The Energy News Digest: 03/08/10

Monday, March 8, 2010

Energy News Digest for March 8, 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)

· Feds Award Contract to Replace Grand Coulee Dam Equipment

· Oregon, South Santiam River – Foster Dam Repairs Almost Done

· Oregon - Mason Dam Turbine Work Continues

United Kingdom

- British Rivers Could Power 850,000 Homes

· Travails of Transmission - Idaho Power Still Likes Route near Trail Center

· Feds Look at Worker Fatigue in Connecticut Power Plant Blast

· Texas - Some Shocked by High Electric Bills Blame Oncor’s ‘Smart Meters’

· Mason PUD 3 - Power Line Replacement Project for Brewer Rd & Nordquist Rd

· New York - Taxes Make Electric Bill More Costly

· Electricity Still Relatively Cheap in the Plains

· Iowa - Energy Research Bill Would Let Utility Raise Rates

· Strong Forecast for Projected Salmon Return

· No Endangered Status for Plains Bird

· Energy Groups Relieved Sage Grouse Won’t be Listed

· Searching for Snail Survivors in Capitol Lake

· Mayor Daley: Chicago Shouldn’t Bear Full Cost of Asian Carp

· Growing Low-Oxygen Zones in Oceans Worry Scientists

· Olympic Peninsula Lawmaker’s Columbia River Gorge Bill Clears Its First Hurdle

· Precipitation & Dam Work Keep Lake Chelan Higher

· Pulling Gorst out of the Sewer...With Sewers

· New Policy - Army Corps of Engineers May Pull Thousands of Trees from Green River Levees

· Atlanta Case Raises Questions about Water Supply

· A Look at Reservoirs Used for Water Supply

· Grant PUD Squints at Solar-Hydro Idea

· Kootenai Electric Will Mine Landfill for Power

· Oregon - Horizon Trims Size of Proposed Wind Farm near Union

· Montana – US Senator Says Keep Stimulus Grants for Wind Projects in United States

· Wyoming Governor Signs Bills on Wind Energy

· It’s Man vs. Bird in Quest for Power

· Nebraska - Study Finds Wind Energy Costly to State

Canada

– National Post Editorial: Blowing Away Taxpayers with Wind power

· Setting Wind Power Records in Texas

· Making Solar Simpler

· Get Rebate for New Fridge, Clothes Washer

· Slow Start for Stimulus-Funded Weatherization Program

· Living Cold? Go Ductless

· National Broadband Plan Crucial for ‘Smart’ Power Grids

· Light Bulbs Power Venezuela out of Electricity Crisis

· The Heat over Bubbling Arctic Methane

· Exelon CEO Says Cap-And-Trade Key to US Energy Reform

· NoaNet Grant Beneficiaries - Grants help rural networks

· New Tax Exemptions (Including Data Centers) Gain Steam in Olympia

· Pierce County Wants Data Center Tax Break

· Oregon - Audits Finds Security Concerns at State Data Center

· What You Need to Know About the National Broadband Plan

· FCC to Propose Reforming Universal Service Fund

· Twitter Passes 10 Billion Tweets

· Google Grabs DocVerse, aka Google Docs for Microsoft Office

· Google Dangles Ultrafast Broadband & Cities Leap

· Cities Going Gaga over Google

· UTOPIA Applauds Support of Google Partnership Bid

· Asheville Google Fiber Network Initiative Works on Drawing Internet Giant to City

· Farmington Daily-Times Editorial - Yo Google: Count us in!

· Boston-Area Cities Race for Google’s Speedy Internet Plan

· Cold Front Could Bring Sprinkling of Snow to Western Wash

· Wash. Senate Passes $890 Million Tax Package

· Roads at Bargain Prices - Desperate bidders line up to win public projects

· Tim Sheldon Makes No Apologies for Dual Roles

· State Job No Gravy Train, Report Says

· Olympic College Receives Accreditation to Offer Four-Year Degrees

· Washington’s Troubled Banks List

· Utah Lawmakers Move to Seize Federal Land

WORD OF THE DAY

Flea Market • \FLEE – MAR-kett\ • noun – A usually open-air market for secondhand articles and antiques

Battling Word Origins:

Flea market comes from the French marché aux puces, a name originally given to a market in Paris. The fleas were thought to be in the goods, because they were of the kind to attract vermin. (Oxford Dictionary)

‘Flea market’ has been an American expression as far back as Dutch colonial days when there was a very real Vallie (Valley) Market at the valley, or foot, of Maiden Lane in Downtown Manhattan. The Vallie Market came to be abbreviated to ‘Vlie Market’ and this was soon being pronounced ‘Flea Market.’ (Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins)

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

Feds Award Contract to Replace Grand Coulee Dam Equipment (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/mar/06/feds-award-contract-to-replace-equipment/

