Energy News Digest for October 1, 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)

- Ads on transit buses spark questions about taking sides in Jefferson PUD power vote
- BPA boss tells Intalco workers no guarantee of future cheap powe
- TEXAS – Alcoa, Luminant blame each other as Alcoa prepares to lay off 660
- On top of its pending rate hike – Avista rates likely going up this fall
- News Release – Avista Disappointed in BPA Decision That Will Increase Customer Bills
- Related to Trojan Nuke Plant – Portland General Electric ordered to refund $33.1 million
- Environmental Groups File Air Pollution Lawsuit against Boardman Coal Plant
- Nuclear services company Areva seeks DOE loan guarantee for Idaho plant
- Coos Bay gives Liquefied Natural Gas project in Oregon an extra year
- Chelan County PUD PUD manager gets OK to act quickly on finances
- OHIO – Blanchester linemen 'walked out' on job: better pay restoring electricity in Texas
- Maine officials expect to weather energy crunch
- APPA Calls Recent Government Accounting Office Report on Electricity Market Restructuring ‘Constructive’ but ‘Inconclusive’
- UNITED KINGDOM – Belfast households braced for huge energy price hikes
- Disaster relief checks in mail to salmon fishermen
- Conservation groups propose marine reserves off Oregon
- Tribal Chinook salmon season extended
- Nez Perce recalls salmon's centrality to his people
- Seeing Chinook as Indicators
- Coalition Focused on Health of Lower Hood Canal
- Chelan PUD expands office recycling
- Big step for Hetch Hetchy system upgrade: water system serves 2.5 million residents of San Francisco area
- U.S. Senate adds renewable credits to bailout
- Coastal Towns Need Persuading To Embrace Wave Energy
- Tillamook green power backers in uncharted waters with wind energy
- OREGON – Bend firm tapped for solar electricity team
- Coal to Wood: The Conversion Calculus
- San Francisco Mayor challenges city’s largest businesses to install solar
- Iowa's energy future is in the wind, but requires investment elsewhere, like transmission
- Exploding Wind Turbine…look out Toto!
- WISCONSIN – Waste to electricity conversion will help manage soaring energy costs
- “Extremely Green” Building Comes to the Northwest
- Calgary team shows how to scrub CO2 from the air
- Progress Energy Carolinas Offers New Carbon-Offset Program to Its Customers
- Congress OKs Greater Broadband Access
- Internet threats lead to increase in consumer worries
- Europe Leads Global Broadband Growth Again
- VERMONT – Fairpoint announces broadband expansion
- Caps: Innovation Killer? Paper: killing off power users not a great idea
- Washington Prisoners Return from Arizona; Some Now at Corrections Center near Shelton
- Grapeview School Receives Home Depot Grant
- Chris Mulick Leaves Olympia Press Corps

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Recuse • \rih-KYOOZ\ • verb – To disqualify (oneself) as a judge in a particular case; broadly: to remove (oneself) from participation to avoid a conflict of interest.

The energy executive cooed to his customers at the annual board meeting, “trust me, I can decide what’s best for you, my board doesn’t need the pressure of the decision on rates.” The pliant board members squirmed restlessly in their seats under the glare of the customers who became increasingly irate at the board’s decision to recuse itself from such an important decision.

WEATHER
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?textField1=47.213805&textField2=-123.113412&site=all&smap=1&searchresult=Shelton%2C%20WA%2C%20USA

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

Ads on transit buses spark questions about taking sides in Jefferson PUD power vote (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20081001/NEWS/810010302

BPA boss tells Intalco workers no guarantee of future cheap power (Bellingham Herald, WA – Check out the photo)
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/581148.html

TEXAS – Alcoa, Luminant blame each other as Alcoa prepares to lay off 660 (Dallas Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/09/29/daily33.html?ana=from_rss

On top of its pending rate hike – Avista rates likely going up this fall “…the anticipated increase is the result of lower credits from the operation of federal dams…” (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=16960

News Release – Avista Disappointed in BPA Decision That Will Increase Customer Bills (Avista)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080930/aqtu090.html?.v=65

Related to Trojan Nuke Plant – Portland General Electric ordered to refund $33.1 million (Portland Business Journal, OR)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/09/29/daily21.html?ana=from_rss

Environmental Groups File Air Pollution Lawsuit against Boardman Coal Plant (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=4387

Nuclear services company Areva seeks DOE loan guarantee for Idaho plant (Associated Press)
http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/603460.html

Coos Bay gives Liquefied Natural Gas project in Oregon an extra year (Associated Press)
http://www.examiner.com/a-1616213~Coos_Bay_gives_LNG_project_in_Ore__an_extra_year.html?cid=rss-Oregon_Headlines

Chelan County PUD PUD manager gets OK to act quickly on finances (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080930/NEWS04/709309978

OHIO – Blanchester linemen 'walked out' on job: better pay restoring electricity in Texas (Wilmington News-Journal, OH)
http://www.wnewsj.com/main.asp?SectionID=49&SubSectionID=156&ArticleID=169797&TM=69.549

