The Energy News Digest: Energy News Digest for February 4, 2014

California: Drought Cuts into State’s Hydro Power Supplies
Midwest Propane Shortages Cause Price Increases in Eastern Washington
City of Port Angeles to Get Report Tonight on Smart-Meter Program
Grant PUD to Set Rules for Living near Dams, Includes Public Passage
February 11 – Planned Power Outage Shelton-Matlock Road Area
Grays Harbor PUD Commissioners Pick a New Community & Government Relations Director
Westinghouse Slows Small Reactor Development
Colorado Public Power: Boulder Officials Say Request for Xcel Assets is Just Fine
‘The Great Crew Change’ Forces Utilities to Rethink Hiring
Santee Cooper Educates Future Customers with High School Curriculum
Tiny Oregon Backwater Minnow is First Fish Taken Off Endangered List
AP NewsBreak: Changes Sought for Endangered Act
California Officials Forecast ‘Zero’ Water Deliveries
As SoloPower Systems Pulls Together ‘Major Investment Plans,’ Oregon State Lender Grows Wary
More Kitsap Workshops Scheduled on Solar Power, Available Rebates
Meet the New World’s Biggest Wind Turbine
Editorial: Conservation Plan a Smart Approach for Renewable Energy, Protecting the Desert
Centralia’s Bright Idea – New LED Street Lights Installed by Sunset Air
New $10 Million Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Campus Will Focus on Smart Grid
News Release: Transformative Wave & Snohomish County Public Utility District Partnership is Recognized by AESP in Its Award for Outstanding Achievement in Technology Deployment
A Next-Gen Battery is Coming Soon to the Power Grid
Fast Internet is Chattanooga’s New Locomotive
Cable Merger Future-Proofs against Internet’s Rise
Cable Companies Want to Block Cities from Building Fiber Networks - Here’s How the FCC Could Intervene
Facebook’s New Cold Storage: 10,000 Blu-Ray Discs, 1 Petabyte of Data
Status Update: Ten Years In, Facebook Still a Force
Being the Squeaky Wheel on Social Media
NBC Hopes Free Pass Will Help TV Everywhere
Plan to Shrink Washington State Supreme Court Size to Be Heard by Senate
Deep Freeze Hits Pacific Northwest this Week
Special Weather Statement - Temperatures Well Below Normal Expected this Week
This Week’s Western Washington Weather Story
Satya Nadella Named Microsoft CEO
Magnitude 3 Quake Struck near Tacoma Monday
Fans Gear Up for Wednesday’s Super Seahawks Parade
Marriott Looking into Customer Data Breach
Oregon One of Country’s Most Liberal & Least Religious States: Gallup Poll

WORD OF THE DAY

Suss • \SUSS\ • Verb - To find or discover (something) by thinking; to inspect or investigate (something) in order to gain more knowledge.

Francois was deep in thought, his chin resting on his hardened, sculptor’s fist. He had made a bet with himself that he could create a piece of art that would last the ages; be used to represent man’s quest to suss the answer to life, the universe and everything; doing it all while stark naked. For days, the only answer he could come up with was 42. He didn’t know why, but every so often the answer, like a brief glimpse of Truth, would flicker into his peripheral vision…only to be lost again to the sands of time.

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

California: Drought Cuts into State’s Hydro Power Supplies (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/04/6125877/drought-cuts-into-states-hydro.html

Midwest Propane Shortages Cause Price Increases in Eastern Washington (KNDO/KNDU-TV, Tri Cities, WA)

http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/24624395/midwest-propane-shortages-cause-price-increases-in-eastern-washington

City of Port Angeles to Get Report Tonight on Smart-Meter Program (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.konp.com/local/9423

Grant PUD to Set Rules for Living near Dams, Includes Public Passage (iFiberOne News, Ephrata, WA)

http://www.ifiberone.com/news/grant-pud-to-set-rules-for-living-near-dams-includes/article_17f1e9aa-8d45-11e3-aa94-0017a43b2370.html

February 11 – Planned Power Outage Shelton-Matlock Road Area (Mason County PUD 3, Shelton, WA)

http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?NewsID=1336

Grays Harbor PUD Commissioners Pick a New Community & Government Relations Director (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

http://kbkw.com/local-news/104216

Westinghouse Slows Small Reactor Development (Charlotte Business Journal, NC)

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/power_city/2014/02/westinghouse-slows-small-reactor-development.html

Colorado Public Power: Boulder Officials Say Request for Xcel Assets is Just Fine (Denver Business Journal, CO)

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2014/02/boulder-officials-say-citys-request.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search

‘The Great Crew Change’ Forces Utilities to Rethink Hiring (Midwest Energy News)

http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2014/02/04/the-great-crew-change-forces-utilities-to-rethink-hiring/

Santee Cooper Educates Future Customers with High School Curriculum (American Public Power Association)

http://www.naylornetwork.com/app-ppd/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=252088&issueID=34786

FISH & WILDLIFE

Tiny Oregon Backwater Minnow is First Fish Taken Off Endangered List (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/02/tiny_oregon_backwater_minnow_i.html

AP NewsBreak: Changes Sought for Endangered Act (Associated Press)

http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-changes-sought-endangered-act-144729804.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

California Officials Forecast ‘Zero’ Water Deliveries (Sacramento Bee, CA)

http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/31/6119042/california-officials-forecast.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

