Energy News Digest for July 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)

- FERC renews Cowlitz PUD's hydroelectric lease
- Puget Sound Energy buys 125 megawatt Sumas natural gas-fired power plant
- Chelan County PUD Power line repairs to top $1 million
- Grant PUD approves contract for FERC-mandated security
- New Tribune Editorial – What’s the price of public service?
- Wenatchee Word Editorial – Our World: Grand Coulee celebration
- Hartford Courant Commentary – State's Electricity Picture Brightening
- Salt Lake Tribune Op/Ed – A full portfolio of resources can ease the energy crunch
- Portland Press-Herald Editorial – Maine should get off the grid
- "Hot Stick" Shields Body From High Voltage
- Columbia teems with new species
- Rocky Barker – First sockeye comes home to Idaho
- Wapato fish die a day after lake treatment to kill toxin-producing algae
- Tri-City Herald Editorial – New water makes our food, economy grow
- Idaho Water Accounting
- Oregon to have world's largest wind farm
- Winds of change fill new career
- Wenatchee World Editorial – Talking It Over: Taking a closer look at wind power
- Houston Chronicle Letters –Is it an ill wind blowing?
- Daily News Editorial – Surprising testimony should propel energy-policy discourse
- Building Bridges in the Wood Pellet Heating Industry
- Data Centers That Will Follow the Sun and Chase the Wind
- BPA will reimburse Power Save costs
- Fans of L.E.D.’s Say This Bulb’s Time Has Come
- VIRGINIA – 'Green' easy for companies to tout but hard to guarantee
- East Wenatchee – Eastside data center lands another tenant
- Eugene chip plant Hynix will close, erasing 1,400 jobs
- Russia, The Final Frontier For Data Centers?
- FCC Majority Plans To Punish Comcast For Throttling
- Time to drop cable television?
- Phones Without Homes
- Fresno Wants Citywide Wireless But Doesn’t Want To Pay
- Broadband in 3/4 of U.S. Homes By 2012
- Olympia man charged in attack on trees
- CALIFORNIA – Scrap Dealer charged in Sacramento water meter scandal

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Xanadu • \ZAN-uh-doo\ • noun – An idyllic, exotic, or luxurious place

“Ahh,…whenever I hear the word Xanadu I think of the former glory of the Mongol Empire,” sighed Bataar. “I think of Charles Foster Kane!” shouted Jim Gettys, “I imagine Olivia Newton John, resplendent in spandex,” said Sonny Malone in a dreamy, far away voice.

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

FERC renews Cowlitz PUD's hydroelectric lease (The Daily News, Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/07/25/area_news/doc48893d80212f9356412244.txt

Puget Sound Energy buys 125 megawatt Sumas natural gas-fired power plant (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008077761_apwapugetenergysumas.html?syndication=rss

Chelan County PUD Power line repairs to top $1 million (The Wenatchee World, WA)http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080725/NEWS04/98861046/1005

Grant PUD approves contract for FERC-mandated security (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/07/25/news/news02.txt

New Tribune Editorial – What’s the price of public service? Fears of a talent drain at Tacoma Public Utilities put pressure on city leaders over potential raises (Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/424907.html

Wenatchee Word Editorial – Our World: Grand Coulee celebration
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080726/NEWS04/815319348/1001/rss1001

Hartford Courant Commentary – State's Electricity Picture Brightening – Just a few years ago, Connecticut's electricity system was on the federal watch list of areas in need of improvement
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/commentary/hc-commentaryvanwelie0727.artjul27,0,3623169.story

Salt Lake Tribune Op/Ed – A full portfolio of resources can ease the energy crunch – Rocky Mountain Power and Questar Gas rate increase requests before the Utah Public Service Commission would add about $20 a month to the typical customer's energy bills (Salt Lake City, UT)
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_10006756

Portland Press-Herald Editorial – Maine should get off the grid
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=201262&ac=PHedi

"Hot Stick" Shields Body From High Voltage (KNDO-TV, Tri Cities, WA)http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=8733828

FISH & WILDLIFE

Columbia teems with new species – Altered habitat makes invaders feel at home (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/story/521010.html

Rocky Barker – First sockeye comes home to Idaho (The Idaho Statesman, Boise ID)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/environment/story/452344.html

