Energy News Digest for September 10, 2009

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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Environmental Group Reacts to TransAlta Emissions Reduction Plan
• Chelan County PUD Selling Lehman Brothers Debt
• California - Regulators Reject San Diego Utility Wildfire Plan
• Rising Temps Melt Electric Utilities' Business Models
• Wisconsin Appeals Court Rules Farm Can Sue Alliant Energy over Stray Voltage
• TransAlta Extends Canadian Hydro Buyout Offer
• Fishing Groups Push Sec. Locke on Salmon Populations
• Puget Sound Salmon - 'Pink Fever' Brings Out Salmon Fishers, Poachers
• First the Skok, Now This - Record Fishing Crowds Trashing Puyallup River
• Wash. Wildlife Police Concerned About Sturgeon Poaching on Columbia River
• Scientists Taking A Close Look At the Columbia River Estuary
• Cynic Alert - Why Is Gordon Smith Weighing In On Dam Breaching?
• The Future of Salmon in Denmark
• From Deep Pacific, Ugly and Tasty, With a Catch
• DOE Considers Building another Hanford Landfill
• State Of Emergency Declared For Green River Flooding Potential
• Snoqualmie Valley Residents Fear Dam-Lowering Project
• $250 Million for West Lewis County Wind Power Project
• Op/Ed - Whidbey Wind Is Sold To California
• Wind-Energy Rush Threatens Historic Sites
• Push for Renewable Energy Lauded, But Divisions over Details Remain
• South Dakota - Wind Farm Is a Burst of Energy for State
• US House Passes $1 Billion Wind Energy Bill
• Sacramento Municipal Utility District Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Photovoltaic Power
• Another Company Leaves 'Mixed Messaging' Coal Alliance
• Carbon Trading like Any Commodity, Panel Told
• Senate Democrats Skeptical About Climate Bill
• New Ag Chairwoman May Not Change Senate Dynamic on Climate Bill Push
• Musical Chairs in the Senate Present Worries for Enviros
• Let's Talk Trash - A Cheaper, Greener Way to Deal with Garbage
• New Microsoft Data Center Opening In Redmond Ridge
• Grant County PUD Restarts Dark Fiber Sales
• Feds Give Details on 2,200 Broadband Stimulus Requests
• Fairpoint Will Miss Maine & Vermont Broadband Expansion Commitments
• Chattanooga Finally Getting Its Fiber
• Mason County Deputies Getting Office in Belfair Safeway
• Olympia Nonprofit Volunteer Charged: 62 Felony Counts
• A New Tune at KPLU
• Wal-Mart to Staff: Bye-Bye Paycheck, Hello Debit Card

WORD OF THE DAY

Futurity • \fyoo-TOOR-uh-tee\ • noun - 1: time to come: future 2: the quality or state of being future 3: future events or prospects

The past is not done
It lives to futurity
It sticks like cheap gum

WEATHER

Shelton Forecast and Weather Alerts
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

Environmental Group Reacts to TransAlta Emissions Reduction Plan (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)
http://www.kelaam.com/pages/localnews?Environmental-Group-Reacts-to-TransAlta-=1&blockID=74192&feedID=410

Chelan County PUD Selling Lehman Brothers Debt (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee, WA)
http://www.kpq.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1363

California - Regulators Reject San Diego Utility Wildfire Plan (Examiner.com)
http://www.examiner.com/a-2210645~Regulators_reject_San_Diego_utility_wildfire_plan.html?cid=rss-California_Headlines

Rising Temps Melt Electric Utilities' Business Models (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/09/10/10greenwire-rising-temps-melt-electric-utilities-business-72148.html

Wisconsin Appeals Court Rules Farm Can Sue Alliant Energy over Stray Voltage (Associated Press)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wis-appeals-court-Farm-can-apf-103190156.html?x=0&.v=2

TransAlta Extends Canadian Hydro Buyout Offer (Associated Press)
http://www.cnbc.com/id/32765930

FISH & WILDLIFE

Fishing Groups Push Sec. Locke on Salmon Populations (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/5784-fishing-groups-push-sec-locke-salmon-populations/

Puget Sound Salmon - 'Pink Fever' Brings Out Salmon Fishers, Poachers (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/58159952.html

First the Skok, Now This - Record Fishing Crowds Trashing Puyallup River (KING-TV, Seattle)
http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_090909ENB-puyallup-river-trash-TP.1650c535d.html?rss

Wash. Wildlife Police Concerned About Sturgeon Poaching on Columbia River (KUOW Radio, Seattle)
http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=18373

Scientists Taking A Close Look At the Columbia River Estuary (Daily Astorian, OR)
http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=63936

Cynic Alert - Why Is Gordon Smith Weighing In On Dam Breaching? (The Oregonian)
http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2009/09/why_is_gordon_smith_weighs_in.html

The Future of Salmon in Denmark (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
http://news.opb.org/article/5782-future-salmon-denmark/

From Deep Pacific, Ugly and Tasty, With a Catch (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/10fish.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

DOE Considers Building another Hanford Landfill (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/874221.html

