The Energy News Digest: 03/30/10

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Energy News Digest for March 30, 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)

· Wind Generates Eastern Washington/Idaho Problems

· Southern Montana Electric Cooperative Critics Get Some Answers about Power Costs

· Oregon - Bonneville Power to Replace Transmission Line between Bandon & Gold Beach

· Colorado House Passes Bill to Spur Utilities to Switch from Coal to Gas

· Colorado Gas-Coal Fight Could Preview National Battle

· Oregon – City of Dalles Eyes Increased Franchise Fees: Budget shortfall in the city’s street fund may ultimately lead to a hike in local electrical rates

· San Jose Mercury News Op/Ed - Two-Thirds Vote Should be Needed to Let Government Start a Utility

· Lawrence to Become First City in Kansas to Get Smart Electricity Meters

· Zanesville Times-Recorder Op/Ed - Electric Utility Industry is Heading into a ‘Perfect Storm’

· Atlantic City Electric Urges Customers to be Safe This Spring

Canada

- Warm Water Partly Cause of Fraser River Salmon Decline, Study Finds

· Gill-Netting on Lower Columbia River is on for Tuesday; Sport Fishing Closed

Canada

- Calls to Save BC Salmon from Across the Pond

· Electric Power Research Institute Seeks Test Site for Fish Friendly Hydropower Turbine

· Campaign Launched Against Nestle Waters Proposed Cascade Locks Plant

· Groups Say They Intend to Sue over Sage Grouse

· Part of PUD 3 Tree Program - Mason County Conservation District & Shelton High Students Enhance Oakland Bay Shoreline Habitat

· Trash Bound for Mainland Keeps Piling Up in Hawaii

· Montana - Region Continues Move toward Wind Development

· Small Wind Group Begins Site Assessor Training

· California - ‘Free Solar’ Scam: Sunnyvale Man Sentenced to Eight Months in Jail

· California - Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative Opens New Cogeneration Power Plant

· Ohio - Benefits, Peril Seen in Energy Transition

· Electric Tankless Water Heater Manufacturers Form Coalition

· Can Carbon ‘Cap & Trade’ Make a Comeback?

· EPA Phases in Permits for Greenhouse Gas Pollution

· EPA Delays Plants’ Pollution Permits

· Among Weathercasters, Doubt on Warming

· Professor Criticized for Climate Change Work Says Research Holds Up

· Energy Secretary Steven Chu on the Nation’s Energy Future

· Public to Get Look at Simpson Tacoma Community ‘Footprint’

· Coal Fuels Much of Internet “Cloud”, Says Greenpeace

· “Judge Not, That Ye be Judged…” Greenpeace Loses Round Two in Tiff with Facebook

· Nissan Prices Its First Electric Car at Roughly $25K

· Pearl Jam Giving $210,000 to Offset Carbon Emissions

· The Press Realizes the FiOS Party is Over

Sweden

Predicts the Future of Broadband & It May Scare You

· Parts of Cleveland Getting 1 Gbps, for Free

· Maine Rejects Radiation Warning Labels on Cell Phones

· More Than $34,000 Poorer, Puyallup Goes Back to Free Parking

· Recession Creating More Washington State Highway Projects This Season

· Cause of Simpson’s Shelton Waterfront Fire Likely from “Hot Work”

· Worker Killed in Port Angeles Conveyor Accident

· Home Being Washed Away on Washington Coast

· Storm Damage 2010: States Ring Up the Cost

· Lt. Governor Talks about Underage Drinking at Shelton Town Hall Meeting

· Moses Lake Officials Hopeful about BMW Announcement

· Nine Charged With Bullying Teen Who Killed Herself

· Chinese Court Hands Down Stiff Sentences to Four Mining Company Employees

· Washington Post Poll: Majority Support Cutting Saturday Mail

WORD OF THE DAY

Fecund • \FECK-und\ • adjective - 1: fruitful in offspring or vegetation: prolific

2: intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree

Barty’s fevered, fecund mind was in overdrive. He was the workhorse in the Menlo Park facility headed by the famed Thomas Edison. Unfortunately for Barty, he was never given the really BIG projects. He normally got assignments like, come up with an idea for “strike anywhere matches,” or a way to keep maple syrup from running down the outside of the jug. “What I don’t do in flashy inventions,” he was wont to say, “I make up for in quantity!”

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

Wind Generates Eastern Washington/Idaho Problems - Area socked with gusts that down power lines (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/mar/30/wind-generates-problems/

Southern Montana Electric Cooperative Critics Get Some Answers about Power Costs (Billings Gazette, MT)

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_57bc1178-3bbe-11df-8c33-001cc4c002e0.html

Oregon - Bonneville Power to Replace Transmission Line between Bandon & Gold Beach (Bandon World, OR)

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2010/03/30/news/doc4bb0da4be3cd6644558610.txt

Colorado House Passes Bill to Spur Utilities to Switch from Coal to Gas (SNL Financial)

http://www.snl.com/Interactivex/article.aspx?CdId=A-10939346-10292

Colorado Gas-Coal Fight Could Preview National Battle (KOAA-TV, Colorado Springs, CO)

http://www.newsfirst5.com/news/colorado-gas-coal-fight-could-preview-national-battle/

Oregon – City of Dalles Eyes Increased Franchise Fees: Budget shortfall in the city’s street fund may ultimately lead to a hike in local electrical rates (Dalles Chronicle, OR)

http://www.thedalleschronicle.com/news/2010/03/news03-28-10-02.shtml

San Jose Mercury News Op/Ed - Two-Thirds Vote Should be Needed to Let Government Start a Utility

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_14765813

Lawrence to Become First City in Kansas to Get Smart Electricity Meters (Lawrence Journal-World)

