Energy News Digest for February 5, 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.

To subscribe, email jmyer@masonpud3.org

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

•  PUD 3 Restores Electricity to Mt View Area of Shelton

•  Editorial - Nuclear Energy Talk Meaningless Without Commitment to Managing Waste

•  New California Power Plant Gets Greenhouse Gas Limits

•  Issue of Burying Power Lines Resurface As Electricity Trickles Back on in Southwest Oklahoma

•  When Windmills Don’t Spin, People Expect Some Answers

•  Texas - Reliant Energy Launches New Seasonal Rate

•  Business Customers Rate SMUD As Best Midsize Utility in the West

•  Steelhead Surge into Grand Ronde River

•  Steelhead Fishing Still Good on the Methow, Okanogan

•  Morse Creek fish crib nears completion as preparations continue for removal of Elwha, Glines Canyon dams

•  Groundbreaking for New Elwha Fish Hatchery

•  Mt. St. Helens Still 'Death Valley' for Wildlife 30 Years Later

•  Lawmakers Ask Corps for Prompt Green River Dam Fix

•  Plan Would Put Waste to Work - Shelton Biomass Facility Proposed to Turn Wood into Energy

•  ADAGE & John Deere Announce Biopower Alliance Beginning with Proposed Site in Mason County

•  Proposed Shelton Power Plant - Mining Washington's logging debris for green jobs

•  Bioenergy Plant Announced for Shelton, WA

•  Zillah Dairyman at Odds With Pacific Power over Manure Digester

•  Washington Post Editorial - Interior Secretary Should Allow Wind Farm to Proceed

•  Wind Power Growth Limited by Radar Conflicts

•  3TIER Releases Wind Performance Maps

•  Northeast Neighborhood Taps Hot Energy Plan

•  Study Shows Renewable Energy Means Jobs for North Dakota

•  Millions flowing to Cash for Caulkers

•  APOGEE Interactive Helps Georgia Schools Surpass 20 Percent Energy Savings

•  Carbon Credit Scam Threatens New Zealand Firms

•  GOP Lawmakers Seek to Suspend California Climate Law

•  Oregon - EPA Calls Philomath a 'Green Power' Spot

•  U.S. Scientists Given Access to Cloud Computing

•  Got a Need for Internet Speed? Move to Vancouver

•  Search on for Armed Shelton Espresso Stand Robber

•  Judge Rules State Not Fulfilling Duty to Provide Education

•  Auditor Finds Mason County Has Inadequate Controls Over Inter-Fund Loans

•  Fuel-Efficient Cars Affecting Washington Gas Tax

•  WA Environmentalists & Oil Companies Set to Battle Over Tax

•  Congress - Cloud Will Challenge Dicks for Fourth Time

•  Advisor to Seattle Mayor Resigns, Admits He Lied About Ph.D.

WORD OF THE DAY

Idiom • \IDD-ee-um\ • noun – The language peculiar to a people or to a district, community, or class: dialect b: the syntactical, grammatical, or structural form peculiar to a language.

A style or form of artistic expression that is characteristic of an individual, a period or movement, or a medium or instrument.

“…Now, as I was meeting at the RTF, talking about CFL’s and concerns about BPA and the DOE from the PPC, ICNU, NWPPA, WPUDA, and PNGC, and……” the power manager’s presentation trailed off in his staff meeting to a dull buzz, his idioms floating away in the breeze, as the public information officer started to ponder his lunch plans….

WEATHER

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

PUD 3 Restores Electricity to Mt View Area of Shelton (Mason County PUD No. 3)

http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?newsid=675

Daily News Editorial - Nuclear Energy Talk Meaningless Without Commitment to Managing Waste

http://tdn.com/news/opinion/article_af2fc74c-11e8-11df-8192-001cc4c03286.html

New California Power Plant Gets Greenhouse Gas Limits (Associated Press)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/04/state/n115924S78.DTL

Issue of Burying Power Lines Resurface As Electricity Trickles Back on in Southwest Oklahoma (Associated Press)

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-ok-okla-storm,0,4859369.story

When Windmills Don’t Spin, People Expect Some Answers (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/science/earth/05cold.html

Texas - Reliant Energy Launches New Seasonal Rate Plan (Electric Energy Online)

http://www.electricenergyonline.com/?page=show_news&rss=1&id=127015

Business Customers Rate SMUD As Best Midsize Utility in the West (Sacramento Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2010/02/01/daily59.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Steelhead Surge into Grand Ronde River - Recent spring-like conditions perfect for anglers (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/feb/05/steelhead-surge-grand-ronde-river/