Wapato fish die a day after lake treatment to kill toxin-producing algae (The News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/424910.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Tri-City Herald Editorial – New water makes our food, economy grow – With her recent actions on Mid-Columbia water projects, Gov. Chris Gregoire has done something positive and important for our region
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/962/story/253385.html

Idaho Water Accounting (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=4131

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Oregon to have world's largest wind farm – A state energy panel has approved building what developers say would be the world's largest single wind farm in Gilliam and Morrow counties (The Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008075554_windfarm27m.html?syndication=rss

Winds of change fill new career (The Associated Press, via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer – 25 cents to Klaus Meine of the Scorpions)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/372356_windfixers28.html?source=rss

Wenatchee World Editorial – Talking It Over: Taking a closer look at wind power
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080724/NEWS04/85287057/1025/rss1025

Houston Chronicle Letters –Is it an ill wind blowing? (Houston, TX)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/5908983.html

Daily News Editorial – Surprising testimony should propel energy-policy discourse – Oilman T. Boone Pickens was on Capitol Hill last week advocating energy alternatives to the fossil fuels that made him rich (Longview, WA)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/07/27/editorial/doc488b911a349e5667362794.txt

Building Bridges in the Wood Pellet Heating Industry (PelletSales.com)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/story?id=53171&src=rss

Data Centers That Will Follow the Sun and Chase the Wind (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/07/25/data-centers-that-will-follow-the-sun-and-chase-the-wind/

CONSERVATION

BPA will reimburse Power Save costs – The Bonneville Power Administration will reimburse the total cost of a power-saving energy management product called Faronics Power Save (The Statesman-Journal, Salem, OR)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080728/BUSINESS/807280315

Fans of L.E.D.’s Say This Bulb’s Time Has Come (The NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/technology/28led.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

VIRGINIA – 'Green' easy for companies to tout but hard to guarantee (The Virginian Pilot)
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/07/green-easy-companies-tout-hard-guarantee

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

East Wenatchee – Eastside data center lands another tenant (The Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080728/BIZ/928125542

Eugene chip plant Hynix will close, erasing 1,400 jobs – Employees will be told today of the memory chip plant's closure, which ranks among Oregon's biggest layoffs this decade (The Oregonian, Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1216869903314710.xml&coll=7

Russia, The Final Frontier For Data Centers? (GigaOM)http://gigaom.com/2008/07/27/russia-data-centers/

FCC Majority Plans To Punish Comcast For Throttling – Official vote pending announcement next week (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FCC-Majority-Plans-To-Punish-Comcast-For-Throttling-96436

Time to drop cable television? Not so fast (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2429877920080724?feedType=nl&feedName=ustechnology

Phones Without Homes – What's really killing the land-line telephone business? (Slate Magazine)
http://www.slate.com/id/2195765/?from=rss

Fresno Wants Citywide Wireless But Doesn’t Want To Pay – Lots of rules in the RFP but no offer of payment (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Fresno-Wants-Citywide-Wireless-But-Doesnt-Want-To-Pay-96462

Broadband in 3/4 of U.S. Homes By 2012 – According to the latest new report (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Broadband-in-34-of-US-Homes-By-2012-96459

GENERAL NEWS

Olympia man charged in attack on trees (The Olympian, Olympia, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/520047.html

CALIFORNIA – Scrap Dealer charged in Sacramento water meter scandal (Sacramento Bee, CA)
http://www.sacbee.com/1089/story/1107726.html

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

'Addicted' to Being Buried in Trash? Man Arrested at Silverdale Dump
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/jul/24/man-looking-for-trash-arrested-for-theft/

Labrador 'runs' for mayor of Fairhope, Alaska
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_on_fe_st/odd_fido_for_mayor;_ylt=AvK932y0PrtMC2YgiNkqkK3tiBIF

German police officers are mistaken for strippers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_on_fe_st/odd_germany_police_strippers;_ylt=AnHjfEIQ8cNdebfVTIC8dKTtiBIF

The bride wore dart launchers at Comic-Con wedding
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080726/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_comiccon_wedding;_ylt=AidP_CTfSsapA3TpqD7ZEATtiBIF

Eel drink goes on sale for Japan's hot summer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_on_fe_st/odd_japan_eel_drink;_ylt=AsdU3xRTAXPFnzAIN8T.kKHtiBIF