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/mar/30/lawrence-become-first-city-kansas-get-smart-electr/?city_local

Zanesville Times-Recorder Op/Ed - Electric Utility Industry is Heading into a ‘Perfect Storm’

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/article/20100328/OPINION03/3280348/1014/OPINION

Atlantic City Electric Urges Customers to be Safe This Spring - Steer clear of overhead & underground utility lines (Electric Energy Online)

http://www.electricenergyonline.com/?page=show_news&rss=1&id=130509

FISH & WATER

Canada

- Warm Water Partly Cause of Fraser River Salmon Decline, Study Finds (Globe & Mail)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/warm-water-partly-cause-of-salmon-decline-study-finds/article1516741/

Gill-Netting on Lower Columbia River is on for Tuesday; Sport Fishing Closed (The Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/bill_monroe/index.ssf/2010/03/gill-netting_on_lower_columbia_1.html

Canada

- Calls to Save BC Salmon from Across the Pond (Globe & Mail)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/calls-to-save-salmon-from-across-the-pond/article1515880/

Electric Power Research Institute Seeks Test Site for Fish Friendly Hydropower Turbine (Renewable Energy World)

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/03/electric-power-research-institute-seeks-test-site-for-fish-friendly-hydropower-turbine?cmpid=rss

Campaign Launched Against Nestle Waters Proposed Cascade Locks Plant (The Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/03/campaign_launched_against_nest.html

ECOLOGY & THE ENVIRONMENT

Groups Say They Intend to Sue over Sage Grouse (Associated Press)

http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=12223061

Part of PUD 3 Tree Program - Mason County Conservation District & Shelton High Students Enhance Oakland Bay Shoreline Habitat (Mason County PUD No. 3)

http://www.masonpud3.org/newsdisplay.aspx?newsid=701

Trash Bound for Mainland Keeps Piling Up in Hawaii (Associated Press)

http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=12221912

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Montana - Region Continues Move toward Wind Development (Great Falls Tribune, MT)

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20100328/REPOSITORY/3290320

Small Wind Group Begins Site Assessor Training (The Columbian, Vancouver, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/mar/30/small-wind-group-begins-site-assessor-training/

California - ‘Free Solar’ Scam: Sunnyvale Man Sentenced to Eight Months in Jail

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14779545

California - Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative Opens New Cogeneration Power Plant (Lassen County News, CA)

http://www.lassennews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5766:psrec-opens-new-cogeneration-power-plant&catid=2:lassencountynewsheadline&Itemid=1

Ohio - Benefits, Peril Seen in Energy Transition (Toledo Blade, OH)

http://www.toledoblade.com/article/20100327/NEWS16/3270366/-1/RSS

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Electric Tankless Water Heater Manufacturers Form Coalition to Achieve ENERGY STAR® Certification (Business Wire)

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100329006648&newsLang=en

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Can Carbon ‘Cap & Trade’ Make a Comeback? The recession has dampened enthusiasm for cap-&-trade legislation (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Green-Economics/2010/0329/Can-carbon-cap-and-trade-make-a-comeback

EPA Phases in Permits for Greenhouse Gas Pollution (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62S4JT20100329

EPA Delays Plants’ Pollution Permits (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/science/earth/30emissions.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Among Weathercasters, Doubt on Warming (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/science/earth/30warming.html?th&emc=th

Professor Criticized for Climate Change Work Says Research Holds Up, but There are Questions (Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/03/30/1135437/professor-criticized-for-climate.html

Energy Secretary Steven Chu on the Nation’s Energy Future (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/AR2010032901892.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Public to Get Look at Simpson Tacoma Community ‘Footprint’ (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/30/1128603/tacoma-public-to-get-look-at-simpson.html

Coal Fuels Much of Internet “Cloud”, Says Greenpeace (Reuters)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100330/wr_nm/us_climate_internet

“Judge Not, That Ye be Judged…” Greenpeace Loses Round Two in Tiff with Facebook (Reuters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS101997167220100309

Nissan Prices Its First Electric Car at Roughly $25K (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/30/AR2010033001693.html?nav=rss_email/components

Pearl Jam Giving $210,000 to Offset Carbon Emissions (KOMO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/89435157.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

The Press Realizes the FiOS Party is Over - But doesn’t quite see the bigger picture yet (Broadband Reports)

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/The-Press-Realizes-The-FiOS-Party-Is-Over-107639

Sweden

Predicts the Future of Broadband & It May Scare You (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2010/03/29/sweden-predicts-the-future-of-broadband-and-it-may-scare-you/

Parts of Cleveland Getting 1 Gbps, for Free (Broadband Reports)

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Parts-Of-Cleveland-Getting-1-Gbps-For-Free-107623

Maine Rejects Radiation Warning Labels on Cell Phones (Broadband Reports)

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Maine-Rejects-Radiation-Warning-Labels-on-Cell-Phones-107631

GOVERNANCE

More Than $34,000 Poorer, Puyallup Goes Back to Free Parking - ‘No real benefit’: City Council votes to end deal with company that managed garage (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/30/1128601/more-than-34000-poorer-puyallup.html

GENERAL NEWS

Recession Creating More Washington State Highway Projects This Season (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Recession-actually-creating-more-WA-highway-projects.html

Cause of Simpson’s Shelton Waterfront Fire Likely from “Hot Work”; Repairs Underway (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/1742-cause-of-simpson-fire-likely-from-hot-work-repairs-underway

Worker Killed in Port Angeles Conveyor Accident (Associated Press)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/03/30/1189552/worker-killed-in-port-angeles.html

Home Being Washed Away on Washington Coast (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.kirotv.com/news/22994258/detail.html

Storm Damage 2010: States Ring Up the Cost (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0329/Storm-damage-2010-States-ring-up-the-cost