The Energy News Digest: Energy News Digest for September 29, 2010

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Energy News Digest for September 29, 2010

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.

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Clean Energy Groups Protest Centralia TransAlta Coal Power Plant - Sierra Club, others hope to close Centralia plant by 2015

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/09/29/1385373/clean-energy-groups-protest-coal.html

Benton PUD Expects to Raise Rates in 2011 – BPA wholesale rates, renewable energy mandates, conservation goals cited (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/29/1360840/benton-pud-expects-to-raise-rates.html

Ancient Italian Town Has Wind at Its Back (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/science/earth/29fossil.html

Wind offers reprieve to struggling, dying fish in Hood Canal dead zone (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013019126_hoodcanal29m.html

California - Modesto Irrigation District Agrees to Reconsider Wood-Burning Power Plant: Board holds off voting to cease negotiations (Modesto Bee, CA)

http://www.modbee.com/2010/09/29/1360163/mid-agrees-to-reconsider-wood.html

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

· Clean Energy Groups Protest Centralia TransAlta Coal Power Plant

· Benton PUD Expects to Raise Rates in 2011

· Chelan PUD Board Approves Five-Year Steering Plan

· Editorial - Politics & British Columbia’s Peace River Dam

· Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Lifts Price Cap on Transmission Capacity

· Low-Cost Electric Deals OK’d for Western New York Companies

· Energy Department Commits $1 Billion to FutureGen

· Too Many Nukes - Why Many Environmentalists Will Fight Germany’s Green Energy Plan

· California - Is PUC a Utility Watchdog - Or Lapdog?

· The Rise of the New Power Co-Op Movement

· Coho Scarce in Puyallup River, Tribe Ends Season

· Great Lakes – Scientists Say Mussels May Leave Carp Nothing to Eat

· Union Threatens Labor Charge in US Fishery Case

· Wind Offers Reprieve to Struggling, Dying Fish in Hood Canal Dead Zone

· Sewer Plan: Boon or Bust for Brinnon?

· Sewage Overflow in New York? Believe It

· Water Use in Southwest Heads for a Day of Reckoning

· Bark Beetles May Not be Wildfire Culprits

· Ancient Italian Town Has Wind at Its Back

· Minnesota - North Shore Attracts Wind Power, Migrating Birds

United Kingdom

- Wind Farms: Yet Another Brewing Disaster

· California - Modesto Irrigation District Agrees to Reconsider Wood-Burning Power Plant

· Op/Ed - Wood Energy Produces Power, Questions

· NREL Releases Biomass Mapping Application

· US Energy Grid Gets Its First Taste of Tidal Power

· Oregon Governor Says Wave Farms Will be Smart Long-Term Investment

· Major Solar Projects Make Progress in California

· Editorial - No, Nuclear Power Does Not Belong in the Renewable Energy Standard

· Painting Roofs White Saves You Green

· Salem Electric Customers to Receive Efficient Bulbs

· New Refrigerator Standards Are First from Industry/Environmental Consensus Agreement

· Short on Roof Space? Adobe Plants Fuel Cells

· GM Tests Electric Cars That Feed Power Back to the Grid

· Microsoft Bans Employees from Tweeting at Annual Meeting

· State Senate - Marr Changing TV Ad That Lacked Disclosure

· Hey, Citizens, Guess Who’s Really Taking the Initiative

· Clallam County Phone Bills Going Up after County Passes Tax Increase

· Social Media ‘Wild Wild West’ of Political Campaigns

· Woman Pleads Innocent in Washington State Acid Hoax Case

· Tumwater Judge Arrested in DUI, Hit & Run Case

· WSP Arrests Man Suspected of Taunting Trooper after I-90 Crash

· Census Shows More Washington Residents in Poverty

· Longview - Utah Coal Company Eyes Private Port at Former Reynolds Metals Site

· Indian Story Pole Decaying at Capitol in Olympia

WORDS OF THE DAY

Parlay • \PARR-lay\ • verb – 1: to bet in a parlay 2a: to exploit successfully b: to increase or otherwise transform into something of much greater value

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH:

Parley • \PARR-lee\ • verb – To speak with another: confer; specifically: to discuss terms with an enemy

Paulette was eager for parlay her parley with the energy traders to her advantage. “All I want is a corner office and one of those little cube refrigerators,” she sighed in hushed tones to her counterpart.

