Energy News Digest for March 28, 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)

- Bonneville Power Administration Paying After Circuit Court Ruling
- Puget Sound Energy rates to increase for green effort
- Gregoire signs bills – some bills of PUD interest are on this list
- News Release – Thieves hit BPA substation in Ferndale; reward offered
- Constellation Energy Group agrees to settle lawsuits with Maryland
- Baltimore Sun Columnist – Baltimore Gas & Electric settlement settles little
- Nevada Senator Pushes Coal Project
- Challenging Transmission Corridors – Two lawsuits intend to de-energize parts of the Energy Policy Act
- We need more nuclear plants to avoid blackouts, say German power chiefs
- News Release – California ISO Board of Governors Approves Five-Year Strategic Plan
- Washington State salmon season likely to be curtailed
- San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Salmon run will collapse unless we reverse underlying causes of decline
- Salmon Recovery At Risk From Global Warming
- Three of five accused whalers plead guilty; two to stand trial
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer Guest Columnist – Spirit Lake fishing threatens research project
- Don’t focus on spring Chinook at expense of late steelhead runs
- The science of scatology – Testing what sea lions eat isn't for the faint of nose
- Geoduck harvest suddenly in limbo
- Washington State Water War: The Fight Over Non-Permitted Wells
- News Release – FERC, Oregon sign Memorandum of Understanding for Wave Energy Projects
- Run of River Power CEO shocked at B.C. minister's decision to block power project
- SoCal Edison makes $875M bet on solar
- Massachusetts – Voters to set direction on wind power
- Rollcast Tapping Into Power Among The Trees
- Wisconsin – Myths of energy: Wind turbines, digesters are options, but opposition still a hurdle
- Massachusetts – Energy conservation a high priority
- How much will it cost to fix the climate? The numbers vary…
- Climate change may boost health risks in NW
- NOAA to Assess Whether Melting Ice Endangers Seals
- Carbon tariffs could reverse offshore trend: report
- Marni Soupcoff: How much energy does it take to promote Earth Hour?
- Comcast to modify network practices
- Broadband in the Boonies Gets a $267M Boost
- Companies Avoid Financial Penalties After Massive Computer Data Breaches
- California – Soaring metal prices lead to rash of catalytic converter thefts
- Thieves plague Portland light-rail project
- Judge OKs halt to Alcoa bribery lawsuit
- Machiavelli, Not Such a Bad Guy?

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Imbroglio • \im-BROLE-yo\ • noun – 1: a confused mass 2a: an intricate or complicated situation (as in a drama or novel) b: an acutely painful or embarrassing misunderstanding c: a violently confused or bitterly complicated altercation: embroilment d: scandal

Like some unholy game of Twister, the rugby players piled themselves on the loose ball, readying themselves for the inevitable scrum. That is, until the 400 pound fullback flung himself into the imbroglio, causing the entire pile to sink at least six inches into the muddy, bloody field below.

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

Bonneville Power Administration Paying After Circuit Court Ruling – Electricity: Bonneville Power Administration Paying After Circuit Court Ruling (The Daily Chronicle, Centralia)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1206639899&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Puget Sound Energy rates to increase for green effort – Puget Sound Energy received permission from state utility regulators Thursday to raise electric and natural-gas rates Tuesday to pay for an increase of energy conservation programs. (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/401691.html

Gregoire signs bills – some bills of PUD interest are on this list (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/401702.html

News Release – Thieves hit BPA substation in Ferndale; reward offered (Bonneville Power Administration)
http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/1582/196447/

Constellation Energy Group agrees to settle lawsuits with Maryland (Washington Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/03/24/daily43.html?ana=from_rss

Baltimore Sun Columnist – Baltimore Gas & Electric settlement settles little
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.hancock28mar28,0,7802264.column

Nevada Senator Pushes Coal Project – The effort would help a coal-fired power plant proposed by Sierra Pacific Resources for eastern Nevada. (Associated Press, via Yahoo! Finance)
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080328/wst_ensign_coal.html?.v=1

Challenging Transmission Corridors – Two lawsuits intend to de-energize parts of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Power Marketers Industry Publications)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8kowu%5D%5CjjhnopsUUmi%216%3C%22bfen%5Fv

We need more nuclear plants to avoid blackouts, say German power chiefs (Power Engineering)
http://pepei.pennnet.com/display_article/324063/6/ARTCL/Display/none/1/We-need-more-nuclear-plants-to-avoid-blackouts,-say-German-power-chiefs/

News Release – California ISO Board of Governors Approves Five-Year Strategic Plan Charts Course for New Energy Paradigm (CAISO, via Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=86359

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Washington State salmon season likely to be curtailed (The Daily World, Aberdeen)
http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2008/03/27/local_news/01news.txt

