Friday, October 9, 2015

Energy News Digest for October 9, 2015

SHELTON FORECAST & WEATHER ALERTS

Weather Forecast for October 9, 2015

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Six Injured In Explosion at Priest Rapids Dam in Washington State (Associated Press)

Hardware Shortages May Slow Solar Growth in 2016 (Utility Dive)

California Commits to Getting Half Its Electricity from Renewable Energy in 15 Years (Associated Press)

EPA Water Rule Blocked Nationwide by Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (Law 360)

From Sadness to Wow, Facebook Launches Reaction Buttons Beyond Like (Reuters)

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)
  • Six Injured In Explosion at Priest Rapids Dam in Washington State
  • Update on Priest Rapids Dam Electrical Equipment Failure
  • Pacific County, Columbia River PUDs Pass Higher Electric Rates on to Consumers
  • Idaho Power's IRP: Coal Plant Retirements, 400 MW of Demand Response, And Community Solar
  • New Director of Idaho's Federal Nuclear Facility Sees Opportunities to Advance Energy Security
  • Reports of Nine Dams Breached From 1,000-Year Rain Event in South Carolina
  • California: Truckee Donner PUD Lends a Hand in Responding to Devastation Caused by the Valley Fire
  • Pacific Gas & Electric Still Failing to Maintain Adequate Records, Investigation Finds
  • With EPA Clean Power Rule Kicking In, Keeping Rates Affordable Is a Worry, Says FERC’s Clark
  • Warm Water Blob May Be Cause of Smaller Salmon
  • Coho Salmon, Famous Fighting Game Fish, Is Fighting to Survive Toxic Runoff
  • Op/Ed: Idaho’s Wild Salmon & Steelhead Are in Peril
  • EPA Water Rule Blocked Nationwide by Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Court Reverses State Decision about Yelm Water Rights
  • Hardware Shortages May Slow Solar Growth in 2016
  • Electric Cooperatives Warned of Potential Solar Panel Delays
  • California Commits to Getting Half Its Electricity from Renewable Energy in 15 Years
  • Colorado: NREL Renewable-Energy Complex in Golden Cuts Jobs
  • Op/Ed: Poor Deserve Piece of Solar Energy Pie, Too
  • Illinois: ComEd Targets One Million Smart Thermostats by 2020
  • Washington State Pushes for Pesticide Transparency in Retail Marijuana
  • California Governor Signs Bill Requiring CalPERS, CalSTRS to Divest Coal
  • Gas Pump Warning Stickers Would Warn of Pollution, Climate Change
  • Data Center Dalliance: Apple Takes a Bigger Bite of Central Oregon Land
  • Quincy Mayor Reacts to Seattle Lawmaker Opposition to Data Center Tax Breaks
  • Kitsap PUD: Investing in a Community-Owned Fiber Optic Network
  • From Sadness to Wow, Facebook Launches Reaction Buttons Beyond Like
  • Social Media Matters: What New Facebook Features Mean to Business
  • A Majority of U-S Adults Now Use Social Media: Pew Study
  • Five Psychology Tips to Improve Your Social Media Posts
  • Netflix Bumps Price of Most Popular Plan by Eleven Percent
  • Congress: House GOP Stunned by McCarthy Exit, Next Steps Unclear
  • U-S Senate Democrats Block Energy Spending Bill
  • Victim of Fatal Shelton Fire Identified
  • Public Comment Sought on Draft Air Operating Permit for Olympic Panel Products on Shelton Waterfront
  • Gov. Inslee declares October as Washington State Disaster Preparedness Month and NOAA Weather Radio Awareness Month
  • Hurricane Oho is Heading towards the Northwest U-S
WORD OF THE DAY

Arcanum • \ar-KAY-num\ • Noun – 1: mysterious or specialized knowledge, language, or information accessible or possessed only by the initiate -- usually used in plural 2: elixir

The fanboys laughed with derision at the newest member of the Tolkien fan club. “How did you even get past the screening process without having read ‘The Silmarillion’,” giggled the bearded, imposing president of the mysterious club. “I’ll even bet that your favorite character is Gollum,” he bellowed as his fellow club members howled with laughter at the red-faced plebe’s limited knowledge of the arcanum of JRR Tolkien.

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Six Injured In Explosion at Priest Rapids Dam in Washington State (Associated Press)

Update on Priest Rapids Dam Electrical Equipment Failure (Grant PUD, Ephrata, WA)

Pacific County, Columbia River PUDs Pass Higher Electric Rates on to Consumers (Coast River Business Journal, OR)
http://www.dailyastorian.com/CRBJ/news/20151007/local-puds-pass-higher-electric-rates-on-to-consumers

Idaho Power's IRP: Coal Plant Retirements, 400 MW of Demand Response, And Community Solar (Utility Dive)

New Director of Idaho's Federal Nuclear Facility Sees Opportunities to Advance Energy Security (Associated Press)

Reports of Nine Dams Breached From 1,000-Year Rain Event in South Carolina (Renewable Energy World)

California: Truckee Donner PUD Lends a Hand in Responding to Devastation Caused by the Valley Fire (YubaNet, Nevada City, CA)

Pacific Gas & Electric Still Failing to Maintain Adequate Records, Investigation Finds (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

With EPA Clean Power Rule Kicking In, Keeping Rates Affordable Is a Worry, Says FERC’s Clark (American Public Power Association)

FISH & WILDLIFE

Warm Water Blob May Be Cause of Smaller Salmon (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

Coho Salmon, Famous Fighting Game Fish, Is Fighting to Survive Toxic Runoff (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Op/Ed: Idaho’s Wild Salmon & Steelhead Are in Peril (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

EPA Water Rule Blocked Nationwide by Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (Law 360)

Court Reverses State Decision about Yelm Water Rights (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Hardware Shortages May Slow Solar Growth in 2016 (Utility Dive)

Electric Cooperatives Warned of Potential Solar Panel Delays (Electric Co-op Today)

California Commits to Getting Half Its Electricity from Renewable Energy in 15 Years (Associated Press)

Colorado: NREL Renewable-Energy Complex in Golden Cuts Jobs (Denver Business Journal, CO)

Op/Ed: Poor Deserve Piece of Solar Energy Pie, Too (Sacramento Bee, CA)

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Illinois: ComEd Targets One Million Smart Thermostats by 2020 (Utility Dive)

KILOWATTS FOR CANNABIS

Washington State Pushes for Pesticide Transparency in Retail Marijuana (Consumerist)

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

California Governor Signs Bill Requiring CalPERS, CalSTRS to Divest Coal (Pensions & Investments Magazine)

Gas Pump Warning Stickers Would Warn of Pollution, Climate Change (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Data Center Dalliance: Apple Takes a Bigger Bite of Central Oregon Land (Portland Business Journal, OR)

Quincy Mayor Reacts to Seattle Lawmaker Opposition to Data Center Tax Breaks (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee, WA)

Kitsap PUD: Investing in a Community-Owned Fiber Optic Network (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, WA)

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

From Sadness to Wow, Facebook Launches Reaction Buttons Beyond Like (Reuters)

Social Media Matters: What New Facebook Features Mean to Business (Kansas City Business Journal, MO)
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2015/10/09/social-media-matters-what-new-facebook-features.html

A Majority of U-S Adults Now Use Social Media: Pew Study (Reuters)

Five Psychology Tips to Improve Your Social Media Posts (Social Media Examiner)

Netflix Bumps Price of Most Popular Plan by Eleven Percent (Memphis Business Journal, TN)

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Congress: House GOP Stunned by McCarthy Exit, Next Steps Unclear (Morning Consult)

U-S Senate Democrats Block Energy Spending Bill (The Hill, Washington, DC)

GENERAL NEWS

Victim of Fatal Shelton Fire Identified (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Public Comment Sought on Draft Air Operating Permit for Olympic Panel Products on Shelton Waterfront (Mason Web TV, Shelton, WA)

Gov. Inslee declares October as Washington State Disaster Preparedness Month and NOAA Weather Radio Awareness Month (KXRO Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

Hurricane Oho is Heading towards the Northwest U-S (Cliff Mass Weather Blog)

DIVERSIONS

Once Seed Was Planted, Chinese Headwear Fad Grew Like Weeds

Congressman Writes Mock Craigslist Ad in Search of Next Speaker

Police: Teen Left Court Docs about Auto Theft in Stolen Car

Sleeping Idaho Hunter Wakes Up to Black Bear Biting His Head

SONG OF THE DAY

Bare Necessities - The Jungle Book

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY


All the links in today’s news digest lead to current stories. Please note that some media organizations update their websites 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.