As SoloPower Systems Pulls Together ‘Major Investment Plans,’ Oregon State Lender Grows Wary (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2014/02/as_solopower_systems_pulls_together_major_investment_plans_state_lender_grows_wary.html

More Kitsap Workshops Scheduled on Solar Power, Available Rebates (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, WA)

http://kpbj.com/business_daily/2014-02-04/more_kitsap_workshops_scheduled_on_solar_power_available_rebates

Meet the New World’s Biggest Wind Turbine (Renewable Energy World)

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/02/meet-the-new-worlds-biggest-wind-turbine?cmpid=rss

Editorial: Conservation Plan a Smart Approach for Renewable Energy, Protecting the Desert (Palm Springs Desert Sun, CA)

http://www.mydesert.com/article/20140201/OPINION01/302010041/Our-Voice-Conservation-plan-smart-approach-renewable-energy-protecting-desert

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Centralia’s Bright Idea – New LED Street Lights Installed by Sunset Air (Thurston Talks, Olympia, WA)

http://www.thurstontalk.com/2014/02/04/centralias-bright-idea-new-led-street-lights-installed-sunset-air/

New $10 Million Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Campus Will Focus on Smart Grid (Sustainable Business Oregon)

http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2014/02/new-10m-pnnl-campus-will-focus.html

News Release: Transformative Wave & Snohomish County Public Utility District Partnership is Recognized by AESP in Its Award for Outstanding Achievement in Technology Deployment (PR-Web)

http://www.prweb.com/releases/AESP-recognizes-PUD/Transformative-Wave/prweb11542095.htm

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

A Next-Gen Battery is Coming Soon to the Power Grid (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2014/02/04/the-power-grid-is-getting-a-lot-of-new-next-gen-battery-options-this-year/

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Fast Internet is Chattanooga’s New Locomotive (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/technology/fast-internet-service-speeds-business-development-in-chattanooga.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Cable Merger Future-Proofs against Internet’s Rise (Associated Press)

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/technology/article/Cable-merger-future-proofs-against-Internet-s-rise-5202131.php

Cable Companies Want to Block Cities from Building Fiber Networks - Here’s How the FCC Could Intervene (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/02/03/cable-companies-want-to-block-cities-from-building-fiber-networks-heres-how-the-fcc-could-intervene/?wprss=rss_technology

Facebook’s New Cold Storage: 10,000 Blu-Ray Discs, 1 Petabyte of Data (Gizmodo)

http://gizmodo.com/facebooks-new-cold-storage-10-000-blu-ray-discs-1-pe-1512231362

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Status Update: Ten Years In, Facebook Still a Force (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Status-update-10-years-in-Facebook-still-a-force-243498861.html

Being the Squeaky Wheel on Social Media (KATU-TV, Portland, OR)

http://www.katu.com/news/local/Being-the-squeaky-wheel-on-social-media-243421891.html

NBC Hopes Free Pass Will Help TV Everywhere (Associated Press)

http://news.yahoo.com/nbc-hopes-free-pass-help-tv-everywhere-190803393.html

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Plan to Shrink Washington State Supreme Court Size to Be Heard by Senate (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/feb/04/plan-to-shrink-washington-supreme-court-size-to/

GENERAL NEWS

Deep Freeze Hits Pacific Northwest this Week (Northwest Cable News Network)

http://www.nwcn.com/news/Deep-freeze-hits-Northwest-this-week-243486291.html

Special Weather Statement - Temperatures Well Below Normal Expected this Week (National Weather Service, Seattle, WA)

http://alerts.weather.gov/cap/wwacapget.php?x=WA125141B65824.SpecialWeatherStatement.125141C3C540WA.SEWSPSSEW.6adb09b0402b678a713c05d8a792a62a

This Week’s Western Washington Weather Story (National Weather Service, Seattle, WA)

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/FXC/wxstory.php?wfo=sew

Satya Nadella Named Microsoft CEO (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/techflash/2013/11/satya-nadella-will-be-the-next.html

Magnitude 3 Quake Struck near Tacoma Monday (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/magnitude-3-quake-struck-near-tacoma/ndB8b/

Fans Gear Up for Wednesday’s Super Seahawks Parade (KCPQ-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://q13fox.com/2014/02/03/seahawks-fans-prepare-for-wednesday-superbowl-victory-parade/#axzz2sHEg0Vyd

Marriott Looking into Customer Data Breach (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)

http://www.kgw.com/news/Marriott-looking-into-customer-data-breach-243360271.html

Oregon One of Country’s Most Liberal & Least Religious States: Gallup Poll (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2014/02/oregon_one_of_countrys_most_li.html

DIVERSIONS

Broncos Super Bowl Championship Merchandise Headed Overseas After Loss

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=2448105

Seahawks Win Costs Gallery Furniture Owner $7 Million

http://www.kgw.com/news/Seahawks-win-costs-Gallery-Furniture-owner-7M-243515211.html

The Story Behind the Super Bowl’s Most Famous Puppeteer

http://mashable.com/2014/02/03/super-bowl-puppeteer/

El Salvador Fisherman Washes Up In Marshall Islands after Year Adrift

http://news.yahoo.com/corrected-el-salvador-fisherman-washes-marshall-islands-adrift-044202282.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Bette Midler - On a Slow Boat to China

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49wLAmd2INs

Ella Fitzgerald - On a Slow Boat to China

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui_JwKRkxbY

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.

The Energy News Digest

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Energy News Digest for February 4, 2014

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