Energy News Digest for May 22, 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)

- Jefferson PUD electrical power authority study nears
- Chehalis Natural Gas Facility to be Expanded
- Alcoa looks to reopen Northwest Alloys magnesium plant in Stevens County, WA
- Anchorage Daily News Opinion – Juneau's woe – Capital city's electricity crisis merits state help
- Voters lose Hanford waste ruling
- Chelan PUD’s Gutzwiler Plans To Run Again
- 435 members attend Orcas Power and Light Cooperative’s 71st annual meeting
- Swedish police hold two men over nuclear scare
- More Questions Are Raised About Moody’s Ratings because of computer errors
- Calpine receives $11B bid from NRG Energy
- 'Recycling' Energy Seen Saving Companies Money
- News Release – DTE Energy Warns Customers to Look Out for Con Artists Posing as Utility Workers
- Rising electricity rates, global warming top concerns for consumers and regulators
- Why a Fish Didn’t Show at a Festival in Its Honor
- Killer whale rides wave onto beach north of Eureka, munches on harbor seal
- Ban on cruise ship sewage discharges near shellfish beds
- Warm days melt Oregon's snowpack – Rivers, reservoirs swell with water, create dangers for boaters
- Flood warning continues in Spokane
- Cedar and Green rivers closed to recreation because they are running high and fast from melting mountain snow
- Victoria, BC still trudging along on sewage treatment plans
- Wind farm proposed near Larch Mountain in east Clark County
- U.S. House Passes Renewable Energy Tax Credit Extension Bill
- Montana – City of Billings may sell methane from landfill
- Oregon's ethanol requirement lowers vehicles' miles per gallon
- Firm promotes power of wind for residences
- Australia urged to dump renewable energy targets
- A sweet deal on energy – Conservation is the easiest, quickest and best way to ease the rising cost of energy
- Alaska will sue to block listing of polar bears as threatened
- San Francisco – Greenhouse gases target of new fee
- National Grid Invites You to Meet ''Floe'' A Virtual Polar Bear Who Can Analyze Your Impact on the Environment
- Concord, California to lose free Wi-Fi service in Bay Area cities
- Reaction mixed to Microsoft Live Search 'cashback' plan
- Belfair Couple Pleads Guilty to Pretexting Scheme

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Puckish • \PUCK-ish\ • adjective – Impish, whimsical

It was an ironic twist; the former hockey player had retired from the game to become a commentator for the Montreal Canadiens. It was there that he became well known for his “puckish” sense of humour.

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

Jefferson PUD electrical power authority study nears – D. Hittle and Associates of Lynnwood and EES Consulting of Kirkland made proposals to get the contract. (Peninsula Daily News)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080522/NEWS/805220306

Chehalis Natural Gas Facility to be Expanded – The Williams Northwest Pipeline Chehalis compressor station will be expanded, with up to 77,700 horsepower added (The Chronicle, Centralia)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1211391430&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Alcoa looks to reopen Northwest Alloys magnesium plant in Stevens County, WA (Purchasing.com)
http://www.purchasing.com/article/CA6562990.html?industryid=48389

Anchorage Daily News Opinion – Juneau's woe – Capital city's electricity crisis merits state help
http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/412470.html

Voters lose Hanford waste ruling – Initiative 297 ban on dumping is overturned (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/363984_hanford22.html

CHELAN PUD’S GUTZWILER PLANS TO RUN AGAIN – The senior member of the Chelan County PUD board of commissioners has informally announced he will seek another term. Commissioner Norm Gutzwiler was elected to his first six year term in 2002. Gutzwiler plans a formal announcement at a later date. So far no other candidates have surfaced to challenge Gutzwiler. Commissioner Werner Janssen is also up for re-election and will be challenged by Peshastin grower Carnan Bergren. The official filing period for candidates is June 2nd through 6th. (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee)

435 members attend Orcas Power and Light Cooperative’s 71st annual meeting (San Juan Islander)
http://www.sanjuanislander.com/businesses/opalco/2008-annual-meeting-1.shtml

Swedish police hold two men over nuclear scare – one of them was discovered entering it with small amounts of a highly explosive material (International Herald-Tribune)
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/05/21/europe/OUKWD-UK-SWEDEN-NUCLEAR-THREAT.php

More Questions Are Raised About Moody’s Ratings – The Moody’s Corporation is investigating whether it assigned top-flight credit ratings to certain securities because of computer errors (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/business/22moody.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1211475960-TSbPfaTath/rc5EOiyEIrg