Oregon, South Santiam River – Foster Dam Repairs Almost Done (Albany Democrat-Herald, OR)

http://www.democratherald.com/news/local/article_e2f66fb0-28b6-11df-b4b2-001cc4c002e0.html

Foster Dam (Wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster_Dam

Oregon - Mason Dam Turbine Work Continues - County officials hope to submit application for power-producing turbine by June 1 (Baker City Herald, OR)
http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Mason-Dam-turbine-work-continues

Baker Project – Mason Dam (Bureau of Reclamation)

http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Project.jsp?proj_Name=Baker%20Project

United Kingdom

- British Rivers Could Power 850,000 Homes; Rivers could be harnessed to generate electricity…with the building of up to 26,000 controversial hydropower turbines around the country (The Telegraph, UK)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/hydro_electricenergy/7384533/British-rivers-could-power-850000-homes.html

Travails of Transmission - Idaho Power Still Likes Route near Trail Center: Local residents criticize company for failing to make major changes to proposed route for transmission line (Baker City Herald, OR)

http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Ida-Power-still-likes-route-near-Trail-Center

Feds Look at Worker Fatigue in Connecticut Power Plant Blast (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2011274362_apuspowerplantexplosion.html?syndication=rss

Texas - Some Shocked by High Electric Bills Blame Oncor’s ‘Smart Meters’ (The Dallas Morning News, TX)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-smartmeters_06.met.ART.State.Edition2.4c4df9f.html

Mason PUD 3 - Power Line Replacement Project for Brewer Rd & Nordquist Rd (Mason County PUD No. 3)

http://www.masonpud3.org/Newsdisplay.aspx?NewsID=692

New York - Taxes Make Electric Bill More Costly “...state & local taxes account for more than a quarter of a typical New York customer’s electric bill…” (Buffalo News, NY)

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/03/07/979794/taxes-make-electric-bill-more.html

Electricity Still Relatively Cheap in the Plains (Associated Press)

http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12098556

Iowa - Energy Research Bill Would Let Utility Raise Rates (Des Moines Register, IA)

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100308/NEWS10/3080312/-1/ENT05/Energy-research-bill-would-let-utility-raise-rates

FISH & WILDLIFE

Strong Forecast for Projected Salmon Return (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/06/1098592/strong-forecast-for-projected.html

No Endangered Status for Plains Bird (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/science/earth/06grouse.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Energy Groups Relieved Sage Grouse Won’t be Listed (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011269171_apussagegrouse5thldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

Searching for Snail Survivors in Capitol Lake - State tests how well salt fights mud snail infestation (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/06/1162384/searching-for-survivors.html

Mayor Daley: Chicago Shouldn’t Bear Full Cost of Asian Carp (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0306/Mayor-Daley-Chicago-shouldn-t-bear-full-cost-of-Asian-carp

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Growing Low-Oxygen Zones in Oceans Worry Scientists - Particularly off the Pacific Northwest coast (McClatchy Newspapers)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100307/sc_mcclatchy/3444187

Olympic Peninsula Lawmaker’s Columbia River Gorge Bill Clears Its First Hurdle (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100308/news/303089990

Precipitation & Dam Work Keep Lake Chelan Higher (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/mar/06/precipitation-dam-work-keeps-lake-chelan-higher/

Pulling Gorst out of the Sewer...With Sewers (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/mar/06/new-sewers-will-put-gorst-at-a-crossroads/?partner=RSS

New Policy - Army Corps of Engineers May Pull Thousands of Trees from Green River Levees (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/sound/416273_sound86357287.html?source=rss

Atlanta Case Raises Questions about Water Supply (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2011268533_apuswatersupplyreservoirs.html?syndication=rss

A Look at Reservoirs Used for Water Supply (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2011268806_apuswatersupplyreservoirslist.html?syndication=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Grant PUD Squints at Solar-Hydro Idea - Would be a co-investor in the project along with PUDs in Clallam, Lewis & Mason counties (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/mar/06/grant-pud-squints-at-solar-hydro-idea/

Kootenai Electric Will Mine Landfill for Power (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/mar/05/kootenai-electric-will-mine-landfill-power/

Oregon - Horizon Trims Size of Proposed Wind Farm near Union (The LaGrande Observer, OR)

http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/News/Local-News/Horizon-trims-size-of-proposed-wind-farm-near-Union

Montana – US Senator Says Keep Stimulus Grants for Wind Projects in United States (Great Falls Tribune, MT)

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20100306/NEWS01/3060303/1002/news01

Wyoming Governor Signs Bills on Wind Energy (Billings Gazette, MT)

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_2027d12c-28e3-11df-b99d-001cc4c002e0.html

It’s Man vs. Bird in Quest for Power - The sage grouse isn’t endangered right now, but the state’s plans for alternative energy may change that (Las Vegas Sun, NV)