Maine officials expect to weather energy crunch (The Barre Montpelier Times Argus)
http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/RH/20081001/NEWS03/810010322/1004/SPORTS

APPA Calls Recent Government Accounting Office Report on Electricity Market Restructuring ‘Constructive’ but ‘Inconclusive’ (Electric Energy Online)
http://www.electricenergyonline.com/IndustryNews.asp?m=1&id=97925

UNITED KINGDOM – Belfast households braced for huge energy price hikes (Belfast Telegraph, UK)
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/households-braced-for-huge-energy-price-hikes-13988591.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Disaster relief checks in mail to salmon fishermen (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/29999819.html

Conservation groups propose marine reserves off Oregon – The extent of the proposal may be difficult for the state's fishermen (The Oregonian Portland, OR)
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/122282970711550.xml&coll=7

Tribal Chinook salmon season extended (KTVZ-TV, Bend, OR)
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=9099035

Nez Perce recalls salmon's centrality to his people (Gresham Outlook, OR)
http://www.theoutlookonline.com/features/story.php?story_id=122282598168765900

Seeing Chinook as Indicators (World Changing Online)
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008779.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Coalition Focused on Health of Lower Hood Canal (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/sep/30/coalition-focused-health-lower-hood-canal/?partner=RSS

Chelan PUD expands office recycling (Wenatchee World, WA)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080930/NEWS04/710019996

CALIFORNIA – Big step for Hetch Hetchy system upgrade: water system serves 2.5 million residents of San Francisco area (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/30/MNH413916O.DTL&feed=rss.news

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

U.S. Senate adds renewable credits to bailout (South Florida Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/09/29/daily18.html?ana=from_rss

Coastal Towns Need Persuading To Embrace Wave Energy (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=4385

Tillamook green power backers in uncharted waters with wind energy (Headlight-Herald, Tillamook, OR)
http://tillamookheadlightherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=10307

OREGON – Bend firm tapped for solar electricity team (Portland Business Journal, OR)
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/09/29/daily17.html?ana=from_rss

Coal to Wood: The Conversion Calculus (The NY Times)
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/good-bye-coal-hello-wood-chips/?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

San Francisco Mayor challenges city’s largest businesses to install solar (San Francisco Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/09/29/daily28.html?ana=from_rss

Daily Iowan Editorial – Iowa's energy future is in the wind, but requires investment elsewhere, like transmission
http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/media/storage/paper599/news/2008/10/01/Opinions/Iowas.Energy.Future.Is.In.The.Wind.But.Requires.Investment.Elsewhere-3462033.shtml

Exploding Wind Turbine…look out Toto! (Snopes)
http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/windmill.asp

WISCONSIN – Waste to electricity conversion will help manage soaring energy costs (Journal Times, Racine, WI)
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/10/01/local_news/doc48e2c0cac10c4371278272.txt

CONSERVATION

“Extremely Green” Building Comes to the Northwest – How would you like to pay little to nothing on your electric bill for the rest of your life? (Northwest Public Radio)
http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=4378

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Calgary team shows how to scrub CO2 from the air (CBC News)
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/09/30/carbon.html?ref=rss

News Release – Progress Energy Carolinas Offers New Carbon-Offset Program to Its Customers (Earth Times)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/progress-energy-carolinas-offers-new-carbon-offset-program-to-its-customers,562886.shtml

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Congress OKs Greater Broadband Access (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/30/AR2008093002469.html?nav=rss_technology

Internet threats lead to increase in consumer worries (Phoenix Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/09/29/daily20.html?ana=from_rss

Europe Leads Global Broadband Growth Again (GigaOM)
http://gigaom.com/2008/09/30/europe-leads-global-broadband-growth-again/

VERMONT – Fairpoint announces broadband expansion (Burlington Free Press, VT)
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/NEWS02/810010314

Caps: Innovation Killer? Paper: killing off power users not a great idea (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Caps-Innovation-Killer-98104

GENERAL NEWS

Washington Prisoners Return from Arizona; Some Now at Corrections Center near Shelton (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)
http://www.masoncountydailynews.com/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1897/selectmoduleid/3468/ArticleID/5175/reftab/1896/Default.aspx

Grapeview School Receives Home Depot Grant (The Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/sep/30/grapeview-school-receives-home-depot-grant/?partner=RSS

Chris Mulick Leaves Olympia Press Corps – My sorrowful and unthinkable goodbye (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/olympiadispatch/story/331448.html

DIVERSIONS

Mailman Sentenced For Dealing Pot On Route (Neither rain, hail, sleet, or purple haze will deter the mailman from his route…”
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17593705/detail.html

Neither snow, nor rain, nor 'aw, the heck with it
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10601822?source=rss

Man Goes For Record With 1,800-Pound Pumpkin
http://www.kirotv.com/health/17593559/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

NY Judge: Nibble On Cinema Popcorn At Own Risk
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17590765/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible

Judge To Anti-Feminist: Ladies' Night Is Alright
http://www.kirotv.com/news/17590759/detail.html?rss=sea&psp=irresistible