Monday, July 20, 2009

Energy News Digest for July 20, 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)

• BPA Proposal Looks Like It Will Keep Ferndale-Area Intalco Smelter Going
• Intalco: New BPA Deal Will Allow Us to Stay Open
• West Virginia - Retraining of former Century Aluminum workers an uphill climb
• Astoria, Ore.: County Commissioners Again OK Gas Terminal
• Orcas Power & Light Cooperative Fuel Mix: 95% Greenhouse Gas Free
• Adjustments to raise Avista rates in Idaho slightly
• Portland General Electric Names New Vice Presidents
• Senator Says TVA's Future Should Include More Nuclear, Conservation
• Nuclear - The Renewable With Power
• Nuclear Power - What the Rest of the World Can Teach America
• Tennessee Valley Authority Increases Hazard Ratings on Coal Ash Sites
• Maryland - Baltimore could build own power plants
• IGCC Plant Fracas - Mississippi Power Corrects Erroneous Information
• TransAlta to Launch Offer for Canadian Hydro Developers
• Michigan Electric Cooperative Embezzlement Case Update
• Smart Grid is the Scam of the Century
• Texas Lineman's Rodeo Showcases Skills, Teamwork
• Op/Ed –BPA Speaks: The Northwest Salmon Debate
• Analysis: Fish & Energy Needs Clash in Midwest
• Montana Trout Rebounding
• Op/Ed - Restoring a Northwest Jewel: Hemlock Dam's Removal
• Columbia Tribal Fish Commission Names Nez Perce Chairwoman
• California - No Way to Guard New Ocean Sanctuaries
• Annual Milfoil Removal Begins At Chelan PUD Parks
• Columbia River Channel Money Gets House OK
• Op/Ed - Be Green about Water by Going Slow With the Flow
• As The Wind Blows - BPA Tries To Grapple With Wind Supply
• Radar Ridge wind farm by 2010?
• News Photos: More Wind Components at Port Of Longview
• Wind Farm Foes Describe the Noise - No Peace & Quiet
• Seattle City Light RFP Seeks 50 MW of Green Power
• Idaho – Federal Money to Expand Boise's Geothermal System
• Inventive Colville Man Gives Life to Wood-To-Energy Technology
• Congress Shows Overwhelming Support for Hydro
• Kansas - Bowersock Leaders Planning To Build a New Hydro Plant
• Hydropower in Europe: Current Status, Future Opportunities
• United Kingdom - Green Dream Runs Low on Power
• Free Light Bulbs for PSE Customers
• Conservation to Be Chelan PUD’s Focus for Stimulus Funding
• A New Enforcer in Buildings, the Energy Inspector
• North Carolina - Wal-Mart Wants Out Of Energy Conservation Surcharge
• House Climate Bill Was Flooded With Last-Minute Changes
• Lobbyists Lining Up For Shot At Climate Bill
• Pollution Credits Are Hot Issue in Climate Bill
• Op/Ed - Global Warming Believers Aren't About Science
• Ozone Hole Fallout - Chemicals That Eased One Woe Worsen Another
• Obama's Parks Pick Would Face Challenges
• Poll: Seattle Disposable Bag Tax Is Going Down
• Data Center Cooling – Quincy’s Reclaimed Water Flowing at Microsoft
• The Hidden Cost of the Cloud - Bandwidth Charges
• 4 1/2 Ways to Deal with Data during Cloudbursts
• Qwest Doubles Top Broadband Speed in Some Cities
• Yahoo & Microsoft Said to Be Closer to Search Deal
• Microsoft's New Mantra: Save People Money
• Are The Stars Aligning For Telemedicine's Success?
• As Media Grow, FCC Looks Ahead
• Shelton Woman Dies In Crash On McCreavy Road
• Thurston County: Two Die In SUV Wreck on State Route 8
• Shelton City Commission: Building Moratorium & Transportation Plan
• Afghanistan - Captured U.S. Soldier Is 23-Year-Old NW Man
• California Sprouts Marijuana 'Green Rush'
• Oregon to Allow Farmers to Grow Hemp
• 40 Years Later, Moon Still Giant Leap for Mankind

WORD OF THE DAY

Déjà vu • \DAY-zhu -voo\ • noun – 1a: the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time b: a feeling that one has seen or heard something before 2: something overly or unpleasantly familiar

The Army Corps of Engineers biologist had fled the fish wars of the Pacific Northwest for the Idyllic climate of the White River Basin. Until, that is, the fateful day came when his project became the target of an environmental organization accusing his employer of damaging fish runs.

