gas Crisis, A PR Coup For French Nuclear Industry (The Guardian, UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8237579

Serbian Power Grid Overloaded Amid Gas Dispute (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008626845_apeuserbiaenergy.html?syndication=rss

Florida – 25 percent Progress Energy Rate Increase - Large Electric Rate Hike Inspires Legislation (Sun Coast News, FL)
http://suncoastpasco.tbo.com/content/2009/jan/14/pn-large-electric-rate-hike-inspires-legislation/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Oregon's Litigation Puts Columbia River's Future At Risk (Tri-City Herald, WA)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/962/story/443014.html

Skokomish Tribe, Tacoma Ink Deal on Mason County Dams (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jan/12/tribe-tacoma-ink-deal-on-mason-county-dams/?partner=RSS

DNR, Taylor Shellfish Company Settle Harvesting Dispute (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_011309WAB_taylor-shellfish-decision-SW.41aae52.html

Should You Stop Eating Salmon? Yes, says a top University of British Columbia scientist. 'Smart shopping' isn't saving wild stocks (The Tyee Online)
http://thetyee.ca/News/2009/01/13/EatingSalmon/

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Possible damage to Green River dam (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1793676~Possible_damage_to_Green_River_dam.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Dam discharge that swamped Pacific spurs finger-pointing (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2008625652_pacific14m0.html?syndication=rss

Forests Around Swift Reservoir Shielded - Deal will protect 20,000 acres from development (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20090114/NEWS02/701149946/-1/NEWS

Dirty snow causes early runoff in Cascade (Associated Press – For some reason I can’t get a certain Frank Zappa song out of my head after reading this story…)
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=123694

New Skagit County PUD Commissioner May Help Cancel Fluoride Decision (Skagit County Herald)
http://www.goskagit.com/home/article/new_commissioner_may_help_cancel_fluoride_decision1/

California - Water Rationing Likely In This Spring (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1793639~Water_rationing_likely_in_SoCal_this_spring.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Watchdog Calls For Cleaning Up Solar Industry - The process of refining silicon produces waste that can damage the environment. Some newer solar cells use other materials that are themselves toxic and require proper handling (San Francisco Chronicle, CA)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/14/BUI8159KV1.DTL&feed=rss.business

Future Cloudy For California Solar Farm - OptiSolar Inc. lays off nearly half its staff. Money woes raise concerns about its ability to build a solar farm to provide energy to Pacific Gas & Electric customers (Los Angeles Times, CA)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-optisolar13-2009jan13,0,6185689.story

Forecasting Crucial For Future of Wind Energy (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/4032-forecasting-crucial-future-wind-energy/

Cape Wind Still Swirls - First Offshore Wind Farm is Meeting Stiff Resistance (Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123181056426575945.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Kansas Town To Begin Producing Its Own Wind Power (Wichita Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2009/01/12/daily3.html?ana=from_rss

Home-Based Wind Turbines 'Don't Provide Much Electricity' - Wind turbines mounted on town houses…often do not provide a great deal of electricity because of a lack of wind in urban areas, according to research into the new technology (Daily Telegraph, UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/4224513/Wind-turbines-like-David-Camerons-dont-provide-much-electricity.html

NY Times Editorial - Geothermal Future
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/opinion/14wed2.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Washington State Democrats Look To Add 25,000 Jobs - Legislators rolled out a job-creation plan Tuesday that is heavy on home weatherization, tax cuts for green-energy products and job retraining (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/725711.html

Getting a Consult to 'Green' Your Home - We Hire Eco-Consultants in Four Cities; One Wields a Gizmo to Measure Air Quality (Wall Street Journal – call your public utility to get an energy audit for free!)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123137708569062911.html

Alaska - Energy Conservation In Juneau Is now Automatic, Residents Say (Juneau Empire, AK)
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/011409/loc_377248952.shtml

On the Heels of a Bulb Ban, Europe Mulls Pulling the Plug on Large Plasma TVs (NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/on-the-heels-of-a-bulb-ban-europe-mulls-pulling-the-plug-on-large-plasma-tvs/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Seattle Times Op/Ed - Weather Response Must Be Grounded In Science
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008620031_opin13mass.html

World 'needs radical cuts' on CO2 - More carbon dioxide needs to be absorbed than emitted by 2050 in order to prevent catastrophic climate change (BBC News)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7826994.stm

Google Defends Its Pollution, Energy Use (Sacramento Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/01/12/daily13.html?ana=from_rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Internet Service Speed Is Fast-Track Issue for New Administration (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203179.html?wprss=rss_business

Change Sweeping to the FCC - Obama's Pick, a Venture Capitalist, Could Shift Commission's Focus to Internet (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011303106.html?wprss=rss_technology

Wave Broadband Institutes 3GB Daily Cap (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Wave-Broadband-Institutes-3GB-Daily-Cap-100176

Turmoil over TV Switch Grows - Some Lawmakers to Join Obama's Call to Push Back Deadline (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011303060.html?wprss=rss_business

KeyBank National Call Center In Tacoma To Close (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1792381~KeyBank_national_call_center_in_Tacoma_to_close.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

GENERAL NEWS

Energy Nominee Says Cleaning up Hanford is a Moral Obligation (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/594149.html

New Dock Being Installed at Alderbrook Resort (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jan/12/new-dock-being-installed-at-alderbrook-resort/?partner=RSS

Tacoma City Council looks for money in Washington, DC - City will argue that at least some of the stimulus money directly to cities, rather than funneling it all through state governments. They believe that cities, rather than states, are in a position to act quickly with the money. (News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/591950.html

DIVERSIONS

Demand for "best job in the world" crashes website
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE50D15K20090114?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

A Neglected Revenue Source For California – Marijuana
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/12/EDA4157U1Q.DTL&feed=rss.opinion

You’re Not Making It Up: You Have Cyberchondria
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/health/2009/jan/Youre-Not-Making-it-Up-You-Have-Cyberchondria.html