Energy News Digest for March 21, 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)

- Portland General Electric says rates to dip after BPA agreement
- Chelan County PUD to seek public input in rate-setting philosophy
- Maryland – Rate relief gets a boost – Senate panel backs electricity credit of about $5 a month
- Pennsylvania power line hearing draws ample opposition
- NRG Energy Sets Up an Entity to Build Nuclear Plants
- Seattle Post Intelligencer Op/Ed – Oil fits the bill for public utility
- New study of SCADA and energy management systems finds increase in adoption of cyber security
- Columbian Op/Ed, Terry Flores – Should we still harvest Columbia salmon?
- Columbian Op/Ed, Carl Pope – Help salmon reach their ark
- Anglers showing up in droves for Chinook fishery on Columbia
- California Assembly approves $5.3 million to restore salmon habitat
- Canada – Pine beetle infestation impacting salmon runs
- Canada – Fraser marked as endangered
- Making Seattle's waterfront more sea life-friendly
- Historic Columbia River water legislation relieves local irrigation pressures
- Wenatchee World Editorial – Finding water to put to use
- Tri-City Herald Op/Ed – Proposed Black Rock Dam - YES: Dam is the potential answer to many problems
- Tri-City Herald Op/Ed – Proposed Black Rock Dam - NO: Possibility that dam could fail too great a risk
- Three Men Injured in Fall inside water reservoir
- Cowlitz Tribe wins grant for Cottonwood deer refuge
- Tidal Energy Company Withdraws Permit Request for Washington & Oregon Projects
- Safeguards are needed in the rush toward run-of-river power
- Port of Vancouver buying 60% of its power from wind farms
- Minnesota – Small step forward for wood-burning plant
- AES, Private-Equity Firm Join To Build Solar-Energy Farms
- Las Vegas – New Wal-Mart touts energy efficiency
- Energy Star and the Future of Your Electronics
- Warming Is Blamed for Collapse of Huge Chunk of Antarctic Ice
- NY Times Op/Ed – On Carbon, Tax and Don’t Spend
- Port staff asked to give Sea-Tac a green makeover
- For Carbon Emissions, a Goal of Less Than Zero
- Canadians warming to emissions cap: poll
- Arizona Republic Editorial – Join the darkness
- How Green Is Your Printer?
- Open wireless network may not be so open
- Cable Companies In Talks to Fund WiMax Network
- Tennessee – EPB Begins Installing Fiber Cables
- Southwestern WA counties get workforce development grant – Includes Mason County

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

WORD OF THE DAY

Sericeous • \suh-RISH-us\ • adjective – Covered with fine silky hair

The little bunnies in the Enzian Inn’s lobby are devastatingly cute. With their sericeous coats, dewy liquid eyes, and tiny wiggling noses, how could anyone resist signing up for a drawing to adopt one of these little creatures! Awwwww!

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

Portland General Electric says rates to dip after BPA agreement (The Oregonian)
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/argus/index.ssf?/base/news/1206465633281370.xml&coll=6

Chelan County PUD to seek public input in rate-setting philosophy (Wenatchee World)
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080325/NEWS04/309342146

Maryland – Rate relief gets a boost – Senate panel backs electricity credit of about $5 a month (Baltimore Sun)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.rates26mar26,0,4152986.story

Pennsylvania power line hearing draws ample opposition (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via the Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CjiltvplTUkg%216%3C%22bfen%5Fv

NRG Energy Sets Up an Entity to Build Nuclear Plants (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/business/26nuke.html?_r=1&ex=1364270400&en=bb0fd98f21f02cfe&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Seattle Post Intelligencer Op/Ed – Oil fits the bill for public utility
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/356399_publicutility26.html?source=rss

New study of SCADA and energy management systems finds increase in adoption of cyber security defensive measures (Utility Automation & Engineering)
http://uaelp.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=ONART&PUBLICATION_ID=22&ARTICLE_ID=323962&C=INDUS&dcmp=rss

WATER, FISH & THE ENVIRONMENT

Columbian Op/Ed, Terry Flores – Should we still harvest Columbia salmon?
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2008/03/03262008_Should-we-still-harvest-Columbia-salmon.cfm

Columbian Op/Ed, Carl Pope – Help salmon reach their ark – If salmon are to survive climate change, four of these dams on the lower Snake River must go
http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/2008/03/03262008_Help-salmon-reach-their-ark.cfm/

Anglers showing up in droves for chinook fishery on Columbia (The News Tribune, Tacoma)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/adventure/outdoors/story/318336.html

California Assembly approves $5.3 million to restore salmon habitat (The Associated Press)
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CA_XGR_SALMON_FUNDING_OROL-?SITE=ORKLA&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Canada – Pine beetle infestation impacting salmon runs (Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7c22a715-f210-4ee0-92c2-a6282428ebbf&k=48776

Canada – Fraser marked as endangered – The Fraser River has once again been named one of B.C.'s most environmentally threatened rivers (Prince George Citizen)
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20080324124395/local/news/fraser-marked-as-endangered.html

