Energy News Digest for June 5, 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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Jefferson PUD to Launch Acquisition Discussions with Puget Sound Energy
- Montana - Shelby Co-Ops Resist Energy West Takeover Proposal
- Inland Power Sending Juice to New Headquarters
- Seattle Times Op/Ed - Nuclear Power: Deserves Fresh, Fair Review
- Puget Sound Energy to Upgrade Snoqualmie Falls
- Tennessee Valley Authority to Build $820M Natural Gas Plant
- In Renewable Energy Legislation, Nuclear Power May Find Exemptions
- Gossett Appointed 2009-2010 NWPPA Board President
- Alcoa’s Wenatchee Works Smelter Gets New Manager
- Mining Giant May Scrap Deal with Chinese Aluminum Corporation
- News Release - NYPA, ALCOA Partner To Save Hundreds Of Jobs
- $64 Million - Montenegro to Bail out BasEl Aluminum Plant
- Chinese Miner Orders Guyana Layoffs Amid Crisis
- Century Aluminum Slows Repairs on Damaged Pots
- Indiana - Altec Announces Layoffs: Layoffs Will Take Place Late July
- Montana: Fergus Electric Gets $15 Million Loan
- News Release - Government to Boost Rural Electricity Upgrades
- Building America's Power Grid: Seeking leadership, not funds, from Washington
- Feds Release Plan to Protect California Chinook Salmon
- California - Plan Would Aid Salmon, Reduce Water for People
- California - Federal Ruling Helps Fish, But Water Costs Feared
- No Summer Steelhead Season Yet On Columbia
- Oregonian Op/Ed - The False Choice on Endangered Salmon
- Wall Street Journal Editorial - It's Not Too Late to Save the Tuna
- EPA Appoints Czar for Great Lakes Clean Up
- Detroit Edison Honored by National Arbor Day Foundation
- Wenatchee Overflow Test Spills Early
- Clean Energy Depends On Wider Economy Growth
- Transmission Greatest Barrier to US Wind Energy
- FERC, State of Washington Sign MOU for Hydrokinetic Energy Projects
- Biogas Company Seeks Permit to Use 40,000 Waste Tires for Manure Digester
- Birds, Bunnies and Power - Sensitive species butt heads with energy needs
- New Roll-Up Solar Panels
- Michigan Wind Park Noise Complaints Considered
- Son of Enron - Pockets Of Growth for Weather Derivatives Sector
- Can Lasers Save The Incandescent Lightbulb?
- Don’t Play Guilt Card, Environmentalists Told
- Key Points Of The Climate-Energy Bill Before Congress
- High-Stakes Quest for Permission to Pollute
- Add Renewables, Not Cost: Edison International CEO
- The Con Is On: How Carbon Credits Neuter Cap & Trade
- Selling Forest CO2 Credits - Could Equal Profits from Palm Oil Farms
- Washington Post Columnist - Coal's Pipedream?
- Washington Post Columnist - Green with Guilt
- Climate Change Comes to Our National Parks
- Greening the Cattle Herds: A New Diet to Cap Gas
- United Kingdom - Climate Protesters Glue Themselves to Firm's Doors
- Firm: 80% Broadband Penetration in Five Years
- Verizon's Bizarre New Network Neutrality PR Offensive
- Verizon Continues Proud History of Denial
- FTC shuts Down 'Rogue' ISP - Serviced 'the darkest corners of the Internet'
- Ma Bell and Its Vanishing Phone Lines
- Ohio - Judge asks for lawsuit to pursue lost fiber optics funds
- Just a Few on Twitter Do All the Tweeting
- A Night of Severe Weather
- Storms Bring Vivid End to Heat Wave
- SW Washington - Storm Sprints through Area
- Heat Out, High Winds In As 1,000-Plus Lose Power around Kitsap
- Wal-Mart Robbery – Police Say Suspects Celebrated After Killing
- Economy Got You Down? Many Blame Rating Firms
- Idaho - Cut Glass: Green Jobs for Female Inmates
- Boom Times for Scotch Broom Blooms
- Highway Shoulders Go Unmowed Amid Struggle
- Drug Users Hospitalized After Exposure to Deworming Medication