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

BPA proposal looks like it will keep Ferndale-area Intalco smelter going (The Bellingham Herald, WA)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/255/story/992947.html

Intalco: New BPA Deal Will Allow Us to Stay Open (The Bellingham Herald, WA)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/latestheadlines/story/992911.html

West Virginia - Retraining of former Century Aluminum workers an uphill climb: Since the Century Aluminum plant near Ravenswood closed five months ago and threw 650 people out of work…promised placement programs have had few tangible successes (Charleston Daily Mail, WV)
http://www.dailymail.com/Business/200907190324

Astoria, Ore.: County Commissioners Again OK Gas Terminal (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/815238.html

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative Fuel Mix: 95% Greenhouse Gas Free (Islands Weekly, Lopez Island, WA)
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/sanjuans/isw/news/51059437.html

Adjustments to raise Avista rates in Idaho slightly (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA - There goes the residential exchange…)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/17/adjustments-raise-avista-rates-idaho-slightly/

Portland General Electric Names New Vice Presidents (Portland Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/07/20/daily3.html?ana=from_rss

Tenn. Senator Says TVA's Future Should Include More Nuclear, Conservation (WHNT-TV, Huntsville, AL)
http://www.whnt.com/news/sns-ap-tn--tva-alexander,0,1721226.story

Nuclear - The Renewable With Power (Tampa Bay Tribune, FL)
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jul/19/co-nuclear---the-renewable-with-power/news-opinion-commentary/

Energy Dependence - What the Rest of the World Can Teach America in Its Return to Nuclear Power (Newsweek Magazine)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/207235?from=rss

Tennessee Valley Authority Increases Hazard Ratings on Coal Ash Sites (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/science/earth/18ash.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Maryland - Baltimore could build own power plants: Details are scant; aim is to lower residents’ energy bills (Baltimore Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2009/07/20/story2.html?ana=from_rss

IGCC Plant Fracas - Mississippi Power Corrects Erroneous Information by the Sierra Club (WebWire)
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=99545

TransAlta to Launch Offer for Canadian Hydro Developers (Proactive Investors)
http://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/1906/transalta-to-launch-c455-all-cash-offer-for-canadian-hydro-developers-1906.html

Michigan Electric Cooperative Embezzlement Case Update (Petosky News-Review, MI)
http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2009/07/17/news/doc4a607aea1ddad043030800.txt

Smart Grid is the Scam of the Century (Gerson Lehman Group)
http://www.glgroup.com/News/Smart-Grid-is-the-Scam-of-the-Century-41531.html

Texas Lineman's Rodeo Showcases Skills, Teamwork (San Antonio Express News, TX)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/51102377.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Oregonian Op/Ed –BPA Speaks: The Northwest Salmon Debate
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/07/the_northwest_salmon_debate.html

Analysis: Fish And Energy Needs Clash in Midwest (Associated Press – As Dean Boyer of WPUDA points out “Déjà vu”)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6536696.html

Montana Trout Rebounding - Famed River’s Rainbows Had Been Decimated by Whirling Disease (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/20/montana-trout-rebounding/

Columbian Op/Ed - Restoring a Northwest Jewel: Hemlock Dam's removal victory for steelhead, those who love nature
http://columbian.com/article/20090719/OPINION03/707199994/-1/OPINION

Columbia Tribal Fish Commission Names Nez Perce Chairwoman (Associated Press)
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=10745707

California - No Way to Guard New Ocean Sanctuaries, State Game Wardens Say - It seems a contradiction: State game wardens oppose creating 30 new ocean sanctuaries on California's coast to protect sensitive fisheries (Sacramento Bee, CA)
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2036097.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Annual Milfoil Removal Begins At Chelan PUD Parks (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090718/NEWS04/707189944/1001/NEWS04

Columbia River Channel Money Gets House OK (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)
http://columbian.com/article/20090718/NEWS02/707189964/

Seattle Times Op/Ed - Be Green about Water by Going Slow With the Flow
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2009492253_ecoconsumer18m.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

As The Wind Blows - BPA Tries To Grapple With Wind Supply (East Oregonian, Pendleton, OR)
http://eastoregonian.com/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=48&ArticleID=95469

Radar Ridge wind farm by 2010? (National Wind Watch)
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/11/11/radar-ridge-wind-farm-by-2010/

News Photos: More Wind Components at Port Of Longview (Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2009/07/17//area_news/doc4a60c898eb334150132063.txt

Wind Farm Foes Describe the Noise - No Peace And Quiet: Effect of 50 Turbines 'Almost Unbearable' (Watertown Daily Times, NY)
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20090717/NEWS03/307179968/0/FRONTPAGE

Seattle City Light RFP Seeks 50 MW of Green Power (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/archives/173968.asp?source=rss

Idaho - Money to Expand Boise's Geothermal System Included In Department Of Energy Bill (Idaho Statesman, Boise)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/boise/story/837403.html

Inventive Colville Man Gives Life to Wood-To-Energy Technology (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jul/19/inventive-colville-man-gives-life-to-wood-to/

Congress Shows Overwhelming Support for Hydro (Renewable Energy News)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/national-hydropower-association/news/article/2009/07/congress-shows-overwhelming-support-for-hydro?cmpid=rss

