Energy News Digest for March 11, 2008

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)

- Planned Clallam PUD electricity rate increase could be offset
- Fitch Rates Chelan County PUD's $92 MM Revs 'AA/F1+'
- Oregon – The LNG dilemma
- U.S. may protect Canada's oilsands
- Florida – Progress Energy unveils $17 billion nuclear project
- New York – Foes of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plants Begin Legal Battle
- PJM lays out details of allegations against Tower firms
- News Release – Electricity Initiative Ads Aim to Spark Grid Improvement Demands
- Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approves state plan to rebuild wild steelhead stocks
- LOTT to test water for pharmaceuticals
- A medicine cabinet runs through it
- Seattle Times Editorial – A long drink of water
- Four towers would measure wind for possible turbines on Rattlesnake Hills
- Nordic Windpower picks Idaho for turbine-manufacturing plant
- German turbine maker plans to build plant in Butte
- Texas – Drop in wind energy production leads to power curtailment
- Virginia – Regulations crafted for wind-power turbines
- Alabama Pollution Is Called a Byproduct of a ‘Clean’ Fuel
- Amid the debate, energy gets cleaner
- Non-Profits Missing Out On Green Power Tax Credits
- Kids Learning Simple Energy Conservation
- San Jose's first "green certified" subdivision
- Southern Baptists Back a Shift on Climate Change
- Canada – No region untouched by climate change
- Ericsson predicts demise of hotspots
- Computers play havoc with census
- Truck fleet slows to save fuel
- Boeing filing protest today over tankers

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Hibernaculum • \hy-ber-NAK-yuh-lum\ • noun – : a shelter occupied during the winter by a dormant animal (as an insect or reptile)

With the arrival of spring, Alfredo grunted and heaved himself out of his overstuffed recliner. His basement sanctuary was dark, warm and well stocked with cheap beer, pork rinds and other tasty goodies designed to help him hunker down for the winter. His wife actually enjoyed the annual three month reprieve from her husband’s monosyllabic grunts and inopportune moments of bodily functions while her friends visited. The formal sealing of the door to Alfredo’s self-styled hibernaculum every winter was celebrated with a neighborhood party, which only ended when the latch clicked shut on the basement door.

WEATHER

Forecast for Mason County, Washington
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=sew&smap=1&textField1=47.21528&textField2=-123.09944

(NOTE: Some readers have noted that the NWS forecast has not been updated regularly. Apparently there is a refresh issue with the weather web site. If you visit and the forecast isn’t updated, press F5 or refresh the web page. That should take care of the issue)

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Planned Clallam PUD electricity rate increase could be offset (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080311/NEWS/803110307

Fitch Rates Chelan County PUD's $92 MM Revs 'AA/F1+' (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=85182

Oregon – The LNG dilemma – Pipeline proponents say natural gas is a clean fuel; critics say it’s still a bad option (Sustainable Life)
http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=120491459945476300

U.S. may protect Canada's oilsands – Considering exempting oil produced from the region from an environmental crackdown (National Post)
http://www.nationalpost.com/newsletter/story.html?id=366042

Florida – Progress Energy unveils $17 billion nuclear project (Tampa Bay Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/03/10/daily17.html?ana=from_rss

New York – Foes of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plants Begin Legal Battle (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/nyregion/11nuke.html?ex=1362974400&en=3e619053f06289c9&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

PJM lays out details of allegations against Tower firms – Alleges that the seven manipulated the PJM financial transmission rights and energy markets and asking FERC to ban them from participating in those markets and to impose civil penalties. (Platts Energy News)
http://www.platts.com/HOME/News/6809835.xml?sub=HOME&p=HOME/News&

News Release – Electricity Initiative Ads Aim to Spark Grid Improvement Demands – According to “Sad Socket,” it is time for Americans to plug into a new electric power system. (Electric Energy Online – Sad socket, meet Reddy Kilowatt and Willie Wirehands)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=85158

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approves state plan to rebuild wild steelhead stocks (Omak Chronicle)
http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n080310a.shtml

LOTT to test water for pharmaceuticals (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/384985.html

A medicine cabinet runs through it – If there was any doubt Portland is a highly caffeinated city, just look at the bottoms of local rivers and streams. (The Oregonian)
http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianextra/2008/03/a_medicine_cabinet_runs_throug.html

Seattle Times Editorial – A long drink of water – Two smart developments are under way with the region's water system.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004273183_watered11.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Four towers would measure wind for possible turbines on Rattlesnake Hills (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/114188.html

Nordic Windpower picks Idaho for turbine-manufacturing plant (East Bay Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2008/03/10/daily3.html?ana=from_rss

German turbine maker plans to build plant in Butte – The company intends to build a manufacturing plant near Butte to assemble wind turbines for wind power machines (The Missoulian)
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/03/11/business/biz22.txt

Texas – Drop in wind energy production leads to power curtailment – ERCOT implemented the second stage of its emergency grid procedures following a sudden drop in wind energy production at the same time the evening electricity load was increasing (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=321548&C=ENVIR&dcmp=rss

Virginia – Regulations crafted for wind-power turbines: Localities are developing land-use rules to give them tighter control over where wind turbines could be built, even as energy companies study the area's potential for large wind farms. (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CjhghkkpZTeb%216%3C%22bfen%5Fv

Alabama Pollution Is Called a Byproduct of a ‘Clean’ Fuel (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/us/11biofuel.html?_r=1&ei=5088&en=fd908c3699c79e03&ex=1362974400&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1205248117-IuPmf/d4L0Et+sg8o7rG8Q

Amid the debate, energy gets cleaner – Forget the arguments over whether global warming is real. Many American businesses and researchers are well past all that and are scrambling to find ways to make money in a world that must slash its use of fossil fuels. (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004270167_warming09.html

Non-Profits Missing Out On Green Power Tax Credits (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/non-profits-missing-out-green-power-tax-credits/

CONSERVATION

Kids Learning Simple Energy Conservation (WITN-TV, North Carolina)
http://www.witntv.com/home/headlines/16479656.html

San Jose's first "green certified" subdivision (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8524422?source=rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Southern Baptists Back a Shift on Climate Change (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/us/10baptist.html?ex=1362974400&en=5bc05fa097af4ad3&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Canada – No region untouched by climate change, study shows (Globe and Mail)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080311.wclimate11/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080311.wclimate11

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Ericsson predicts demise of hotspots – As mobile broadband takes off, Wi-Fi hotspots will become as irrelevant as telephone booths, Ericsson Chief Marketing Officer Johan Bergendahl said Monday. (Info World)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20080310/tc_infoworld/95867

Computers play havoc with census – Defective mobile devices have caused the census to be called a "high-risk area" (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/120496290940000.xml&coll=7

GENERAL NEWS

Truck fleet slows to save fuel – San Mateo's Con-Way Says Reducing Driving Speeds Eases Costs, Too (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8530090?source=rss&nclick_check=1

Boeing filing protest today over tankers (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/boeingaerospace/2004273848_boeingprotest11.html?syndication=rss

DIVERSIONS

Catholic Church says pollution and drugs on its updated thou-shalt-not list
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080311/NEWS02/578743774/-1/RSS01

Teen boys and body spray: Stinky enough for a legislator to act?
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080311/NEWS02/261269616/-1/RSS01

Belfast Judges Overturn Libel Verdict Over Pizzeria's Rotten Review
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15554819/detail.html

'Missing Couple' Surprise Daughter, Police On Return From Vacation
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15554764/detail.html