Wednesday, August 25, 2021

The Energy News Digest for August 25, 2021

The Energy News Digest is sponsored by the Northwest Public Power Association. 

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LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

Links in The Energy News Digest lead to current stories. Media organizations update their websites regularly, which may result in broken links. Media attribution includes information about possible paywall restrictions.

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Homes Lose Running Water in Klamath Basin as Houses Compete with Farmers, Ranchers (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2021/08/24/homes-lose-running-water-in-klamath-basin-as-houses-compete-with-farmers-ranchers/

Alleged Boise Neo-Nazis Charged with Planning Power Grid Attacks in Idaho, Northwest (Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article253637873.html

Skagit County Sues Seattle for Public Records in Fight Over Fish Passage at City Dams (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/skagit-county-sues-seattle-for-public-records-in-fight-over-fish-passage-at-city-dams/

PacifiCorp More Than Doubled Wind Energy Production Under Newest Project (Daily Energy Insider)

https://dailyenergyinsider.com/news/31670-pacificorp-more-than-doubled-wind-energy-production-under-newest-project/

A Bitcoin Mining Power Plant Secretly Set Up Shop in Alberta. Now It’s Being Forced to Shut Down (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/link-global-bitcoin-mine-alberta-1.6137731?cmp=rss

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (See Stories Below)

1.    Alleged Boise Neo-Nazis Charged with Planning Power Grid Attacks in Idaho, Northwest

2.    Salt River Project Announces Plans to Expand Its Coolidge Natural Gas Generating Station

3.    Idaho Power Seeks Surcharge on Blaine County Customers – Money Would Pay for Burying Portions of New Transmission Line

4.    Historic Drought Slashes Hydropower Generation in California, Other Western States

5.    WA State: Pend Oreille PUD Approves Interim Power Contract for Former Mill Site

6.    Half of the Pacific Northwest Region’s Electricity Comes from Water

7.    Ex-Westinghouse Executive Charged in Failed South Carolina Nuclear Project

8.    Linework Trainees Seek a Grounded Career - Four Stories High

9.    News Release: Prioritizing Dam Removal & River Restoration: An Update on Federal Legislation

10. PacifiCorp More Than Doubled Wind Energy Production Under Newest Project

11. California’s Curtailments of Solar Electricity Generation Continue to Increase

12. California: Supervisors Approve Rosamond Solar Project

13. Clean Energy Financing: Congressional Democrats Face Call for Help from Electric Co-Ops

14. Skagit County Sues Seattle for Public Records in Fight Over Fish Passage at City Dams

15. Cross-Border Salish Sea Study Finds Key Puzzle Pieces of Wild Salmon Die-Off

16. WA State: Researchers Using Drones to Track Salmon on Wenatchee River

17. Fukushima Nuclear Water to Be Released Via Undersea Tunnel

18. ‘A Combination of Failures:’ Why 3.6 Million Pounds of Nuclear Waste Is Buried on a Popular California Beach

19. Homes Lose Running Water in Klamath Basin as Houses Compete with Farmers, Ranchers

20. Scientists Launch Effort to Collect Water Data in US West

21. As Pacific Northwest Utilities Contemplate Building Decarbonization, Affordability Concerns Linger

22. The City Is Inching Toward a New Carbon Tax Even as the Portland Clean Energy Fund Is Awash in Cash

23. StarLink Has Shipped 100,000 Satellite Internet Terminals, Musk Says

24. A Bitcoin Mining Power Plant Secretly Set Up Shop in Alberta. Now It’s Being Forced to Shut Down

25. Who’s Making Those Electric Vehicle Batteries That Are Catching on Fire?

26. WA State: Jefferson Transit Eyes Options for Electric Buses

27. Scientists Just Overcame a Major Hurdle in Nuclear Fusion Research

28. Counties Have No Say on Railroad Expansion in Columbia River Gorge

29. Feds Remind You They Will Shoot Down Your Drone If You Fly It Over Their Nuke Lab

30. Salt River Project Elevates & Assists Women & Diverse Businesses with Supplier Diversity Program

WORD OF THE DAY

Glockenspiel \GLAWK-ken-shpeel\ Noun – A percussion instrument consisting of a series of graduated metal bars tuned to the chromatic scale and played with two hammers

“Sonny, with shoulders like that, you’re a natural to carry the marching band’s glockenspiel in the parade,” intoned the well-travelled virtuoso. “You do understand that I’ll be hammering away on the cranky thing while you walk four miles?”

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

1.      Alleged Boise Neo-Nazis Charged with Planning Power Grid Attacks in Idaho, Northwest (Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article253637873.html

2.      Salt River Project Announces Plans to Expand Its Coolidge Natural Gas Generating Station (Agribiz Media)

https://azbigmedia.com/business/srp-announces-plans-to-expand-its-coolidge-generating-station/

3.      Idaho Power Seeks Surcharge on Blaine County Customers – Money Would Pay for Burying Portions of New Transmission Line (Idaho Mountain Express, Ketchum, ID)

https://www.mtexpress.com/news/blaine_county/idaho-power-seeks-surcharge-on-blaine-county-customers/article_5ab69718-0141-11ec-aa0f-f739d84341cc.html

4.      Historic Drought Slashes Hydropower Generation in California, Other Western States (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/historic-drought-slashes-hydropower-generation-in-california-other-western/605421/

5.      WA State: Pend Oreille PUD Approves Interim Power Contract for Former Mill Site (Pend Oreille PUD, WA – Links to PDF File)

https://popud.org/assets/5ec02b8ce0/2021_08_24-Press-Release_Interim-Power-Contract-for-Former-Mill-Site-Approved.pdf

6.      Half of the Pacific Northwest Region’s Electricity Comes from Water (Bonneville Power Administration)

https://www.bpa.gov/news/newsroom/Pages/Half-of-the-regions-electricity-comes-from-water.aspx

7.      Ex-Westinghouse Executive Charged in Failed South Carolina Nuclear Project (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ex-westinghouse-executive-charged-failed-nuclear-project-2021-08-19/

8.      Linework Trainees Seek a Grounded Career - Four Stories High (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/florida/articles/2021-08-21/linework-trainees-seek-a-grounded-career-four-stories-high

SOAPBOX SERENADE – VOX POPULI

9.      News Release: Prioritizing Dam Removal & River Restoration: An Update on Federal Legislation (American Rivers)

https://www.americanrivers.org/2021/08/prioritizing-dam-removal-and-river-restoration-an-update-on-federal-legislation/

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE

10.   PacifiCorp More Than Doubled Wind Energy Production Under Newest Project (Daily Energy Insider)

https://dailyenergyinsider.com/news/31670-pacificorp-more-than-doubled-wind-energy-production-under-newest-project/

11.   California’s Curtailments of Solar Electricity Generation Continue to Increase (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=49276

12.   California: Supervisors Approve Rosamond Solar Project (Bakersfield Californian, CA)

https://www.bakersfield.com/news/supervisors-approve-rosamond-solar-project/article_260247da-0536-11ec-88d6-47e63195a686.html

13.   Clean Energy Financing: Congressional Democrats Face Call for Help from Electric Co-Ops (Yahoo News)

https://news.yahoo.com/daily-energy-democrats-face-call-162200847.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

14.   Skagit County Sues Seattle for Public Records in Fight Over Fish Passage at City Dams (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/skagit-county-sues-seattle-for-public-records-in-fight-over-fish-passage-at-city-dams/

15.   Cross-Border Salish Sea Study Finds Key Puzzle Pieces of Wild Salmon Die-Off (National Observer, Canada)

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/08/17/news/salish-sea-study-wild-salmon-die-off

16.   WA State: Researchers Using Drones to Track Salmon on Wenatchee River (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee, WA)

https://www.kpq.com/researchers-using-drones-to-track-salmon-on-wenatchee-river/

ENVIRONMENTAL AFFLATUS – CLEAN UP ON AISLE THREE

17.   Fukushima Nuclear Water to Be Released Via Undersea Tunnel (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/news/articles/2021-08-25/fukushima-nuclear-water-to-be-released-via-undersea-tunnel

18.   ‘A Combination of Failures:’ Why 3.6 Million Pounds of Nuclear Waste Is Buried on a Popular California Beach (The Guardian, UK)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/24/san-onofre-nuclear-power-plant-radioactive-waste-unsafe

WATER, WATER, ANYWHERE?

19.   Homes Lose Running Water in Klamath Basin as Houses Compete with Farmers, Ranchers (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2021/08/24/homes-lose-running-water-in-klamath-basin-as-houses-compete-with-farmers-ranchers/

20.   Scientists Launch Effort to Collect Water Data in US West (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2021-08-24/scientists-launch-effort-to-collect-water-data-in-us-west

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

21.   As Pacific Northwest Utilities Contemplate Building Decarbonization, Affordability Concerns Linger (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/as-pnw-utilities-contemplate-building-decarbonization-affordability-concer/605535/

22.   The City Is Inching Toward a New Carbon Tax Even as the Portland Clean Energy Fund Is Awash in Cash (Willamette Week, Portland, OR)

https://www.wweek.com/news/2021/08/18/the-city-is-inching-toward-a-new-carbon-tax-even-as-the-portland-clean-energy-fund-is-awash-in-cash/

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

23.   StarLink Has Shipped 100,000 Satellite Internet Terminals, Musk Says (C|Net News)

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/starlink-has-shipped-100000-satellite-internet-terminals-musk-says/

THE WIZARDING WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY

24.   A Bitcoin Mining Power Plant Secretly Set Up Shop in Alberta. Now It’s Being Forced to Shut Down (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/link-global-bitcoin-mine-alberta-1.6137731?cmp=rss

I SING THE CAR ELECTRIC

25.   Who’s Making Those Electric Vehicle Batteries That Are Catching on Fire? (Bloomberg News)

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-08-24/who-s-making-those-ev-batteries-catching-fire

26.   WA State: Jefferson Transit Eyes Options for Electric Buses (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/transit-eyes-options-for-electric-buses/

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI – SEETHING STEW OF SCIENCE

27.   Scientists Just Overcame a Major Hurdle in Nuclear Fusion Research (Salon)

https://www.salon.com/2021/08/24/fusion-power-nif-results/

OTHER THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

28.   Counties Have No Say on Railroad Expansion in Columbia River Gorge (Courthouse News Service)

https://www.courthousenews.com/counties-have-no-say-on-railroad-expansion-in-columbia-river-gorge/

29.   Feds Remind You They Will Shoot Down Your Drone If You Fly It Over Their Nuke Lab (Gizmodo)

https://gizmodo.com/feds-remind-you-they-will-shoot-down-your-drone-if-you-1847547472

30.   Salt River Project Elevates & Assists Women & Diverse Businesses with Supplier Diversity Program (Transmission & Distribution World)

https://www.tdworld.com/utility-business/article/21172929/srp-elevates-and-assists-women-and-diverse-businesses-with-supplier-diversity-program

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

‘Excuse My Dust’ One Last Zinger: Dorothy Parker’s Headstone Unveiled in New York City

https://apnews.com/article/arts-and-entertainment-dorothy-parker-nyc-state-wire-635a119f57b04b9cebd3bcb3504e2692

Rolling Stones Drummer Charlie Watts Dies at Age 80

https://www.opb.org/article/2021/08/24/rolling-stones-drummer-charlie-watts-dies-at-age-80/

Giant Rubber Ducky Takes Flight; Where Will It Land Next?

https://apnews.com/article/oddities-europe-business-4c015c91e48893dc2a9da50d3554140a

Chevy Dealer Replaces Customer’s Corvette after Employee’s 148-Mph Street Race

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/08/20/corvette-148-mph-street-race-dealer-replaces-car/

SONG OF THE DAY

The Rolling Stones – Get Off of My Cloud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sWqmMAvmdU