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.
Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices: http://twitter.com/energydigest
HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES
Very Wet Weather, Possible Flooding, Seen for Olympic Peninsula (Seattle Times)
Moratorium Could Stymie Evergreen Biomass Project – Permit on Track for Shelton Wood Power Plant (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
News Release – Improved Returns Demonstrate Columbia Salmon Protection: Spawning fish find more habitat, while predators pose threat, report says
News Release - Ecology Adopts Rule Change to Expedite Water Storage Projects in the Columbia Basin (Washington State Department of Ecology)
Washington Gains 830,000 Residents, Becomes 13th Most Populous State (Seattle Times)
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
· Power Auction Gains Chelan PUD $45.5 Million
· New High-Tech Meters Coming to Port Angeles Electric & Water Customers
· Mason County PUD 3 Commission Scales Back Meetings
· San Francisco Shutting Down Power Plant January 1
· Nuclear Regulatory Commission Advisers Back New Westinghouse Nuclear Reactor
· Tennessee Valley Authority - Electricity Demand on Dec. 14 Broke Record
· Copper Prices Jump on China Import Data
· News Release – Improved Returns Demonstrate Columbia Salmon Protection
· Buying Frozen Fish Environmentally Friendly?
· Alaska to Sue over US Polar Bear Protection
· News Release - Ecology Adopts Rule Change to Expedite Water Storage Projects in the Columbia Basin
· Puget Sound Partnership Reaches a Crossroads
· City of Bend Says Hexavalent Chromium Came from Private Utility, Not City System
· BNSF Railway Company Resists More Aquifer Funding
· Colorado - Climate Change a Possible Culprit in Elevated Snake River Zinc Levels
· Moratorium Could Stymie Evergreen Biomass Project – Permit on Track for Shelton Wood Power Plant
· Biomass Power Plant - Public Invited to Comment on ADAGE Permit Application; Public Hearings Set
· Intel Solar Spinoff Announces New York Plant Closing
· REC Silicon Secures a 1.2 Billion Wafer Sales Contract
· Nordic Windpower Leaving California
· US Challenges China’s Wind Power Equipment Aid
· Ohio - Smart Papers to Burn Paper Waste, Save Money
· Iowa - City of Marion Brings Its Plasma-Arc Proposal to the Solid Waste Agency in Search of Garbage
· Florida - Convert Christmas Trees into Electricity
· Pacific Northwest Utilities Encourage Purchase of Energy Efficient TVs
· Do Digital Billboards Waste Energy?
· EPA to Double Down on Climate
· A Scientist, His Work & a Climate Reckoning
· Is Washington State’s Clean-Tech Sector as Sorry as it Sounds?
· Co-Op Offers a Slice of the Sun
· Green Economics: Can We ‘Decarbonize?’
· FCC Approves Net Rules & Braces for Fight
· A Look at the FCC’s Neutrality Rules
· Most Common Passwords List - Discovered by Hackers - Includes ‘12345,’ ‘Password’
· Could Redistricting Cost Kitsap a Congressman?
· Very Wet Weather, Possible Flooding, Seen for Olympic Peninsula
· Rain-Soaked California Braces for Biggest Storm Yet
· Mason County Storm Damage Could Reach $1 Million
· Washington Gains 830,000 Residents, Becomes 13th Most Populous State
· Goodwill Store Coming to Shelton
WORD OF THE DAY
Numinous • \NOO-muh-nuss\ • Adjective - 1: supernatural, mysterious 2: filled with a sense of the presence of divinity: holy 3: appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense: spiritual
Placide’s candle was starting to gutter, his puffy, tired eyes starting to dim in the early morning hours. He had been working hours to compose a poem he had entitled “Minuit, Chrétiens” at the exhortation of his local priest. “Oh numinous night has a nice ring to it, but there are too many syllables,” he moaned. His sleepless wife muttered “Holy night dear…just put it aside and move on.”
“O Holy Night” (“Cantique de Noël”) is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem “Minuit, Chrétiens” (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau (1808–1877), a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem.
SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS
ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES
Power Auction Gains Chelan PUD $45.5 Million (Wenatchee World, WA)
New High-Tech Meters Coming to Port Angeles Electric & Water Customers (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)
Mason County PUD 3 Commission Scales Back Meetings (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
San Francisco Shutting Down Power Plant January 1 (SF Chronicle)
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Advisers Back New Westinghouse Nuclear Reactor (Washington Post)
Tennessee Valley Authority - Electricity Demand on Dec. 14 Broke Record (Associated Press)
Copper Prices Jump on China Import Data (Associated Press)
FISH & WILDLIFE
News Release – Improved Returns Demonstrate Columbia Salmon Protection: Spawning fish find more habitat, while predators pose threat, report says
Buying Frozen Fish Environmentally Friendly? (Northwest Public Radio)
Alaska to Sue over US Polar Bear Protection (USA Today)
WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT
News Release - Ecology Adopts Rule Change to Expedite Water Storage Projects in the Columbia Basin (Washington State Department of Ecology)
Puget Sound Partnership Reaches a Crossroads - Can the state cleanup effort deliver on Gov. Gregoire’s demands for measures of real progress? (Crosscut Seattle)
City of Bend Says Hexavalent Chromium Came from Private Utility, Not City System (Oregonian, Portland)
BNSF Railway Company Resists More Aquifer Funding - Money for DEQ position, water protection at issue (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)
Colorado - Climate Change a Possible Culprit in Elevated Snake River Zinc Levels (Summit Daily, Frisco, CO)
RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Moratorium Could Stymie Evergreen Biomass Project – Permit on Track for Shelton Wood Power Plant (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
Biomass Power Plant - Public Invited to Comment on ADAGE Permit Application; Public Hearings Set (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
Intel Solar Spinoff Announces New York Plant Closing - Steep decline in demand for solar cells due to a harsher-than-usual European winter (Associated Press)
REC Silicon Secures a 1.2 Billion Wafer Sales Contract (4 Traders)
Nordic Windpower Leaving California (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
US Challenges China’s Wind Power Equipment Aid (NY Times)
Ohio - Smart Papers to Burn Paper Waste, Save Money (Cincinnati Enquirer, OH)
Iowa - City of Marion Brings Its Plasma-Arc Proposal to the Solid Waste Agency in Search of Garbage (Eastern Iowa Government)
Florida - Convert Christmas Trees into Electricity (Panama City News-Herald, FL)
CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY
Pacific Northwest Utilities Encourage Purchase of Energy Efficient TVs (Northwest Public Radio)
Do Digital Billboards Waste Energy? (NY Times)
CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT
EPA to Double Down on Climate (Politico)
A Scientist, His Work & a Climate Reckoning (NY Times)
BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI
Is Washington State’s Clean-Tech Sector as Sorry as it Sounds? (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Co-Op Offers a Slice of the Sun (The Enterprise Newspaper, Lynnwood, WA)
Green Economics: Can We ‘Decarbonize?’ (Christian Science Monitor)
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS
FCC Approves Net Rules & Braces for Fight (NY Times)
A Look at the FCC’s Neutrality Rules - At least the parts the ‘transparent’ FCC has released (Broadband Reports)
Most Common Passwords List - Discovered by Hackers - Includes ‘12345,’ ‘Password’ (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)
POLITICS & GOVERNANCE
Could Redistricting Cost Kitsap a Congressman? (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
GENERAL NEWS
Very Wet Weather, Possible Flooding, Seen for Olympic Peninsula (Seattle Times)
Rain-Soaked California Braces for Biggest Storm Yet (Associated Press)
Mason County Storm Damage Could Reach $1 Million (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
Washington Gains 830,000 Residents, Becomes 13th Most Populous State (Seattle Times)
Goodwill Store Coming to Shelton (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
DIVERSIONS
Hollywood Special Effects Give Girl New Ear
Beatles’ Abbey Road Crossing Now Heritage Site
CIA Launching WikiLeaks Task Force, AKA ‘WTF’
To Boldly Go Where No Play Has Gone Before: A Klingon Christmas Carol
SONG OF THE DAY
The Beatles - You Never Give Me Your Money
