Thursday, March 27, 2014

Energy News Digest for March 27, 2014

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THE NEWS DIGEST WORD CLOUD

Energy News Digest Word Cloud for March 27, 2014

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Lawsuit Claims Nest Thermostats Fail to Save Money or Correctly Measure Temperature (GigaOM)

Cracked Dam Causes Water Emergency in Washington State (National Public Radio)

Pacific County: Pot Has Potential to Pull Too Much Power (Chinook Observer, Long Beach, WA – Paywall Advisory)

Landers: Record Salmon Forecast Sparks Record Optimism (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Gone With the Wind? New Turbine Installation Down 93% in the U-S in 2013 (Dallas Business Journal, TX)
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2014/03/26/gone-with-the-wind-new-turbine-installation-down.html

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • Pacific County: Pot Has Potential to Pull Too Much Power (Chinook Observer, Long Beach, WA – Paywall Advisory)
  • Backers of Jordan Cove LNG Project in Coos Bay Looking to Raise Up to $250 Million to Finance Development (Oregonian, Portland)
  • Montana: Bankrupt Power Co-Op, Creditors Reach Deal (Associated Press)
  • Lake Cushman Power Line Rebuild, LED Streetlights - Mason PUD 3 Project Updates (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
  • Mason PUD 3 Commission Report for March 25 Business Meeting (Mason PUD 3, Shelton, WA)
  • Bonneville Power Administration Dispatchers & Operators Get a Charge Out of Discovery at Olympia Substation (Bonneville Power Administration)
  • Sacramento Municipal Utility District Chooses Internal Candidate for CEO, General Manager (Sacramento Business Journal, CA)
  • California: Pacific Gas & Electric Tree Removal Would Hit Walnut Creek Hard (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
  • Bill Would Give Feds New Power to Protect Electric Grid (The Hill, Washington, DC)
  • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Bulk Electricity System Revisions Could Boost Reliability (Fierce Smart Grid)
  • Southwest Utilities Studying, But Not Sold On, Regional Energy Imbalance Market (SNL Financial)
  • Three Utilities Most Likely to Fall in Death Spiral, According to Morningstar (Forbes Magazine)
  • Landers: Record Salmon Forecast Sparks Record Optimism (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)
  • Yakama Habitat Restoration Takes Wing (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA – With A Little Help From The Bonneville Power Administration)
  • Cracked Dam Causes Water Emergency in Washington State (National Public Radio)
  • California Drought: NASA to Conduct Snowpack Surveys (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
  • California Drought Spurs Surge of Neo-49ers as Low Sierra Water Levels Bring Gold Hopes (Associated Press)
  • Colorado River Flowing into Mexican Delta under Landmark 2012 Water Agreement with U-S (Associated Press)
  • Gone With the Wind? New Turbine Installation Down 93% in the U-S in 2013 (Dallas Business Journal, TX)
  • House Republicans: Administration ‘Slow Rolling’ Documents on Bird Deaths at Wind Farms (U-S News & World Report)
  • Op/Ed: Saving the Mojave from the Solar Threat (Los Angeles Times, CA – Build renewable energy projects, we DARE you…)
  • Kansas House Rejects Senate Plan to Drop Renewable Energy Rules (Bloomberg News)
  • Germany’s $2.8 Billion Undersea Power Link with Norway Threatened (Renewable Energy World)
  • Lawsuit Claims Nest Thermostats Fail to Save Money or Correctly Measure Temperature (GigaOM)
  • Energy Adviser: New Energy Ratings Push Super Efficiency (Vancouver Columbian, WA)
  • New Samsung Connected LED Bulbs Can Brighten Your Smart Home (GigaOM)
  • The Pyramid of Conservation Prioritizes Home Energy Savings Projects (Lifehacker)
  • Here’s Why British Columbia’s Carbon Tax is Super Popular - And Effective (Grist Online)
  • The Tallest Wind Turbine Ever Will Float Above Alaska (Gizmodo)
  • Colorado: Will Bills to Expand Rural Broadband Gut Consumer Protections? (The Colorado Independent)
  • Dish, DirecTV Talk Merger in Response to Comcast-Time Warner Deal (Oregonian, Portland)
  • OpenRoute Starts Selling Rugged Wi-Fi Systems (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)
  • Social Media, Marketing & PR: Who’s Responsible for What? (Mashable)
  • Twitter Ban Reversed by Turkish Court (Silicon Valley Business Journal, CA)
  • How Alleged Social Media Leaks Are Shaping Politics in Ukraine & Turkey (Washington Post)
  • Death Toll Expected to Rise from Oso Mudslide as Search Crews Continue to Seek Missing (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)
  • Deadly Mix of Loose Sediments & Heavy Rain in Washington (NY Times)
  • Coastal Flooding: Emergency Declared in Taholah, Voluntary Evacuation Issued (KXRO Radio, Aberdeen, WA)
  • Western Washington March Expected to be Wettest on Record (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)
  • Geologists Record 31 Small Quakes on Mt. Hood since Sunday (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)
  • Port Townsend High School: Redhawks, Sasquatch, Rip Tide: Students Have Three Choices for New Mascot (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
  • Growers of Thirsty Pot Are Under Fire in Drought-Struck California (Tri-City Herald, WA)

WORD OF THE DAY

Sallow • \SALL-oe\ • Adjective - Of a grayish greenish yellow color suggesting sickliness

The planks in the vast dreadnaught creaked with stress, as the mighty sailing ship met the Atlantic rollers for the first of many battles against the elements to make its way to the surging seas now battering Spanish shorelines. Hornblower the famous, the decorated, the celebrated did not partake in the glorious first meeting of his vessel with the howling banshees of the winter storm. Sallow, sunken cheeked and miserable, he rolled in his tiny captain’s berth, mouthing endless oaths at the convulsive seasickness that marked the beginnings of each posting he had the honor to accept.

