Energy News Digest for September 23, 2010

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.

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Tacoma Power to Raise Rates, Cut Staff (Puget Sound Business Journal)

http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2010/09/20/daily26.html

Clallam County Planning Commission OKs Permits for Nippon Biomass Cogeneration Plant (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100923/news/309239987/planning-commission-oks-permits-for-nippon-biomass-cogeneration-plant

Wood Power - Proposed ADAGE Plant Faces Determination of Significance (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/3333-proposed-adage-plant-faces-determination-of-significance

Fish in Southern Hood Canal Get More Room to Breathe (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/sep/22/fish-southern-hood-canal-get-more-room-breathe/

Feds Release Yakima Groundwater Study (Associated Press)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/09/22/1179100/water-wars-feds-release-yakima.html

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Tacoma Power to Raise Rates, Cut Staff
• British Columbia’s Peace River - Site C Dam Critics Rally Support at BC Legislature
• Oregon’s Dept. of Environmental Quality Boardman Hearing Draws a Crowd
• Grant PUD Energy Summit Attracts Crowd
• Grid Old Days in Past, Power Expert Warns
• Oregon Gubernatorial Race - More on Chris Dudley & the Environment
• Fish in Southern Hood Canal Get More Room to Breathe
• Dam Makeovers: Boosting Power & Fish Survival Through Cutting-Edge Turbines
• Environmentalists Challenge Chetko River Gravel Mining in Oregon
• Feds Release Yakima Groundwater Study
• Bonneville Power Administration Easement Will Help Trappist Abbey Conserve Oregon Forest, Rare Habitat
• North Dakota - As Lake Swells, Worries Deepen
• Clallam County Planning Commission OKs Permits for Nippon Biomass Cogeneration Plant
• Wood Power - Proposed ADAGE Plant Faces Determination of Significance
• Informational Meeting on Simpson Co-Gen Project Thursday Night
• Bonneville Power Administration: Breaking Out of a Wind Ghetto
• Bonneville Power Administration’s Pilot Project Seeks to Put More Clean Energy on the Grid
• Portland General Electric Asks to Sidestep Public Bidding to Build 68,000 Acre Oregon Wind Farm
• Renewable Standard - Democrats Warm to Last-Ditch Energy Push
• California Bioenergy Bill Killed
• Got Wood? A Case for Promoting Biomass
• Vancouver, BC - Grouse Mountain Wind Turbine Hooked Up
• Britain Flicks Switch on World’s Biggest Offshore Wind Farm
• Tidal & Wave Energy - Do Magnetic Fields from Aquatic Power Sources Affect Animals?
• Alaska - Utilities Call on Residents to Conserve for an Evening
• Who Will Become the Masters of the ‘Smart Grid’?
• Retreat of Glaciers Could Affect Cities in British Columbia & Western Canada
• Signs of Climate Change Fail to Shift Political Landscape
• Sudden Sea Surface Temperature Drops Explain 1970’s Cooling
• Puget Sound Energy Ready to Support Deployment of Electric Vehicles
• Can Space Reflectors Save Us? Why We Shouldn’t Buy into Geoengineering Fantasies
• FCC Opens Up Unused TV Signals for Broadband
• Network Neutrality Is Dead - AT&T wins. Again
• Nine States Have OK’d Qwest-CenturyLink Merger; 12 States, FCC to Go
• California – Ringleader for City of Bell Pay Scandal Has Washington Ties
• Oregon’s PERS Rates Expected to More Than Double for Public Agencies
• Recalls Become a Hazard for Mayors
• Washington State Lifts Burn Ban on Lands It Protects
• State Supreme Court Says WA Ban on Internet Gambling Constitutional
• Harvest Moon on Fall Equinox Won’t be Seen Again Until 2029
• Rare Meteorite Discovered in Rural Southern Oregon

WORD OF THE DAY

Indian Summer • \INN-dee-un SUM-mer\ • noun - 1: a period of warm or mild weather in late autumn or early winter 2: a happy or flourishing period occurring toward the end of something

No sentence of the day for this one, but for you “gee whiz factoid” fans, I thought you’d find this rundown from USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/indian-summer.htm

SHELTON FORECAST & 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

Tacoma Power to Raise Rates, Cut Staff (Puget Sound Business Journal)

http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2010/09/20/daily26.html

British Columbia’s Peace River - Site C Dam Critics Rally Support at BC Legislature (Victoria Times Colonist, BC)

http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Site+critics+rally+support+legislature/3547484/story.html

Oregon’s Dept. of Environmental Quality Boardman Hearing Draws a Crowd (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/13759-deqs-boardman-hearing-draws-crowd/

Grant PUD Energy Summit Attracts Crowd (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_76d221dc-c698-11df-8c92-001cc4c03286.html

Grid Old Days in Past, Power Expert Warns - Utilities face radical changes, more emphasis on smart use (Stockton Record, CA)

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100923/A_NEWS/9230316/-1/A_NEWS14

Oregon Gubernatorial Race - More on Chris Dudley & the Environment; see question ten on Snake/Columbia dams (Oregonian, Portland)

http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2010/09/more_on_chris_dudley_and_the_e.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Fish in Southern Hood Canal Get More Room to Breathe (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/sep/22/fish-southern-hood-canal-get-more-room-breathe/

Dam Makeovers: Boosting Power & Fish Survival Through Cutting-Edge Turbines (Renewable Energy World)