Steelhead Fishing Still Good on the Methow, Okanogan

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/feb/05/steelhead-fishing-still-good-on-the-methow/

Morse Creek fish crib nears completion as preparations continue for removal of Elwha, Glines Canyon dams (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100205/NEWS/302059993

Groundbreaking for New Elwha Fish Hatchery (KONP Radio, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.konp.com/local/5492

Mt. St. Helens Still 'Death Valley' for Wildlife 30 Years Later (KGW-TV, Portland, OR)

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/Mt-St-Helens-Death-Valley-83597652.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Lawmakers Ask Corps for Prompt Green River Dam Fix (Associated Press)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_green_river_flooding.html?source=pimail

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Plan Would Put Waste to Work - Shelton Biomass Facility Proposed to Turn Wood into Energy (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/business/story/1126936.html

ADAGE & John Deere Announce Biopower Alliance Beginning with Proposed Site in Mason County (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1278:adage-a-john-deere-announce-biopower-alliance-beginning-with-proposed-site-in-mason-county&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

Proposed Shelton Power Plant - Mining Washington's logging debris for green jobs (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Mining-Our-Forests--83567707.html

Bioenergy Plant Announced for Shelton, WA (NW Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=6787

Zillah Dairyman at Odds With Pacific Power over Manure Digester (Yakima Herald Republic, WA)

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/02/04/02-05-10-digester-dl

Washington Post Editorial - Interior Secretary Should Allow Wind Farm to Proceed

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020404422.html?nav=rss_opinions

Wind Power Growth Limited by Radar Conflicts (CNET News)

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10447450-54.html

3TIER Releases Wind Performance Maps - Maps illustrate impact of El Niño in 2009 (Renewable Energy World)

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/3tier/news/article/2010/02/3tier-releases-wind-performance-maps?cmpid=rss

Northeast Neighborhood Taps Hot Energy Plan - Neighbors push for greater use of solar electricity in homes (Portland Tribune, OR)

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=126523588273803100&utm_source=AllTodaysNewsRSS

Study Shows Renewable Energy Means Jobs for North Dakota (Minot Daily News, ND)

http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/536359.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Millions flowing to Cash for Caulkers - Local residents line up for jobs, but some question the costs (Portland Tribune, OR)

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=126523586216985100&utm_source=AllTodaysNewsRSS

APOGEE Interactive Helps Georgia Schools Surpass 20 Percent Energy Savings (PR Newswire)

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/apogee-interactive-helps-georgia-schools-surpass-20-percent-energy-savings-83498982.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Carbon Credit Scam Threatens New Zealand Firms (Stuff – New Zealand)

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/3299006/Carbon-credit-scam-threatens-NZ-firms

GOP Lawmakers Seek to Suspend California Climate Law (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2010986276_apuscaliforniaclimatelaw.html?syndication=rss

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Oregon - EPA Calls Philomath a 'Green Power' Spot (Corvallis Gazette Times)

http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_2b0dcea6-11dd-11df-8b98-001cc4c002e0.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

U.S. Scientists Given Access to Cloud Computing

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/science/05cloud.html

Got a Need for Internet Speed? Move to Vancouver (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2010/02/04/got-a-need-for-internet-speed-move-to-vancouver/

GENERAL NEWS

Search on for Armed Shelton Espresso Stand Robber (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/83609822.html

Judge Rules State Not Fulfilling Duty to Provide Education (Associated Press)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/feb/05/education-funding-chided/

Auditor Finds Mason County Has Inadequate Controls Over Inter-Fund Loans (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1277:auditor-finds-mason-county-has-inadequate-controls-over-inter-fund-loans&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50

Fuel-Efficient Cars Affecting Washington Gas Tax (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_gas_tax_efficiency.html?source=pimail

WA Environmentalists & Oil Companies Set to Battle Over Tax (NW Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=6789

Congress - Cloud Will Challenge Dicks for Fourth Time (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/government/story/1057582.html

Advisor to Seattle Mayor Resigns, Admits He Lied About Ph.D. (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010986793_bushnell05m.html?syndication=rss

DIVERSIONS

California Politics - 'Demon Sheep' Ad May Be Bad Move, Experts Say

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/05/MNQA1BSNJG.DTL

Rhode Island Man Charged With Operating on His Own Dog

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010991247_apusillegaldogsurgery.html?syndication=rss

Plane Door Falls on Mall Parking Lot

http://www.kirotv.com/news/22476154/detail.html

Car Dealer Caught Taking 150 MPH Test Drive

http://www.kirotv.com/news/22463819/detail.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Harry Nilsson - Everybody's Talkin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AzEY6ZqkuE