WORD OF THE DAY

Snooker • \ SNOO-kerr\ • noun – To make a dupe of: hoodwink

“What the blazes is this?” exclaimed the agitated power supply manager at the small New York electricity cooperative. A sparkling aluminum ingot thudded to the floor from the battered cardboard box that cradled it on its journey from the smelting behemoth to the sleepy little town. “The note says it’s a gift of gratitude from the aluminum company for the electricity subsidy the New York Power Authority provided at our expense,” growled the coop’s general manager, “I think we’ve been snookered on this deal.” The ingot was quickly dispatched to the city hall’s front door to act as a much needed doorstop.

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

Jefferson PUD to Launch Acquisition Discussions with Puget Sound Energy (Port Townsend Leader, WA)
http://www.ptleader.com/Main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=24407

Montana - Shelby Co-Ops Resist Energy West Takeover Proposal: board members of those cooperatives say isn't in their members' best interests. (Great Falls Tribune, MT)
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20090605/BUSINESS/906050320

Inland Power Sending Juice to New Headquarters (Spokesman-Review, Spokane)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/04/inland-power-sending-juice-new-headquarters/

Seattle Times Op/Ed - Nuclear Power: Deserves Fresh, Fair Review
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/northwestvoices/2009301728_nuclear_power.html?syndication=rss

Puget Sound Energy to Upgrade Snoqualmie Falls (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009304179_apwasnoqualmiefalls.html?syndication=rss

Tennessee Valley Authority to Build $820M Natural Gas Plant (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009301388_apustvaemissions.html?syndication=rss

In Renewable Energy Legislation, Nuclear Power May Find Exemptions (RedOrbit)
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1700922/in_renewable_energy_legislation_nuclear_power_may_find_exemptions/

Gossett Appointed 2009-2010 NWPPA Board President (Northwest Public Power Association, Links to PDF File)
http://www.nwppa.org/web/awards/2009_NWPPA_BOT_Elections.pdf

Alcoa’s Wenatchee Works Smelter Gets New Manager (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090604/NEWS04/706049897/1001/NEWS04

Mining Giant May Scrap Deal with Chinese Aluminum Corporation “…At the time of this deal, shares in Rio were severely depressed because commodity prices had dropped late last year…” (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/business/global/05mine.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

News Release - NYPA, ALCOA Partner To Save Hundreds Of Jobs At Massena, NY Operations Despite Major Production Curtailment (New York Power Authority, NY)
http://www.nypa.gov/press/2009/090331a.htm

$64 Million - Montenegro to Bail out BasEl Aluminum Plant (Moscow Times, Russia)
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1009/42/377726.htm

Chinese Miner Orders Guyana Layoffs Amid Crisis: Lower Demand For Bauxite (MSN Money)
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20090603&id=9977344

Century Aluminum Slows Repairs on Damaged Pots – Part of layoff of 120 workers (IstockAnalyst)
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3255223

Indiana - Altec Announces Layoffs: Layoffs Will Take Place Late July; Early August (WLKY, Louisville, KY)
http://www.wlky.com/money/19636937/detail.html

MONTANA: FERGUS ELECTRIC GETS $15 MILLION LOAN - The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a nearly $15 million loan to Fergus Electric on Thursday, part of more than $1 billion in loans designed to build and repair 10,000 miles of distribution and transmission lines in rural areas. A total of 37 rural utilities in 29 states received the money which is part of the federal government's effort to strengthen infrastructure in rural communities. Fergus Electric was the only Montana utility to get a loan. To date, 402 rural electric cooperatives have used USDA Rural Development's Energy Resources Conservation program to increase energy efficiency, conservation and demand management initiatives. The Electric Program also helps finance energy conservation and renewable energy systems.