Kansas - Bowersock Leaders Planning To Build a New Hydro-Electric Power Plant (Lawrence Journal-World, KS)
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/jul/17/bowersock-leaders-planning-build-news-hydro-electr/?city_local

Hydropower in Europe: Current Status, Future Opportunities (Renewable Energy World)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/07/hydropower-in-europe-current-status-future-opportunities?cmpid=rss

United Kingdom - Green Dream Runs Low on Power: The closure of a turbine plant on the Isle of Wight is symbolic of a dangerously becalmed renewables sector
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jul/19/wind-power-isle-wight

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Free Light Bulbs for PSE Customers (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/bellevueblog/2009491159_freebulbsforpsecustomers.html?syndication=rss

Conservation to Be Chelan PUD’s Focus for Stimulus Funding (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090717/NEWS04/707179969?Conservation-to-be-PUD%E2%80%99-s-focus-for-stimulus-funding

A New Enforcer in Buildings, the Energy Inspector (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/business/energy-environment/18codes.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

North Carolina - Wal-Mart Wants Out Of Energy Conservation Surcharge (Triangle Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2009/07/20/story3.html?ana=from_rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

House Climate Bill Was Flooded With Last-Minute Changes - Many provisions were narrowly focused to help certain industries. Expect more of the same in the Senate (LA Times)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-climate-fineprint20-2009jul20,0,5210778.story

Lobbyists Lining Up For Shot At Climate Bill (The Hill)
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lobbyists-lining-up-for-shot-at-climate-bill-2009-07-19.html

Pollution Credits Are Hot Issue in Climate Bill (Des Moines Register, IA)
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090720/BUSINESS/907200320/-1/LIFE04

Salem Statesman Journal Op/Ed - Global Warming Believers Aren't About Science
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090718/OPINION/907180309/1049

Ozone Hole Fallout - Chemicals That Eased One Woe Worsen Another (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071901817.html?nav=rss_email/components

Obama's Parks Pick Would Face Challenges (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/915351.html

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Poll: Seattle Disposable Bag Tax Is Going Down (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/173976.asp?source=pimail

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Data Center Cooling – Quincy’s Reclaimed Water Flowing at Microsoft (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090717/NEWS04/707189984/1025/rss1025

The Hidden Cost of the Cloud - Bandwidth Charges: Microsoft is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build out its next generation of data centers to host its cloud computing offering (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/07/17/the-hidden-cost-of-the-cloud-bandwidth-charges/

4 1/2 Ways to Deal with Data during Cloudbursts (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2009/07/19/4-12-ways-to-deal-with-data-during-cloudbursts/

Qwest Doubles Top Broadband Speed in Some Cities (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009503722_apustectechbitqwestinternet.html?syndication=rss

Yahoo and Microsoft Said to Be Closer to Search Deal (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/yahoo-and-microsoft-closer-to-a-partnership/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Microsoft's New Mantra: Save People Money (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2009500612_microsoftsales20.html?syndication=rss

Are The Stars Aligning For Telemedicine's Succcess? (C/NET News)
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10290067-92.html?tag=nl.e703

As Media Grow, FCC Looks Ahead - Agency's New Chief Is a Product of the Information Age (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071901826.html?wprss=rss_business

GENERAL NEWS

Shelton Woman Dies In Crash On McCreavy Road (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7824/reftab/1632/t/WOMAN-DIES-IN-CRASH-ON-MCREAVY-ROAD/Default.aspx

Thurston County: Two Die In SUV Wreck On State Route 8 (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/915348.html

Shelton City Commission Holding Hearings On Building Moratorium And Transportation Plan Tonight (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/smid/3468/ArticleID/7823/reftab/1632/t/CITY-COMMISSION-HOLDING-HEARINGS-ON-BUILDING-MORATORIUM-AND-TRANSPORTATION-PLAN-TONIGHT/Default.aspx

Afghanistan - Captured U.S. Soldier Is 23-Year-Old NW Man (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/51137282.html

California Sprouts Marijuana 'Green Rush' (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2125347~California_sprouts_marijuana__green_rush_.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

Oregon to Allow Farmers to Grow Hemp (Associated Press)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_071909ORB-AP-oregon-hemp-SW.58b8ac37.html?rss?npc

40 Years Later, Moon Still Giant Leap for Mankind (Associated Press)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009500005_apusscimoonanniversary.html?syndication=rss

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

Neil Armstrong's $10.50 Check Sells For $27K
http://www.kirotv.com/money/20075293/detail.html

North Carolina Man Calls 911 to Report He's Robbing Bank
http://www.kirotv.com/news/20077952/detail.html

Boys Will Be Boys - Idaho Wrestlers Told To Abandon Bikini Tops
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_071909IDN-bikini-boys-SW.57eac57b.html?rss

Waller Of '60s Pop Duo Peter and Gordon Dies At 64
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12875727

SONG OF THE DAY

A World without Love - Peter & Gordon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_lJPUKTchI

Lady Godiva - Peter & Gordon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_lJPUKTchI