Friday, May 27, 2011

Energy News Digest for May 27, 2011

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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THE NEWS DIGEST ON TWITTER

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Commercial Fishery Near Grand Coulee Dam Says Trout Being Killed by Spill Effects (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Grays Harbor Paper Shuts Plant; 240 Jobs Lost (Seattle Times, WA)

Iberdrola Renewables Contract Will Help Puget Sound Energy Meet Customers’ Peak Power Needs (News Blaze)

WA Lawmakers Kill Film, Newspaper Tax Breaks in Waning Hours – Data Center Incentives to Expire “…Tech companies planning to build new data centers will have to break ground by June 30 to avoid sales tax on the equipment…” (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

California - Plan for Giant Turbines near I-10 Exit in Palm Springs Generating Controversy (Palm Springs Desert Sun, CA)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • Iberdrola Renewables Contract Will Help Puget Sound Energy Meet Customers’ Peak Power Needs
  • California - Pacific Gas & Electric Rates to Drop for Heaviest Utility Users
  • California - Oakley Natural Gas Power Plant Clears Final Regulatory Hurdle
  • Constellation Energy to Buy Electricity Seller StarTex for $142.5 Million
  • Maryland - Shattuck’s $15 Million Pay Riles Constellation Shareholders
  • Kansas to Delay $2.3 Million Disaster Payments to Electric Cooperatives That Suffered Disaster Damage
  • Puget Sound Energy Finds Family of Flying Squirrels in Power Pole
  • Group Proposes Solar Panels for Backup Power at Nuclear Power Plants
  • Canada - Hydro Quebec Chief Says Critics Rely on Myths: Wind & solar ‘too expensive’
  • Wind, Water & Questions - Readers Come Through With Suggestions
  • North Dakota - Basin Electric Idles a Generating Unit While Missouri River Dams Crank Out Electricity
  • Basin Electric Backs Off Coal for Surplus Garrison Dam Power
  • Commercial Fishery Near Grand Coulee Dam Says Trout Being Killed by Spill Effects
  • Virtual Fish Put New Eyes On Underwater Toxins
  • Naturally Competitive - On Your Mark, Get Set, Name That Shrub
  • Clallam PUD’s Carlsborg Sewer, Peninsula College Projects Make Final State Budget
  • Ruling Upheld in Spokane Sewer Plant Death
  • Lake Roosevelt Water Levels 60 Feet Below Normal
  • California - Plan for Giant Turbines near I-10 Exit in Palm Springs Generating Controversy
  • A Natural Gas Power Plant to Make Renewables More Practical
  • German Steel Warns of Rising Costs in Move to Renewable Energy
  • Clackamas Community College Offers Class on Do-It-Yourself Wind Turbines
  • Editorial – Washington State Needs Better Reporting of ‘Green’ Building Data
  • NOAA’s Eye-Opening Time-Lapse Video of April’s Deadly Tornadoes
  • Venice May Be Less at Risk from Seas than Feared
  • US Electric Car Revolution to Go Forward, With or Without Congress
  • Sloppy Recycling Seen Posing Threat to Green Tech
  • WA Lawmakers Kill Film, Newspaper Tax Breaks in Waning Hours – Data Center Incentives to Expire
  • What Did & Didn’t Pass In Legislature This Year
  • Washington State Representative Angel Went on Cruise during Special Session
  • Gary Locke breezes through Senate hearing – Nominated for Ambassador to China
  • Grays Harbor Paper Shuts Plant; 240 Jobs Lost
  • ou Need to Know
  • Average Gas Price in Washington $3.95
  • Mason County Man Shot with Arrow Says Daughter Kept Him from Calling 911
  • Feds to ‘Barefoot Bandit:’ You Owe Us the Rights to Your Story
  • New Washington State Coastal Radar Dome Installed
  • Retiring Shelton Schools Superintendent
  • Tiny Beetles Deployed to Contain Scotch Broom Problem
  • Mail Carrier Who Defecated in Yard Gets to Keep Job

WORD OF THE DAY

Tussle • \TUSS-ull\ • Noun - 1: a physical contest or struggle: scuffle 2: an intense argument, controversy, or struggle

“Don’t go in there!” shouted the scarred employee who stumbled from the board room into a growing crowd of curious, yet strangely calm cubicle-dwellers. “A tussle over the last maple bar went horribly wrong…and the CEO did not come out the winner.”