Calpine receives $11B bid from NRG Energy (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/05/19/daily39.html?ana=from_rss

'Recycling' Energy Seen Saving Companies Money (National Public Radio – can you say ”Combined Cycle” and “Cogeneration”)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90714692&ft=1&f=1003

News Release – DTE Energy Warns Customers to Look Out for Con Artists Posing as Utility Workers (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=90284

Rising electricity rates, global warming top concerns for consumers and regulators: Deloitte study (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=329284&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss

FISH & WILDLIFE

Why a Fish Didn’t Show at a Festival in Its Honor – The environmental group Riverkeeper had its 19th annual Shad Festival on Sunday, sort of a green-era version of the gatherings that go back to the native Americans. But this year it was missing one thing — shad. (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/nyregion/22towns.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Killer whale rides wave onto beach north of Eureka, munches on harbor seal (San Jose Mercury News)
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9340097?source=rss

Ban on cruise ship sewage discharges near shellfish beds – Industry group agrees to comply with state policy (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/363993_cruise22.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Warm days melt Oregon's snowpack – Rivers, reservoirs swell with water, create dangers for boaters (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1211426712176430.xml&coll=7

Flood warning continues in Spokane (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1403921~Flood_warning_continues_in_Spokane.html?cid=rss-Washington_Headlines

Cedar and Green rivers closed to recreation because they are running high and fast from melting mountain snow (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052208WAB_cedar_green_rivers_LJ.1aa6425f.html

Victoria, BC still trudging along on sewage treatment plans – 32 sewage plants beat 4 large ones, report says – CRD could sell heat, electricity, water from house-sized treatment facilities (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=faaa4538-ed6f-4156-aa8e-272253ed457d

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Wind farm proposed near Larch Mountain in east Clark County – 39 skyscraper-high wind turbines (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/2008/05/05222008_Wind-farm-proposed-near-Larch-Mountain.cfm/

U.S. House Passes Renewable Energy Tax Credit Extension Bill (Renewable Energy World Online)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52546&src=rss

Montana – City of Billings may sell methane from landfill (Billings Gazette)
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/05/21/news/local/29-landfill.txt

Oregon's ethanol requirement lowers vehicles' miles per gallon – Because the biofuel has less energy, the state's 10 percent requirement means drivers are buying more gas (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1211433909137150.xml&coll=7

Firm promotes power of wind for residences (Scranton Times Tribune – But what will the neighbors think?)
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19707030&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416046&rfi=6

Australia urged to dump renewable energy targets (The Australian)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23741349-11949,00.html

CONSERVATION

A sweet deal on energy – Conservation is the easiest, quickest and best way to ease the rising cost of energy (Salina Journal)
http://www.saljournal.com/rdnews/story/city-energy-edit2008-05-21T15-27-55

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Alaska will sue to block listing of polar bears as threatened (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004430957_polarbears22m.html?syndication=rss

San Francisco – Greenhouse gases target of new fee – Pollution - Many Bay Area businesses oppose paying for the carbon dioxide they emit (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1211424910128160.xml&coll=7

News Release – National Grid Invites You to Meet ''Floe'' A Virtual Polar Bear Who Can Analyze Your Impact on the Environment (Electric Energy Online – Oh, the irony!)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=90218

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Concord, California to lose free Wi-Fi service in Bay Area cities (Contra Costa Times)
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_9337025?source=rss

Reaction mixed to Microsoft Live Search 'cashback' plan – Program promises refunds to online consumers (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/364046_msftsearch22.html?source=rss

GENERAL NEWS

Belfair Couple Pleads Guilty to Pretexting Scheme (Kitsap Sun)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/may/21/belfair-couple-pleads-guilty-to-pretexting/

DIVERSIONS

Every pupil's dream: the exam with answers on back
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSPAT25021620080522?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Bureaucrats get taste of jail
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSPAT25025820080522?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

ID-protection ads come back to bite Lifelock pitchman
http://www.examiner.com/a-1404036~ID_protection_ads_come_back_to_bite_Lifelock_pitchman.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

Soldier's donated horse heads for slaughter
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_052108WAB_soldier_horse_slaughter_KC.1866d2a6.html

Ewww! Fly-infested gloves prompt Health Canada probe
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=ebb6346f-21f6-449c-9d92-0a85c009e22a