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/09/dam-makeovers-boosting-power-and-fish-survival-through-cutting-edge-turbines

Environmentalists Challenge Chetko River Gravel Mining in Oregon (Courthouse News Service)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/09/22/30513.htm

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Feds Release Yakima Groundwater Study (Associated Press)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/09/22/1179100/water-wars-feds-release-yakima.html

Bonneville Power Administration Easement Will Help Trappist Abbey Conserve Oregon Forest, Rare Habitat (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/09/bonneville_power_administratio.html

North Dakota - As Lake Swells, Worries Deepen: Government has no idea how to turn back the tide (Associated Press)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/sep/23/as-lake-swells-worries-deepen/

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Clallam County Planning Commission OKs Permits for Nippon Biomass Cogeneration Plant (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100923/news/309239987/planning-commission-oks-permits-for-nippon-biomass-cogeneration-plant

Wood Power - Proposed ADAGE Plant Faces Determination of Significance (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/3333-proposed-adage-plant-faces-determination-of-significance

Informational Meeting on Simpson Co-Gen Project Thursday Night (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/3317-informational-meeting-on-simpson-co-gen-project-thursday-night

Bonneville Power Administration: Breaking Out of a Wind Ghetto (NY Times)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/breaking-out-of-a-wind-ghetto/

Bonneville Power Administration’s Pilot Project Seeks to Put More Clean Energy on the Grid (PR Newswire)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Pilot-Project-Seeks-to-Put-bw-4176857315.html?x=0&.v=1

Portland General Electric Asks to Sidestep Public Bidding to Build 68,000 Acre Oregon Wind Farm (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/09/portland_gas_electric_is_attem.html

Renewable Standard - Democrats Warm to Last-Ditch Energy Push (Politico)

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42581.html

California Bioenergy Bill Killed (Biomass Magazine)

http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=4101

Got Wood? A Case for Promoting Biomass (Renewable Energy World)

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/podcast/2010/09/wood-is-good

Vancouver, BC - Grouse Mountain Wind Turbine Hooked Up (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/09/22/bc-eye-of-the-wind.html

Britain Flicks Switch on World’s Biggest Offshore Wind Farm (Cable News Network)

http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/23/britain-flicks-switch-on-worlds-biggest-offshore-wind-farm/

Tidal & Wave Energy - Do Magnetic Fields from Aquatic Power Sources Affect Animals? (Red Orbit)

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1919503/do_magnetic_fields_from_aquatic_power_sources_affect_animals/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Alaska - Utilities Call on Residents to Conserve for an Evening (Anchorage Daily News, AK)

http://www.adn.com/2010/09/22/1467406/utilities-call-on-residents-to.html

Who Will Become the Masters of the ‘Smart Grid’? (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/09/23/23climatewire-who-will-become-the-masters-of-the-smart-grid-4691.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Retreat of Glaciers Could Affect Cities in British Columbia & Western Canada (Vancouver Sun, BC)

http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/Retreat+glaciers+could+affect+cities+Western+Canada/3563985/story.html

Signs of Climate Change Fail to Shift Political Landscape (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092302599.html

Sudden Sea Surface Temperature Drops Explain 1970’s Cooling (USA Today)

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2010/09/sudden-sea-surface-temperature-drops-explain-70s-cooling/

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Puget Sound Energy Ready to Support Deployment of Electric Vehicles (Electric Energy Online)

http://www.electricenergyonline.com/?page=show_news&rss=1&id=140517

Can Space Reflectors Save Us? Why We Shouldn’t Buy into Geoengineering Fantasies (Slate Magazine)

http://www.slate.com/id/2268034/

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FCC Opens Up Unused TV Signals for Broadband (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012975922_apustecfccsuperwifi.html

Network Neutrality Is Dead - AT&T wins. Again (Broadband Reports)

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Network-Neutrality-Is-Dead-110516

Nine States Have OK’d Qwest-CenturyLink Merger; 12 States, FCC to Go (Denver Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2010/09/20/daily41.html

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

California – Ringleader for City of Bell Pay Scandal Has Washington Ties (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=368755

Oregon’s PERS Rates Expected to More Than Double for Public Agencies (Associated Press)

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2010/09/pers_rates_expected_to_more_than_double_for_public_agencies.html

Recalls Become a Hazard for Mayors (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/us/23recall.html

GENERAL NEWS

Washington State Lifts Burn Ban on Lands It Protects (Associated Press)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/22/1351478/olympia-state-lifts-burn-ban-on.html

State Supreme Court Says WA Ban on Internet Gambling Constitutional (Associated Press)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/sep/23/court-wa-ban-internet-gambling-constitutional/

Harvest Moon on Fall Equinox Won’t be Seen Again Until 2029 (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0923/Harvest-moon-on-fall-equinox-won-t-be-seen-again-until-2029

Rare Meteorite Discovered in Rural Southern Oregon (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2010/09/it_came_from_outer_space_rare_meteorite_discovered_in_oregon.html

DIVERSIONS

Salon Charges Men More for Pedicures, Lawyer Says

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/09/22/30512.htm

Children’s Pocket Money Falls to 7-Year Low

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68J3G120100920

Dog’s Long Tongue Sets World Record (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.kirotv.com/news/25128702/detail.html

Montana - Zucchini handy for fending off bear attack

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/sep/23/zucchini-handy-fending-bear-attack/

SONG OF THE DAY

Edgar Winter Group - Free Ride

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWpND8GhBuU