News Release - Government to Boost Rural Electricity Upgrades (Washington Energy Services)
http://www.washingtonenergy.com/articles/article/289/government-to-boost-rural-electricity-upgrades

Forbes Commentary - Building America's Power Grid: Seeking leadership, not funds, from Washington
http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/04/america-power-grid-opinions-contributors-energy.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Feds Release Plan to Protect California Chinook Salmon (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2051901~Feds_release_plan_to_protect_chinook_salmon.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

California - Plan Would Aid Salmon, Reduce Water for People: Federal regulators prescribed sweeping changes Thursday to the dams, reservoirs and pumps that supply water to two-thirds of California (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/04/BAV618119E.DTL&feed=rss.news

California - Federal Ruling Helps Fish, But Water Costs Feared (Sacramento Bee, CA)
http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/1920924.html

No Summer Steelhead Season Yet On Columbia (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/bill_monroe/index.ssf/2009/06/no_summer_steelhead_season_yet.html

Oregonian Op/Ed - The False Choice on Endangered Salmon
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/the_false_choice_on_endangered.html

Wall Street Journal Editorial - It's Not Too Late to Save the Tuna: The U.S. should step forward to stop exploitation of the seas
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124416336079787523.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

EPA Appoints Czar for Great Lakes Clean Up (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009299793_apusobamagreatlakes.html?syndication=rss

Detroit Edison Honored by National Arbor Day Foundation (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/?page=show_news&rss=1&id=113087

Wenatchee Overflow Test Spills Early, Which Is Cool With Neighbors (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090604/NEWS04/706049934/1001/NEWS04

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Clean Energy Depends On Wider Economy Growth (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalEnergy09/idUSTRE55428020090605

Transmission Greatest Barrier to US Wind Energy – Industry Poll (Renewable Energy Focus)
http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/2032/transmission-greatest-barrier-to-us-wind-energy-industry-poll/

FERC, State of Washington Sign MOU for Hydrokinetic Energy Projects (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
http://www.ferc.gov/news/news-releases/2009/2009-2/06-04-09.asp

Biogas Company Seeks Permit to Use 40,000 Waste Tires for Manure Digester (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/06/biogas_company_seeks_permit_to.html

Birds, Bunnies and Power - Sensitive species butt heads with energy needs in the battle for sagebrush (Boise Weekly, ID)
http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/birds-bunnies-and-power/Content?oid=1061806

New Roll-Up Solar Panels (Yale Environment 360)
http://e360.yale.edu/content/digest.msp?id=1911

Michigan Wind Park Noise Complaints Considered (Huron Daily Tribune, Bad Axe MI)
http://www.michigansthumb.com/articles/2009/06/04/news/local_news/doc4a2827a1b0363036473191.txt

Son of Enron - Pockets Of Growth for Weather Derivatives Sector (Energy Risk)
http://www.energyrisk.com/public/showPage.html?page=860840

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Can Lasers Save The Incandescent Lightbulb? (C/NET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10256065-54.html

Don’t Play Guilt Card, Environmentalists Told (Fox News)
http://green.foxnews.com/2009/06/05/dont-play-guilt-card-environmentalists-told/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Key Points Of The Climate-Energy Bill Before Congress - Lawmakers craft a bill that will move the US to a far cleaner energy policy (Christian Science Monitor)
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/06/04/key-points-of-the-climate-energy-bill-before-congress/

High-Stakes Quest for Permission to Pollute - Interest Groups Press Congress for Cap-and-Trade Allowances in Climate-Change Legislation (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/04/AR2009060404435.html?wprss=rss_business

Add Renewables, Not Cost: Edison International CEO (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GlobalEnergy09/idUSTRE5537FG20090604

The Con Is On: How Carbon Credits Neuter Cap & Trade (Financial Times of London)
http://blogs.ft.com/maverecon/2009/06/the-con-is-on-how-carbon-credits-neuter-cap-trade/