Making Seattle's waterfront more sea life-friendly – The Seattle urban waterfront is unkind to baby salmon (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/356422_seawall26.html

Historic Columbia River water legislation relieves local irrigation pressures (Columbia Basin Herald)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2008/03/25/news/news05.txt

Wenatchee World Editorial – Finding water to put to use
http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080325/OP03/245448557/-1/OP

Tri-City Herald Op/Ed – Proposed Black Rock Dam - YES: Dam is the potential answer to many problems
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/964/story/137421.html

Tri-City Herald Op/Ed – Proposed Black Rock Dam - NO: Possibility that dam could fail too great a risk
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/964/story/137407.html

Three Men Injured in Fall – Teen’s Back Broken When Scaffolding Collapses Inside Empty Ryderwood Reservoir (The Chronicle, Centralia)
http://www.chronline.com/story.php?subaction=showfull&id=1206467188&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&

Cowlitz Tribe wins grant for Cottonwood deer refuge (Daily News, Longview)
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/03/25//area_news/10172809.txt

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Tidal Energy Company Withdraws Permit Request for Washington & Oregon Projects (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/tidal-energy-company-withdraws-permit-request/

Safeguards are needed in the rush toward run-of-river power – In a world hungry for green energy, run-of-the-river hydro has a lot of appeal. But a smaller footprint does not mean zero impact. (The Vancouver Sun)
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=cb00d410-f585-4852-a0cf-f18468ab7380

Port of Vancouver buying 60% of its power from wind farms (The Columbian)
http://www.columbian.com/business/businessNews/2008/03/03262008_Port-buying-60-of-its-power-from-wind-farms.cfm/

Minnesota – Small step forward for wood-burning plant (McClatchy Tribune Business News, via the Power Marketing Association Online)
http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5E%5CjiltwtpUUkg%216%3C%22bfen%5Fv

AES, Private-Equity Firm Join To Build Solar-Energy Farms – it will partner with a private-equity firm to invest up to $1 billion in solar energy projects around the world (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/25/AR2008032502988.html?nav=rss_business

CONSERVATION

Las Vegas – New Wal-Mart touts energy efficiency – Conservation systems could provide prototype for other retailers (Las Vegas Business Press)
http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2008/03/25/news/iq_20407961.txt

Neighborhoods see energy savings after city program (Houston Business Journal)
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/03/24/daily6.html?ana=from_rss

Energy Star and the Future of Your Electronics (Electronic House)
http://www.electronichouse.com/article/energy_star_and_the_future_of_electronics/C155

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Warming Is Blamed for Collapse of Huge Chunk of Antarctic Ice (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/25/AR2008032501418.html?nav=rss_nation

NY Times Op/Ed – On Carbon, Tax and Don’t Spend
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/opinion/25prasad.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

Port staff asked to give Sea-Tac a green makeover – Plan to reduce carbon footprint could be done by year's end (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/356470_port26.html?source=rss

For Carbon Emissions, a Goal of Less Than Zero (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/business/businessspecial2/26negative.html?ex=1364270400&en=24707e2a7e4e5dd5&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Canadians warming to emissions cap: poll (Victoria Times-Colonist)
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=5cfc48ce-1081-481f-b4c0-225a0b75f840

Arizona Republic Editorial – Join the darkness
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0326wed1-26.html

How Green Is Your Printer? (NY Times)
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/how-green-is-your-printer/index.html?ex=1364184000&en=6b1981876342ba93&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Open wireless network may not be so open (Tri-City Herald)
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/991/story/137576.html

Cable Companies In Talks to Fund WiMax Network – Comcast, Time Warner Venture Would Challenge Verizon, AT& T (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/25/AR2008032503759.html?nav=rss_business

Tennessee – EPB Begins Installing Fiber Cables (WCTV-TV, Chattanooga)
http://www.newschannel9.com/news/cables_967440___article.html/epb_fiber.html

GENERAL NEWS

Southwestern WA counties get workforce development grant – Includes Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston counties. (Associated Press, via the Columbian)
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP03252008news296520.cfm

DIVERSIONS

Race in heels trips man on workers comp – Prosecutors say a video shows a Connecticut correction officer running a 40-yard-dash in women's clothing and high heels — at a time he had claimed he was too injured to work.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080326/ap_on_fe_st/odd_workers__comp_fraud;_ylt=AsKJO3BQvO_syttyPpOfDVvtiBIF

OUCH! Truck clips utility pole, motorcyclist 'clotheslined' by drooping telephone line
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8691650?source=rss

Michigan Attorney General Nixes Free Barbershop Beer
http://www.kirotv.com/irresistible/15702823/detail.html

Man, 70, accused of impersonating cop – He was arrested on suspicion of impersonating a police officer after he allegedly pulled over a real officer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080326/ap_on_fe_st/odd_fake_officer;_ylt=AtCg1xvGoK9EF59_KL70BkPtiBIF

Australian's break-in report goes to pot – he called police to report that his house had been broken into and some of his cannabis plants stolen
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080321/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_australia_cannabis;_ylt=Ai6u3JoBi1Ul6dLJXj6hY7XtiBIF