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Iberdrola Renewables Contract Will Help Puget Sound Energy Meet Customers’ Peak Power Needs (News Blaze)

California - Pacific Gas & Electric Rates to Drop for Heaviest Utility Users (SF Chronicle, CA)

California - Oakley Natural Gas Power Plant Clears Final Regulatory Hurdle (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

Constellation Energy to Buy Electricity Seller StarTex for $142.5 Million (NASDAQ)

Maryland - Shattuck’s $15 Million Pay Riles Constellation Shareholders (Baltimore Business Journal, MD)

Kansas to Delay $2.3 Million Disaster Payments to Electric Cooperatives That Suffered Disaster Damage (Associated Press)

Puget Sound Energy Finds Family of Flying Squirrels in Power Pole (KING-TV, Seattle)

Group Proposes Solar Panels for Backup Power at Nuclear Power Plants (Penn Energy)

Canada - Hydro Quebec Chief Says Critics Rely on Myths: Wind & solar ‘too expensive’; Alternatives to Romaine River dam would cost far more (Montreal Gazette, Quebec)

A MIGHTY RIVER vs. A MIGHTY WIND

Wind, Water & Questions - Readers Come Through With Suggestions (Renewables Biz)

North Dakota - Basin Electric Idles a Generating Unit While Missouri River Dams Crank Out Electricity (Associated Press)

Basin Electric Backs Off Coal for Surplus Garrison Dam Power (Bismarck Tribune, ND)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Commercial Fishery Near Grand Coulee Dam Says Trout Being Killed by Spill Effects (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Virtual Fish Put New Eyes On Underwater Toxins (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

Naturally Competitive - On Your Mark, Get Set, Name That Shrub; Mason County Eco-Field Trip Inspires Students (Olympian, WA)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Clallam PUD’s Carlsborg Sewer, Peninsula College Projects Make Final State Budget (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)

Ruling Upheld in Spokane Sewer Plant Death - Supreme Court says CH2M Hill liable for $6.5 million (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Lake Roosevelt Water Levels 60 Feet Below Normal (KING-TV, Seattle)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

California - Plan for Giant Turbines near I-10 Exit in Palm Springs Generating Controversy (Palm Springs Desert Sun, CA)

A Natural Gas Power Plant to Make Renewables More Practical - GE says its new gas-plant design can address the sudden drops that occur with renewable forms of energy (Technology Review, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

German Steel Warns of Rising Costs in Move to Renewable Energy (Bloomberg News)

Clackamas Community College Offers Class on Do-It-Yourself Wind Turbines (Oregonian, Portland)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Editorial – Washington State Needs Better Reporting of ‘Green’ Building Data (Olympian, WA)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

NOAA’s Eye-Opening Time-Lapse Video of April’s Deadly Tornadoes (TreeHugger)

Venice May Be Less at Risk from Seas than Feared (Reuters)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

US Electric Car Revolution to Go Forward, With or Without Congress (Reuters)

Sloppy Recycling Seen Posing Threat to Green Tech (Reuters)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

WA Lawmakers Kill Film, Newspaper Tax Breaks in Waning Hours – Data Center Incentives to Expire “…Tech companies planning to build new data centers will have to break ground by June 30 to avoid sales tax on the equipment…” (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

What Did & Didn’t Pass In Legislature This Year (Seattle Times, WA)

Washington State Representative Angel Went on Cruise during Special Session (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

Gary Locke breezes through Senate hearing – Nominated for Ambassador to China (Seattle Times, WA)

GENERAL NEWS

Grays Harbor Paper Shuts Plant; 240 Jobs Lost (Seattle Times, WA)

Hitting Road This Memorial Day Weekend? What You Need to Know (Seattle Times, WA)

Average Gas Price in Washington $3.95 (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

Mason County Man Shot with Arrow Says Daughter Kept Him from Calling 911 (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

Feds to ‘Barefoot Bandit:’ You Owe Us the Rights to Your Story (Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA)

New Washington State Coastal Radar Dome Installed - Radar expected to be operational by end of September (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

Retiring Shelton Schools Superintendent (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Tiny Beetles Deployed to Contain Scotch Broom Problem (Longview Daily News, WA)

Mail Carrier Who Defecated in Yard Gets to Keep Job (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

DIVERSIONS

America’s 20 Most Well-Read Cities, According to Amazon

Faux Pregnancy Senior Gets 3.9 Grade on Toppenish High Project, Plus High Octane Agent & Attorney

ATM Repairman Accused of Loading Fake Money

Sheriffs Shut Down Iowa Bar’s Mouse Racing

SONG OF THE DAY

David Porter - Funny Money