San Francisco Chronicle Op/Ed – Salmon run will collapse unless we reverse underlying causes of decline
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/28/EDFHVRKBT.DTL

Salmon Recovery At Risk From Global Warming – Three regional environmental groups released a report Thursday that says global warming is hurting salmon recovery (Oregon Public Broadcasting – and another example of Snake River Dam Removal Tourette’s Syndrome)
http://news.opb.org/article/salmon-recovery-risk-global-warming/

Three of five accused whalers plead guilty; two to stand trial (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080328/NEWS/803280303

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Guest Columnist – Spirit Lake fishing threatens research project
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/356757_spiritlake28.html?source=rss

Don’t focus on spring Chinook at expense of late steelhead runs (The Olympian)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/400548.html

Testing what sea lions eat isn't for the faint of nose – A graduate student at Portland State analyzes sea lions' scat to chart how much salmon they eat (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1206672911212320.xml&coll=7

Geoduck harvest suddenly in limbo – Five years means five years. That’s the word from Pierce County deputy hearing examiner Terrence McCarthy, who decided this week that a Taylor Shellfish geoduck permit has run out. (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/320104.html

Washington State Water War: The Fight Over Non-Permitted Wells (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/water-war-fight-over-non-permitted-wells/

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

News Release – FERC, Oregon sign Memorandum of Understanding for Wave Energy Projects (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)
http://www.ferc.gov/news/news-releases/2008/2008-1/03-27-08.asp

Run of River Power CEO shocked at B.C. minister's decision to block power project (CBC)
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/03/26/bc-upper-pit.html

SoCal Edison makes $875M bet on solar (Los Angeles Business from bizjournals)
http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/stories/2008/03/24/daily28.html?ana=from_rss

Massachusetts – Voters to set direction on wind power – At Harvard's annual Town Meeting Saturday, voters will be asked to approve a bylaw that would allow residents to erect wind turbines for individual, accessory use (The Boston Globe)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/27/voters_to_set_direction_on_wind_power/

Rollcast Tapping Into Power Among The Trees – Energy industry veteran Penn Cox wants to make millions from wood scraps and tree trimmings usually dumped in landfills or left decaying on the forest floor. (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CjiovsmiRUmi%216%3C%22bfen%5Fv

Wisconsin – Myths of energy: Wind turbines, digesters are options, but opposition still a hurdle (Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter)
http://www.htrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080328/MAN0101/803280517

CONSERVATION

Massachusetts – Energy conservation a high priority (The Hingham Journal)
http://www.wickedlocal.com/hingham/news/x1059920307

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

How much will it cost to fix the climate? The numbers vary – Even when experts look at the same data, they can come to vastly different conclusions (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0327/p17s01-sten.html

Climate change may boost health risks in NW (The Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/03/28//area_news/doc47ec8793c0957827494596.txt

NOAA to Assess Whether Melting Ice Endangers Seals (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/26/AR2008032602807.html?nav=rss_nation

Carbon tariffs could reverse offshore trend: report (Canwest News Service)
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=f95c89fa-582a-4eab-8513-5d2aeca23de4&k=6

Marni Soupcoff: How much energy does it take to promote Earth Hour? (National Post, Canada)
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/03/27/marni-soupcoff-how-much-energy-does-it-take-to-promote-earth-hour.aspx

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Comcast to modify network practices – Company will change how it manages its network in response to accusations it blocks some Internet file-sharing services because they require large amounts of bandwidth. (Reuters, via Yahoo! News)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080328/tc_nm/comcast_dc_3

Broadband in the Boonies Gets a $267M Boost (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/03/28/broadband-in-the-boonies-gets-a-boost-new-service-coming/

Companies Avoid Financial Penalties After Massive Computer Data Breaches (Associated Press, via the Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/27/AR2008032703436.html?nav=rss_technology

GENERAL NEWS

California – Soaring metal prices lead to rash of catalytic converter thefts (Associated Press, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1307037~Soaring_metal_prices_lead_to_rash_of_catalytic_converter_thefts.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

Thieves plague Portland light-rail project (Daily Journal of Commerce, via Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1306042~Thieves_plague_Portland_light_rail_project.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Judge OKs halt to Alcoa bribery lawsuit (The Associated Press, via Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/business/business_wire/story/140429.html

Machiavelli, Not Such a Bad Guy? (National Public Radio)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89153809&ft=1&f=2

DIVERSIONS

India’s marksmen fed up with shooting blanks – They may boycott the Beijing Olympics unless the government steps in to help alleviate a shortage of ammunition for training
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSREE85405120080328?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Australian Outback Town Chooses Mayor By Drawing Name From Trash Can
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15723645/detail.html

Scientists Try For 'Remote-Control Fish' – Researchers Seek To Bolster Bass Stock
http://www.kirotv.com/news/15713766/detail.html