Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Energy News Digest for July 16, 2013

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THE NEWS DIGEST WORD CLOUD

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for July 16, 2013

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Drummond Reportedly Out in Bonneville Power Administration Management Shakeup (Sustainable Business Oregon)

Bonneville Power Administration Management Violated Hiring Practices, May Have Retaliated against Whistleblowers, Federal Investigation Says (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

Yakima Area Residents Question Logic of 14.1% Electricity Rate Hike (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)

New Wind Farm Proposed East of Ellensburg (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)

Warm Weather & Threat of Lightning Increases Wildfire Danger (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • Drummond Reportedly Out in Bonneville Power Administration Management Shakeup
  • DOE Appoints Elliot Mainzer Interim Leader of Bonneville Power Administration; Bill Drummond's Fate Unclear
  • Bonneville Power Administration Management Violated Hiring Practices, May Have Retaliated against Whistleblowers, Federal Investigation Says
  • Yakima Area Residents Question Logic of 14.1% Electricity Rate Hike
  • Getting Charged Up Over Energy in Idaho
  • Prehistoric Art, Lewis & Clark Trail in Path of Federal Power Project
  • Leadership Changes Continue at Tennessee Valley Authority
  • California - Utilities Weigh Options for Replacing Lost San Onofre Nuclear Capacity
  • Power Outages Are Bad, Portable Generators Are Worse
  • Projects along the Columbia River & I-84 to Make Wetlands More Hospitable to Salmon
  • Fighting (And Cooking) Invasive Crayfish in Pacific Northwest Waters
  • Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer Project Wraps Up
  • California - Stakes Are High in State, Federal Water Contract Negotiations
  • What's In the Water? City of Longview's Switch Stirs Up Complaints
  • Low Great Lakes Levels Raise Concerns for Midwest Power Plants
  • New Wind Farm Proposed East of Ellensburg
  • Port Of Olympia Earns Return on Solar Power Investment
  • These Maps Show the Best Places to Put Solar & Wind Power - It’s Not Where You Think
  • Forest Biomass Loses in Court Ruling
  • Virginia Power Company Converts First of Three Coal Plants to Biomass
  • States Defend Clean-Energy Mandates Targeted by Conservatives
  • The Dirty Secret of Britain's Power Madness
  • Dunes, Reefs & Kelp Forests Protect U-S Coast from Climate Change
  • Free Market Is Best Way to Combat Climate Change, Study Suggests
  • Ten Electric Car Charging Stations to Open in Centralia
  • Washington State Acknowledges Washington Data Center Was Overbuilt
  • Oregon Government's Computer Server Hit by 'Catastrophic Failure'
  • Very Few Use the Broadband Radios on Their Tablets
  • Landline Phones Go the Way of the Telegram
  • Warm Weather & Threat of Lightning Increases Wildfire Danger
  • Columbia River Crossing Project Adviser Investigated for Ethics Violations
  • Portland Firefighter Suffers Electrical Shock, Head Injury While Battling Southwest Portland Fire
  • Airline to Sue San Francisco TV Station over Bogus Names

WORD OF THE DAY

Millefleur • \meal-FLERR\ • Adjective – Bernice was the true definition of a wallflower. Of course no one asked her to dance at the prom. The dress she wore with the delightful millefleur design was the exact color and pattern as the ballroom wallpaper. Sitting in her chair, the only way one knew she was there was when she blinked, so effective was her unintentional camouflage.

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Drummond Reportedly Out in Bonneville Power Administration Management Shakeup (Sustainable Business Oregon)

DOE Appoints Elliot Mainzer Interim Leader of Bonneville Power Administration; Bill Drummond's Fate Unclear (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

Bonneville Power Administration Management Violated Hiring Practices, May Have Retaliated against Whistleblowers, Federal Investigation Says (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

Yakima Area Residents Question Logic of 14.1% Electricity Rate Hike (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)

Getting Charged Up Over Energy in Idaho (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

Prehistoric Art, Lewis & Clark Trail in Path of Federal Power Project (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Potential)

Leadership Changes Continue at Tennessee Valley Authority (Knoxville News-Sentinel, TN)

California - Utilities Weigh Options for Replacing Lost San Onofre Nuclear Capacity (Platts)

Power Outages Are Bad, Portable Generators Are Worse (Forbes Magazine)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Projects along the Columbia River & I-84 to Make Wetlands More Hospitable to Salmon (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

Fighting (And Cooking) Invasive Crayfish in Pacific Northwest Waters (Northwest Public Radio)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer Project Wraps Up (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

California - Stakes Are High in State, Federal Water Contract Negotiations (Sacramento Bee, CA)

What's In the Water? City of Longview's Switch Stirs Up Complaints (KATU-TV, Portland, OR)

Low Great Lakes Levels Raise Concerns for Midwest Power Plants (Midwest Energy News)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

New Wind Farm Proposed East of Ellensburg (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA)

Port Of Olympia Earns Return on Solar Power Investment (Thurston Talks, Olympia, WA)

These Maps Show the Best Places to Put Solar & Wind Power - It’s Not Where You Think (Washington Post)

Forest Biomass Loses in Court Ruling (Earth Techling)

Virginia Power Company Converts First of Three Coal Plants to Biomass (Associated Press)

States Defend Clean-Energy Mandates Targeted by Conservatives (Bloomberg News)

The Dirty Secret of Britain's Power Madness - Polluting diesel generators built in secret by foreign companies to kick in when there's no wind for turbines (The Daily Mail, UK)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Dunes, Reefs & Kelp Forests Protect U-S Coast from Climate Change (Science World)

Free Market Is Best Way to Combat Climate Change, Study Suggests (e! Science News)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Ten Electric Car Charging Stations to Open in Centralia (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Washington State Acknowledges Washington Data Center Was Overbuilt (Northwest Public Radio)

Oregon Government's Computer Server Hit by 'Catastrophic Failure' (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

Very Few Use the Broadband Radios on Their Tablets (Broadband Reports)

Landline Phones Go the Way of the Telegram (Forbes Magazine)

GENERAL NEWS

Warm Weather & Threat of Lightning Increases Wildfire Danger (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

Columbia River Crossing Project Adviser Investigated for Ethics Violations (KGW TV, Portland, OR)

Portland Firefighter Suffers Electrical Shock, Head Injury While Battling Southwest Portland Fire (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

Airline to Sue San Francisco TV Station over Bogus Names (Associated Press)

DIVERSIONS

Yum: Twinkies Are Back

Suspected Drunk Driver Assaulted after Crashing into Home

That’s not a Meal; it’s a Circus Act - Wendy’s Halts Sale of 9-patty ‘T-Rex’ Burger

SONG OF THE DAY

The Greg Kihn Band - The Breakup Song

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

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.


Note that as some newspapers migrate to a “paywall” system of access, some articles may not be available without forking over some cold hard credit card cash. However, some sites will allow a certain number of story accesses per month before holding out their hand. Sorry if this is an inconvenience.