Selling Forest CO2 Credits - Could Equal Profits from Palm Oil Farms (Yale Environment 360)
http://e360.yale.edu/content/digest.msp?id=1913

Washington Post Columnist - Coal's Pipedream?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/04/AR2009060402991.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Washington Post Columnist - Green with Guilt
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/03/AR2009060303240.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Climate Change Comes to Our National Parks (Crosscut Seattle)
http://crosscut.com/blog/crosscut/18971/

Greening the Cattle Herds: A New Diet to Cap Gas (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/us/05cows.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

United Kingdom - Climate protesters glue themselves to firm's doors (Get Surrey, UK – We’d love to remove the glue, but the acetone would pollute…sorry!)
http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2052053_climate_protesters_glue_themselves_to_firms_doors

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Firm: 80% Broadband Penetration in Five Years - Thanks largely to fiber and Mobile WiMax (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Firm-80-Broadband-Penetration-In-Five-Years-102772

Verizon's Bizarre New Network Neutrality PR Offensive - For the first time in a while, Verizon seems legitimately afraid (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizons-Bizarre-Network-Neutrality-PR-Offensive-102774

Verizon Continues Proud History of Denial - Competition is everywhere, there's nothing to see here (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Continues-Proud-History-Of-Denial-102787

FTC shuts Down 'Rogue' ISP - Serviced 'the darkest corners of the Internet' (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FTC-Shuts-Down-Rogue-ISP-102786

Ma Bell and Its Vanishing Phone Lines (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/06/05/ma-bell-and-its-vanishing-phone-lines/

Ohio - Judge asks for lawsuit to pursue lost fiber optics funds (Oxford Press, OH)
http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/oxford-news/judge-asks-for-lawsuit-to-pursue-fiber-optics-funds-148370.html

Just a Few on Twitter Do All the Tweeting: Study (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE55381S20090605?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest

GENERAL NEWS

A Night of Severe Weather (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_060409WXB-severe-weather-KC.4cb2d54d.html?rss

Storms Bring Vivid End to Heat Wave (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/47018332.html

SW Washington - Storm Sprints through Area: Damage reported to structures, cars, trees (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://www.columbian.com/article/20090604/NEWS02/706049936/Storm+sprints+through+area

Heat Out, High Winds In As 1,000-Plus Lose Power Around Kitsap (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/04/heat-out-high-winds-1000-plus-lose-power-around-ki/?partner=RSS

Wal-Mart Robbery – Police Say Suspects Celebrated After Killing (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/46985252.html

Economy Got You Down? Many Blame Rating Firms (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104962188&ft=1&f=3

Idaho - Cut Glass: Green Jobs for Female Inmates (Boise Weekly)
http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/cut-glass/Content?oid=1061838

Boom Times for Scotch Broom Blooms (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/03/boom-times-for-scotch-broom-blooms/

Highway Shoulders Go Unmowed Amid Struggles - Shaggier Look in As Peak Travel Season Nears (KIRO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.kirotv.com/automotive/19665455/detail.html?treets=sea&tid=2653595907813&tml=sea_7am&tmi=sea_7am_1_09000106052009&ts=H

Drug Users Hospitalized After Exposure to Deworming Medication in Cocaine, Crack (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009302870_cocaine050.html?syndication=rss

DIVERSIONS

Green Tea Coca Cola to Debut in Japan
http://www.kirotv.com/news/19658080/detail.html

NBIMBY Alert - Arizona Bishop Sentenced For Church Bell Noise: Bishop Says He Will Appeal
http://www.kirotv.com/family/19656693/detail.html

Nirvana Bassist Runs For Clerk in Tiny Wash. County
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/170344.asp?source=pimail

Timely fish tale: Hawaii fish coughs up gold watch
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12520927

How Many Balloons Would It Take To Lift a House? The physics of Pixar's Up.
http://www.slate.com/id/2219775/?from=rss

SONG OF THE DAY

Heart - Crazy on You, Live 1978 (Nancy Wilson is AWSOME!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whXeb7Ohfkk&feature=related