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS


ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Pacific County: Pot Has Potential to Pull Too Much Power (Chinook Observer, Long Beach, WA – Paywall Advisory)

Backers of Jordan Cove LNG Project in Coos Bay Looking to Raise Up to $250 Million to Finance Development (Oregonian, Portland)

Montana: Bankrupt Power Co-Op, Creditors Reach Deal (Associated Press)

Lake Cushman Power Line Rebuild, LED Streetlights - Mason PUD 3 Project Updates (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

Mason PUD 3 Commission Report for March 25 Business Meeting (Mason PUD 3, Shelton, WA)

Bonneville Power Administration Dispatchers & Operators Get a Charge Out of Discovery at Olympia Substation (Bonneville Power Administration)

Sacramento Municipal Utility District Chooses Internal Candidate for CEO, General Manager (Sacramento Business Journal, CA)

California: Pacific Gas & Electric Tree Removal Would Hit Walnut Creek Hard (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

Bill Would Give Feds New Power to Protect Electric Grid (The Hill, Washington, DC)

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Bulk Electricity System Revisions Could Boost Reliability (Fierce Smart Grid)

Southwest Utilities Studying, But Not Sold On, Regional Energy Imbalance Market (SNL Financial)

Three Utilities Most Likely to Fall in Death Spiral, According to Morningstar (Forbes Magazine)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Landers: Record Salmon Forecast Sparks Record Optimism (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

Yakama Habitat Restoration Takes Wing (Yakima Herald-Republic, WA – With A Little Help From The Bonneville Power Administration)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Cracked Dam Causes Water Emergency in Washington State (National Public Radio)

California Drought: NASA to Conduct Snowpack Surveys (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

California Drought Spurs Surge of Neo-49ers as Low Sierra Water Levels Bring Gold Hopes (Associated Press)

Colorado River Flowing into Mexican Delta under Landmark 2012 Water Agreement with U-S (Associated Press)

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Gone With the Wind? New Turbine Installation Down 93% in the U-S in 2013 (Dallas Business Journal, TX)
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2014/03/26/gone-with-the-wind-new-turbine-installation-down.html

House Republicans: Administration ‘Slow Rolling’ Documents on Bird Deaths at Wind Farms (U-S News & World Report)

Op/Ed: Saving the Mojave from the Solar Threat (Los Angeles Times, CA – Build renewable energy projects, we DARE you…)

Kansas House Rejects Senate Plan to Drop Renewable Energy Rules (Bloomberg News)

Germany’s $2.8 Billion Undersea Power Link with Norway Threatened (Renewable Energy World)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Lawsuit Claims Nest Thermostats Fail to Save Money or Correctly Measure Temperature (GigaOM)

Energy Adviser: New Energy Ratings Push Super Efficiency (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

New Samsung Connected LED Bulbs Can Brighten Your Smart Home (GigaOM)

The Pyramid of Conservation Prioritizes Home Energy Savings Projects (Lifehacker)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Here’s Why British Columbia’s Carbon Tax is Super Popular - And Effective (Grist Online)

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

The Tallest Wind Turbine Ever Will Float Above Alaska (Gizmodo)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Colorado: Will Bills to Expand Rural Broadband Gut Consumer Protections? (The Colorado Independent)

Dish, DirecTV Talk Merger in Response to Comcast-Time Warner Deal (Oregonian, Portland)

OpenRoute Starts Selling Rugged Wi-Fi Systems (Seattle Times, WA - Paywall Advisory)

SOCIAL MEDIA & MARKETING

Social Media, Marketing & PR: Who’s Responsible for What? (Mashable)

Twitter Ban Reversed by Turkish Court (Silicon Valley Business Journal, CA)

How Alleged Social Media Leaks Are Shaping Politics in Ukraine & Turkey (Washington Post)

GENERAL NEWS

Death Toll Expected to Rise from Oso Mudslide as Search Crews Continue to Seek Missing (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Deadly Mix of Loose Sediments & Heavy Rain in Washington (NY Times)

Coastal Flooding: Emergency Declared in Taholah, Voluntary Evacuation Issued (KXRO Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

Western Washington March Expected to be Wettest on Record (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

Geologists Record 31 Small Quakes on Mt. Hood since Sunday (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)

Port Townsend High School: Redhawks, Sasquatch, Rip Tide: Students Have Three Choices for New Mascot (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

Growers of Thirsty Pot Are Under Fire in Drought-Struck California (Tri-City Herald, WA)

DIVERSIONS

Teen Will Have Fun Explaining to Grandkids Why He’s Got a Tattoo of a McDonald’s Receipt

This Time Lapse of Fireflies Is Art in Motion

Man in Kayak Hooks 11-Foot Hammerhead Shark, Gets Towed For 12 Miles

San Diego County Spelling Bee Nearly Left Wordless

SONG OF THE DAY

Rufus with Chaka Khan - Tell Me Something Good

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.