State Of Emergency Declared For Green River Flooding Potential (KOMO-TV, Seattle)
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/58526582.html

Snoqualmie Valley Residents Fear Dam-Lowering Project (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/409898_snoqualmie09.html?source=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

$250 MILLION FOR WEST LEWIS COUNTY WIND POWER PROJECT (DOTY) – A New York based energy company has $250 million plans to harvest the wind near Doty. EverPower has hopes to build up to 50-wind turbines on remote Weyerhaeuser property. The wind turbines – which could reach 330-feet into the air - would be placed on a single ridge near the border of Lewis and Grays Harbor County. The so-called “Coyote Crest Wind Park” could produce 120-megawatts. It’s enough power to supply power to 25,000 homes. (KELA Radio, Centralia, WA)

Whidbey News-Times Op/Ed - Whidbey Wind Is Sold to California - PSE/Macquarie started off in true form by secretly selling all its green wind energy to California!
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/whidbey/wnt/opinion/letters/58146272.html

Wind-Energy Rush Threatens Historic Sites - Public funds being used to destroy historic treasures (Outlook Online, Portland, OR)
http://www.theoutlookonline.com/sustainable/story.php?story_id=125201796695922700

Push for Renewable Energy Lauded, But Divisions over Details Remain (San Jose Mercury News, CA)
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13302045

South Dakota - Wind Farm Is a Burst of Energy for State (Sioux Falls Argus Leader, SD)
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20090910/NEWS/909100335/1003/BUSINESS

US House Passes $1 Billion Wind Energy Bill – To make wind turbines more efficient and reliable (SF Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/09/MN9119KRFA.DTL

Sacramento Municipal Utility District Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Photovoltaic Power at Rancho Seco (Sacramento Business Journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/09/07/daily24.html?ana=from_rss

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Another Company Leaves 'Mixed Messaging' Coal Alliance (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/09/09/09greenwire-another-company-leaves-mixed-messaging-coal-al-88273.html

Carbon Trading like Any Commodity, Panel Told (Houston Chronicle, TX – This is NOT a confidence builder…)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6611010.html

Senate Democrats Skeptical About Climate Bill (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5883HD20090909

New Ag Chairwoman May Not Change Senate Dynamic on Climate Bill Push (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/09/10/10climatewire-new-ag-chairwoman-may-not-change-senate-dyna-32661.html

Musical Chairs in the Senate Present Worries for Enviros (Newsweek Magazine)
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/09/09/musical-chairs-in-the-senate-present-worries-for-enviros.aspx

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Let's Talk Trash - A Cheaper, Greener Way to Deal with Garbage (Newsweek Magazine)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/215120?from=rss

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

New Microsoft Data Center Opening In Redmond Ridge “…Microsoft will also be scaling back its plans to expand a much larger data center in Grant County…” (Seattle Times)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/2009832638_newmicrosoftdatacenteropeninginredmondridge.html?syndication=rss

Grant County PUD Restarts Dark Fiber Sales (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)
http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2009/09/09/news/doc4aa82e4f71546640143354.txt

Feds Give Details on 2,200 Broadband Stimulus Requests (San Francisco Business Times)
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/09/07/daily54.html?ana=from_rss

Here are the applications from Washington State (BroadbandUSA)
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandgrants/applications/results.cfm?org=&keywords=&projtype=&program=&state=WA

Fairpoint Will Miss Maine & Vermont Broadband Expansion Commitments - Utter incompetence versus wimpy regulators. Get ready, fight! (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Fairpoint-Will-Miss-Broadband-Expansion-Commitments-104382

Chattanooga Finally Getting Its Fiber - $200 million local investment offers 15,20,50 Mbps tiers (Broadband Reports)
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Chattanooga-Finally-Getting-Its-Fiber-104379

GENERAL NEWS

Mason County Deputies Getting Office in Belfair Safeway (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/09/mason-county-deputies-getting-office-in-belfair/?partner=RSS

Olympia Nonprofit Volunteer Charged: 62 Felony Counts (Olympian, WA)
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/965832.html

A New Tune at KPLU (Tacoma Daily Index)
http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1619470&more=0

Wal-Mart to Staff: Bye-Bye Paycheck, Hello Debit Card - The Nation's Largest Employer Eliminates Physical Paychecks in Favor of Cards, Direct Deposit (ABC News)
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wal-mart-employees-debit-cards-paychecks/Story?id=8494124&page=1

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER - DIVERSIONS

Pigeon transfers data faster than South Africa's Telkom
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE5885PM20090909?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Over Bathtub Pictures - Outraged Parents Sue Wal-Mart, And Arizona for Taking Kids
http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/09/10/Outraged_Parents_Sue_Wal-Mart_And_Arizona_for_Taking_Kids.htm

2,400-Lb Ore. Horse Rescued From Hole
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/58307442.html

Woman Uses 'Because I'm Pretty' Sign to Deter Police Stops
http://www.kirotv.com/news/20810835/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Ernie - Rubber Ducky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Wkq8iouEY&feature=related