SHELTON FORECAST & 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

Clean Energy Groups Protest Centralia TransAlta Coal Power Plant - Sierra Club, others hope to close Centralia plant by 2015

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/09/29/1385373/clean-energy-groups-protest-coal.html

Benton PUD Expects to Raise Rates in 2011 – BPA wholesale rates, renewable energy mandates, conservation goals cited (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/29/1360840/benton-pud-expects-to-raise-rates.html

Chelan PUD Board Approves Five-Year Steering Plan (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/sep/29/pud-board-approves-5-year-steering-plan/

Editorial - Politics & British Columbia’s Peace River Dam (North Island MidWeek, BC)

http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_north/northislandmidweek/opinion/103959629.html

Open the Sluice Gates! Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Lifts Price Cap on Transmission Capacity (Courthouse News Service)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/09/28/30647.htm

Low-Cost Electric Deals OK’d for Western New York Companies (Business First of Buffalo)

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2010/09/27/daily22.html

Energy Department Commits $1 Billion to FutureGen (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2013019592_apusfuturegenfunding.html

Too Many Nukes - Why Many Environmentalists Will Fight Germany’s Green Energy Plan (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0928/Why-many-environmentalists-will-fight-Germany-s-green-energy-plan

California - Is PUC a Utility Watchdog - Or Lapdog? (SF Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/29/BUHP1FJAIF.DTL

The Rise of the New Power Co-Op Movement (Huffington Post)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-smith/the-rise-of-the-new-power_b_740709.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Coho Scarce in Puyallup River, Tribe Ends Season (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/29/1360742/coho-scarce-in-puyallup-tribe.html

Great Lakes – Scientists Say Mussels May Leave Carp Nothing to Eat (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2013021293_apusmusselmenace.html

Union Threatens Labor Charge in US Fishery Case (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2013020198_apusfisheryenforcement.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Wind Offers Reprieve to Struggling, Dying Fish in Hood Canal Dead Zone (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013019126_hoodcanal29m.html

Sewer Plan: Boon or Bust for Brinnon? “…The processed water would be dumped into Hood Canal, while the solid waste would be hauled to a waste facility in Shelton…” (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100929/news/309299989/sewer-plan-boon-or-bust-for-brinnon

Sewage Overflow in New York? Believe It (NY Times)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/sewage-overflow-in-new-york-believe-it/

Water Use in Southwest Heads for a Day of Reckoning (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/science/earth/28mead.html

Bark Beetles May Not be Wildfire Culprits - New study finds infestations thin out fuel that feeds fires (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/sep/28/bark-beetles-may-not-be-wildfire-culprits-new/

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Ancient Italian Town Has Wind at Its Back (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/science/earth/29fossil.html

Minnesota - North Shore Attracts Wind Power, Migrating Birds (Minnesota Public Radio)

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/09/29/north-shore-wind-power-birds/?refid=0

United Kingdom

- Wind Farms: Yet Another Brewing Disaster (The Telegraph, UK)

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100056158/wind-farms-yet-another-brewing-disaster/

California - Modesto Irrigation District Agrees to Reconsider Wood-Burning Power Plant: Board holds off voting to cease negotiations (Modesto Bee, CA)

http://www.modbee.com/2010/09/29/1360163/mid-agrees-to-reconsider-wood.html

Op/Ed - Wood Energy Produces Power, Questions (Traverse City Record-Eagle, MI)

http://record-eagle.com/features/x1560863297/Wood-energy-produces-power-questions

NREL Releases Biomass Mapping Application - A mapping application shows where bio-energy facilities are located now & where more could be developed (Renewable Energy World)

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/09/nrel-releases-biomass-mapping-application

US Energy Grid Gets Its First Taste of Tidal Power (Dvice)

http://dvice.com/archives/2010/09/us-energy-grid.php

Oregon Governor Says Wave Farms Will be Smart Long-Term Investment (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/14361-kulongoski-says-wave-farms-will-be-smart-long-term-investment/

Major Solar Projects Make Progress in California (USA Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2010-09-29-solarpower29_ST_N.htm

Editorial - No, Nuclear Power Does Not Belong in the Renewable Energy Standard – Renewable Energy Standard versus Clean Energy Standard (Grist)

http://www.grist.org/article/2010-09-28-no-nuclear-power-does-not-belong-in-the-res/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Painting Roofs White Saves You Green (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

http://www.kndu.com/Global/story.asp?S=13234358

Salem Electric Customers to Receive Efficient Bulbs - The fluorescent lamps may save money as well as lots of kilowatt hours (Salem Statesman-Journal, OR)

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100929/COMMUNITIES/9290307/1107/news#ixzz10vyZQPie

New Refrigerator Standards Are First from Industry/Environmental Consensus Agreement (Appliance Magazine)

http://www.appliancemagazine.com/news.php?article=1433514&zone=0&first=1

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Short on Roof Space? Adobe Plants Fuel Cells (NY Times)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/short-on-roof-space-adobe-plants-fuel-cells/

GM Tests Electric Cars That Feed Power Back to the Grid (USA Today)

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/09/gm-tests-electric-cars-that-feed-power-back-to-the-grid/1?csp=34money

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Microsoft Bans Employees from Tweeting at Annual Meeting (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/2013016819_microsoftholdsannualemployeemeetingatsafecofield.html

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE