Energy News Digest for December 20, 2007

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.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

- Avista's WA electric, natural gas bills to increase Jan. 1
- Mason County PUD 1 Approves 2008 Budgets - Rate Increases For Water Only
- Grant County PUD budget approved
- Northern Wasco County PUD – BPA payback means PUD rate cut
- Franklin PUD Commissioner Appointed To National Policy Council
- Energy Bill Passes with Inslee Provisions Included
- Missouri Governor rejects key sections of Midwestern energy accord
- California – Calpine gets OK to reorganize
- Heating Oil Costs Strain State, Federal Aid Programs
- Washington Post Editorial – A Nuclear Site Is Breached
- Making the Case for Nuclear Power
- Oregonian Op/Ed – Who pays the price for dam removal?
- Nez Perce tribe authorizes steelhead gillnet season
- Kansas Threatens to Sue Nebraska Over Use of a River
- California Farmers to Get One-Third Less Water
- Cowlitz is among Western Washington rivers fishing wel
- Benton County district gets $91,000 grant to help salmon
- Clallam County PUD water rates going up
- Clark County lawn care plan: almost every lawn in the county will get its water from bathtub drains, dishwashers and rooftop gutters
- Greater Victoria rated 'high risk' polluter
- Corn farm runoff leads to trouble in Gulf of Mexico
- Makah Bay Offshore Wave Pilot Project: FERC issues first license for Hydrokinetic Energy Project
- Yakima – Hearing Examiner takes second look at proposed tire recycling plant
- Energy Law Leaves Out Wind, Solar Tax Credits
- Kempthorne taps Boise resident for national wind panel
- Measure signed by Bush means fluorescent bulbs are more likely to brighten the future
- E.P.A. Says 17 States Can’t Set Emission Rules
- Ancient Warming Caused Huge Spike in Temps
- Tax Hike to Help Environment a Hard Sell
- Do Women Who Find Ferrari Drivers Sexy Contribute to Global Warming?
- Provo, Utah, overhauls iProvo muni fiber model
- Seattle Times Op/Ed – Network neutrality
- F.T.C. Clears Google-DoubleClick Deal
- Municipal bonds hit by mortgage fallout
- Port of Portland to close on Troutdale Alcoa site

These and links to more stories in today’s Energy News Digest

WORD OF THE DAY

Modus Operandi • \MOE-dus opp-er-RAND-ee\ • noun – A method of procedure; especially: a distinct pattern or method of operation that indicates or suggests the work of a single criminal in more than one crime

“No gentlemen, we are not dealing with a crazed criminal here,” purred Detective Poirot as he absentmindedly stroked his moustache. “What we have here is a person who is so fixed in their modus operandi that they would not change their ways even if confronted with the most secure lock box in the world.” “Non, mon ami, your lunches have not been stolen by a wayward squirrel, crazed dog, or even a trained capuchin monkey…they have been stolen by only one person….your copy repairman: Rick!” (Insert surprised gasp here)


WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Avista's WA electric, natural gas bills to increase Jan. 1 (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1114064~Avista_s_WA_electric__natural_gas_bills_to_increase_Jan__1.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

MASON COUNTY PUD No. 1 APPROVES 2008 BUDGETS - RATE INCREASES FOR WATER ONLY – The Mason County P.U.D. No. 1 Board of Commissioners has approved the District's 2008 water and electric budgets. The 2008 electric budget has projected revenues of $5,554,555 and does NOT reflect an increase in rates. The 2008 water budget has a 3% increase in water rates that is included in the District's ten year comprehensive business plan that was approved in 2003. Projected revenues for the water budget next year are $1,046,500. The 2008 budgets include a half time FTE in the electric operations department and a half time FTE in the water operations department. (KMAS Radio, Shelton)

Grant County PUD budget approved – Substations, fiber and turbines included (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/12/19/news/news01.txt

Northern Wasco County PUD – BPA payback means PUD rate cut. $1.5 million refund would be stretched over 10 months (The Dalles Chronicle)
http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/2007/12/news12-19-07-01.shtml

News Release – FRANKLIN PUD COMMISSIONER GORDON APPOINTED TO NATIONAL POLICY COUNCIL – Franklin PUD Commissioner Bill Gordon was appointed to the American Public Power Association Policy Makers Council for the second consecutive year. In this role, Commissioner Gordon represents Northwest public power members on this national Council; his nomination was endorsed by both Benton and Douglas PUDs. Its purpose is to advance the public policy interests of its members and their customers, and provide member services to ensure adequate, reliable electricity at a reasonable price with the proper protection of the environment. “This is a great honor and opportunity for Bill and for Franklin PUD”, stated Franklin PUD Manager, Jean Ryckman. On behalf of the Board of Commissioners and the Franklin PUD staff, we congratulate Commissioner Gordon and wish him continued success.” (Franklin County PUD)

Energy Bill Passes with Inslee Provisions Included (Kitsap Sun, may require free registration)
http://kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/18/energy-bill-passes-with-inslee-provisions/

Bill could affect state's permit process for coal plants: Congressional bill could force changes in how Texas permits power plants (Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, via Power Markets Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5ChiooonmVTnkw11rbfem%5Ev

Blunt rejects key sections of Midwestern energy accord – Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has dismissed major parts of the Midwestern Governors Association’s energy pact that would establish greenhouse gas reduction goals and require greater reliance on renewable electricity sources. (The Kansas City Star)
http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics/story/411222.html

California – Calpine gets OK to reorganize. San Jose energy firm set to emerge from bankruptcy after two years (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7767633?source=rss&nclick_check=1

Heating Oil Costs Strain State, Federal Aid Programs – Heating oil prices are up sharply this winter. In Maine — where 80 percent of homes are heated with oil or kerosene — people are struggling to heat their homes. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17416038&ft=1&f=2

California – Natural gas plan alarms residents. Firm proposes using an underground site – beneath businesses, homes – for storage, and paying neighbors. (Sacramento Bee, may require free registration)
http://www.sacbee.com/294/story/576881.html

Washington Post Editorial – A Nuclear Site Is Breached. An underreported attack on a South African nuclear facility last month demonstrates the high risk of theft of nuclear materials by terrorists or criminals.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/19/AR2007121901857.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

Making the Case for Nuclear Power – a review of A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy (The Heartland Institute,)
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=16389

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Oregonian Op/Ed – Who pays the price for dam removal? Pat Reiten, president of Pacific Power.
http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1198108506290780.xml&coll=7

Nez Perce tribe authorizes steelhead gillnet season – The Nez Perce Tribe in northern Idaho has started a commercial gillnetting season on portions of the Snake and Clearwater rivers. (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1113965~Nez_Perce_tribe_authorizes_steelhead_gillnet_season.html?cid=rss-Idaho_Headlines

Kansas Threatens to Sue Nebraska Over Use of a River – Kansas threatened a court fight Wednesday unless Nebraska reduced the amount of water it took from the Republican River and paid an undetermined amount for allegedly taking too much water in the past. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/20water.html?ex=1355806800&en=6e5f61f62015676f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

California Farmers to Get One-Third Less Water – Farmers across Southern California are bracing for a 30 percent cut in the amount of water they get for their crops. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17416015&ft=1&f=2

Cowlitz is among Western Washington rivers fishing well (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/304994.html

Benton County district gets $91,000 grant to help salmon – The Benton County Conservation District is getting $91,000 from the state to help salmon survive in the lower Yakima River. (Tri-Cities Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/v-rss/story/9527816p-9438618c.html

Clallam County PUD water rates going up (KONP Radio, Port Angeles)
http://www.konp.com/local/3316

Clark County lawn care plan: Use wastewater – If you like drinking from the garden hose or playing in the sprinkler, enjoy it while you can. Nobody's talking about actually outlawing such fun. But Clark County's latest ideas for holding down stormwater runoff assume that by 2050, almost every lawn in the county will get its water from bathtub drains, dishwashers and rooftop gutters. (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2007/12/12202007_County-lawn-care-plan-Use-wastewater.cfm?newsletter=2

Greater Victoria rated 'high risk' polluter – Greater Victoria is a "high risk" sewage polluter and, regardless of the debate in the community, will be forced to build treatment plants by 2020 (Victoria Times-Colonist – Well, Duh!)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=f8ba5fff-33a0-4979-b8c8-5a46e9912595&k=51505

Corn farm runoff leads to trouble in Gulf of Mexico – Nitrogen from fertilizer flows to Mississippi River, then Gulf of Mexico, where oxygen depletion kills sea animals (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_7767615?source=rss

White Pass halts expansion work pending ruling – The White Pass Ski Area has agreed to halt work on a major expansion project until a federal judge rules on an appeal by environmental groups seeking to block it. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP12202007news250627.cfm?newsletter=10

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

News Release – for the Makah Bay Offshore Wave Pilot Project: FERC issues first license for Hydrokinetic Energy Project (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
http://www.ferc.gov/news/news-releases/2007/2007-4/12-20-07-H-1.asp

Yakima – Hearing Examiner takes second look at proposed tire recycling plant. Proposed plan would turn recycled tires into biodiesel fuel at the proposed site. (KNDO/KNDU, Tri-Cities)
http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=7522223

Energy Law Leaves Out Wind, Solar Tax Credits – While the new energy bill delivers good news to those in the ethanol business, it disappoints many in the business of cultivating alternative energy sources — such as wind, solar and geothermal power. (National Public Radio – “Windustry?”, good grief…at least they didn’t use “blowin’ in the wind”)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17416001&ft=1&f=2

Kempthorne taps Boise resident for national wind panel – Rich Rayhill will be part of a committee tasked with coming up with guidelines to protect wildlife. (Idaho Statesman)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/242058.html

U.S. Energy Bill Mandate for Corn-Free Ethanol Presents Huge Opportunity, Challenge for Industry (Canadian Business)
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/market_news/article.jsp?content=D8TK1TD83

Lock 7 Hydro Partners to Be Primary Supplier for LG&E and KU Green Energy Program – Group will become the primary supplier of renewable energy credits (RECs) for Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities companies. The Mother Ann Lee Hydroelectric Station on the Kentucky River at Lock and Dam 7 will generate the RECs. (Market Wire, via Power Marketers Online – Nice to know that someone thinks hydropower is a renewable resource)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5Chiqpmqv%5BTnkw11rbfem%5Ev

CONSERVATION

Lighting a new path to energy efficiency – Measure signed by Bush means fluorescent bulbs are more likely to brighten the future (Houston Chronicle)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/5392696.html

Tennessee – Attorney general fines Hendersonville energy saving companies (The Tennesseean, Nashville)
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071219/BUSINESS01/71219084

The Green House as Classroom (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/garden/20show.html?ex=1355893200&en=c6eb16b37b42019f&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

E.P.A. Says 17 States Can’t Set Emission Rules – The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday denied California and 16 other states the right to set their own standards for carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/washington/20epa.html?_r=1&ex=1355893200&en=139426ab611e3fc1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Ancient Warming Caused Huge Spike in Temps, Study Says – What started out as a moderate global warm-up about 55 million years ago triggered a massive injection of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that sent temperatures skyrocketing, a new study says. (National Geographic)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071219-ancient-warming.html

Tax Hike to Help Environment a Hard Sell – A so-called carbon tax would put a price on any carbon released into the atmosphere. But even for the greenest voters, a tax increase that would help the environment is likely to be a hard sell. (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17441683&ft=1&f=3

Do Women Who Find Ferrari Drivers Sexy Contribute to Global Warming? (Wired Magazine)
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2007/12/women-who-find.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Provo, Utah, overhauls iProvo muni fiber model – High churn leads iProvo to hire consultants. The city council of Provo, Utah, is conferring with consultants it hired this month to help determine why its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network isn’t performing as hoped and to overhaul the model. (Telephony Online)
http://telephonyonline.com/home/news/iprovo_municipal_fiber_121907/index.html

Seattle Times Op/Ed – Network neutrality Freedom of expression at risk
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004083050_openmic20.html?syndication=rss

Seattle Times Op/Ed – Network neutrality Hysteria makes for bad law
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004083048_broadband20.html?syndication=rss

F.T.C. Clears Google-DoubleClick Deal – The go-ahead from the Federal Trade Commission clears the way for a formidable combination in the burgeoning online advertising sector. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Google-DoubleClick-Antitrust.html?ex=1355893200&en=efaae96e4344b592&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Ohio – Fiber a resource, not a revelation – Completed in 2002 at a cost of roughly $6 million, Butler County's fiber optic ring was touted as a high-tech lure to new business. (The Oxford Press)
http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/12/19/hjn122007fiberopticinside.html

Wi-Fi Mesh Lights Up Mecca for Hajj – The millions of pilgrims in Mecca this week for the Hajj, an annual gathering of Muslims, can stay connected thanks to a temporary Wi-Fi mesh network covering a large part of the city. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E18882573B5007AC5BA.html?ex=1355893200&en=fac659cc72e46ac7&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Storm aid to state boosted – FEMA doubles counties to 12, expands relief (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/344206_storms20.html?source=rss

Seven Corps workers back from Midwest – A group from the local U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office assisted with storm-relief efforts. (Union Bulletin, Walla Walla)
http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2007/12/19/local_news/local05.txt

Municipal bonds hit by mortgage fallout – Like toxic waste dumped into a city's sewer system, the subprime debacle is seeping into virtually every nook and cranny of the nation's financial markets, polluting sectors that seemed far removed from home mortgages. Today's case in point: municipal bonds. (The San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/20/BU0BU1GHR.DTL&feed=rss.business

Port of Portland to close on Troutdale Alcoa site – Alcoa will lead the cleanup of the parcel slated for shipping and manufacturing (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/119812471951190.xml&coll=7

DIVERSIONS

Eco-boat powered by human fat attempts round the world speed record
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=503419&in_page_id=1770

Woman goes to doctor to show Social Security she is alive
http://www.examiner.com/a-1115687~Woman_goes_to_doctor_to_show_Social_Security_she_is_alive.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Lottery money returned to real winners
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=557fd46f-8d55-4e4b-8a0c-abb5709b38ad&k=87041

Thieves Saw Off More Than 500 Parking Meters
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/14898345/detail.html