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/mar/06/its-man-vs-bird-quest-power/

Nebraska - Study Finds Wind Energy Costly to State “…there is an extra 10 percent cost for the wind energy to the Nebraska utilities…” (Grand Island Independent, NE)

http://www.theindependent.com/articles/2010/03/06/news/ag/11530567.txt

Canada

– National Post Editorial: Blowing Away Taxpayers. Wind power is unreliable, expensive & doesn’t result in lower C02 emissions. Why is Ontario still rushing ahead with it?

http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2010/03/06/blowing-away-taxpayers.aspx

Setting Wind Power Records in Texas (NY Times)

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/setting-wind-power-records-in-texas/

Making Solar Simpler - Neighborhoods in Portland Team Up to Help People Save on Panels (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100307/BIZ/703079972/-1/RSS03

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Get Rebate for New Fridge, Clothes Washer (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/06/1098280/get-rebate-for-new-fridge-clothes.html

Slow Start for Stimulus-Funded Weatherization Program (KUOW Radio, Seattle)

http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=19640&utm_source=AllTodaysNewsRSS

Living Cold? Go Ductless (Yamhill Valley News-Register, McMinnville, OR)

http://www.newsregister.com/article/43528-living+cold+go+ductless

National Broadband Plan Crucial for ‘Smart’ Power Grids (Tech Daily)

http://www.technewsdaily.com/national-broadband-plan-crucial-for-smart-power-grids-0261/

Light Bulbs Power Venezuela out of Electricity Crisis (BBC)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8543469.stm

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

The Heat over Bubbling Arctic Methane (NY Times)

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/the-heat-over-bubbling-arctic-methane/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Exelon CEO Says Cap-And-Trade Key to US Energy Reform - Says pending EPA regs risk a “train wreck” (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0521837020100306?type=marketsNews

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

NoaNet Grant Beneficiaries - Grants help rural networks: Port of Whitman, CdA Tribe get funds for broadband (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/mar/06/grants-help-rural-networks/

New Tax Exemptions Gain Steam in Olympia - The biggest new loophole is a proposed 15-month sales tax exemption for data centers (Associated Press)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/mar/06/new-tax-exemptions-gain-steam-in-olympia/

Pierce County Wants Data Center Tax Break - Only rural counties in current bill (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/07/1099558/pierce-county-wants-data-center.html

Oregon - Audits Finds Security Concerns at State Data Center (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/6848-audits-finds-security-concerns-state-data-center/

What You Need to Know About the National Broadband Plan (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2010/03/07/national-broadband-plan-will-be-a-day-early-but-fall-short/

FCC to Propose Reforming Universal Service Fund (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2011265601_apustecfccuniversalservice.html?syndication=rss

Twitter Passes 10 Billion Tweets (San Francisco Business Times)

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/03/01/daily84.html

Google Grabs DocVerse, aka Google Docs for Microsoft Office (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2010/03/05/google-grabs-docverse-aka-google-docs-for-microsoft-office/

GOOGLE BANDWAGON

Google Dangles Ultrafast Broadband & Cities Leap (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2011266026_apustecwooinggoogle.html?syndication=rss

Cities Going Gaga over Google (Topeka Capitol-Journal, KS)

http://cjonline.com/news/local/2010-03-06/cities_going_gaga_over_google

UTOPIA Applauds Support of Google Partnership Bid (Business Wire)

http://in.sys-con.com/node/1309631

Asheville Google Fiber Network Initiative Works on Drawing Internet Giant to City (Asheville Citizen Times, NC)

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20100307/BUSINESS/303070035/1003/ARCHIVES

Farmington Daily-Times Editorial - Yo Google: Count us in!

http://www.daily-times.com/ci_14527586

Boston-Area Cities Race for Google’s Speedy Internet Plan (Boston Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2010/03/08/story4.html

GENERAL NEWS

Cold Front Could Bring Sprinkling of Snow to Western Wash. “…”I think the best shot to see anything in the way of lowland snow will be right along the Kitsap Peninsula & along Hood Canal…” (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Major-change-in-weather-pattern-could-bring-snow-to-W-Wash-86721667.html

Wash. Senate Passes $890 Million Tax Package (Associated Press)

http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=12101350

Roads at Bargain Prices - Desperate bidders line up to win public projects (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/07/1163368/roads-at-bargain-prices.html

Tim Sheldon Makes No Apologies for Dual Roles (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/mar/07/sheldon-makes-no-apologies-for-dual-roles/?partner=RSS

State Job No Gravy Train, Report Says - Trade-off: Benefits good, but private pay often higher, it says (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/08/1100751/state-job-no-gravy-train-report.html

Olympic College Receives Accreditation to Offer Four-Year Degrees (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/mar/05/olympic-college-receives-accreditation-to-offer/?partner=RSS

Washington’s Troubled Banks List (Puget Sound Business Journal)