The Energy News Digest: 06/15/10

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Energy News Digest for June 15, 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

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Pacific Power Wants 21 Percent Rate Hike – After 100^th Birthday Party! (Yakima Herald Republic, WA)

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/06/14/pacific-power-wants-21-percent-rate-hike

Feds Award Governor Replacement Contract at Grand Coulee (Water Power Magazine)

http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=130&storyCode=2056632

Envelopes with White Powder Sent to Fed Buildings (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012118484_apuswhitepowderincidents5thldwritethru.html?syndication=rss

Methow Valley Irrigators Fined for Diverting Too Much Water (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/jun/15/irrigators-fined-for-diverting-too-much-water/

Contract to Demolish Old Shelton Wastewater Treatment Plant Awarded (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/2427-contract-to-demolish-old-treatment-plant-awarded

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

· Pacific Power Wants 21 Percent Rate Hike – After 100^th Birthday Party!

· Feds Award Governor Replacement Contract at Grand Coulee

· Energy Department Official Visits Hanford Project

· Bill Gates-Backed Nuclear Startup TerraPower Piles on Investors

· N. Carolina - Rod Problem Shuts Duke Energy Nuclear Unit at McGuire Plant

· Editorial – Yucca Mountain: Nuclear Wasteland

· Electrical Arc from Substation May Have Caused Utah Oil Spill

· Tennessee Valley Authority Hit With $11.5M Penalty for 2008 Coal Ash Spill

· California State Sen. Mark Leno Takes Aim at Pacific Gas & Electric for Bankrolling Prop. 16

· Pickens Pushes Natural Gas after Oil Spill

· Gas Rally Boosts Coal’s Allure for Power Plants: Energy Markets

· Shale Gas for Greener Energy on Obama’s Radar

· Siemens signs Natural Gas turbine deal with Florida Power & Light

· New Texas Rule Aims to Reduce the Pain of Power Outages

· Alabama - Power Company’s Tree Cutting Angers Tuscaloosa Residents

· Fun with Fishes at the Refuge - Scientist-author details history of interaction between man, fish in Columbia River basin

· Methow Valley Irrigators Fined for Diverting Too Much Water

· Editorial - Complex Water Rights Issues Smooth out When Cooperation Is Involved

· Phoenicians Sue Arizona for Clean Air

· Texas Asks Court to Intervene in Fight with EPA over Emissions

· Roseburg Timber CEO: Lots of Ups & Downs in Industry over Next Year – Biomass!

· Op/Ed – Montana: Time Is Right for Clean Energy Act

· Is Texas Backing Away from a Hill Country Wind Transmission Line?

· Wesley Clark: Renewable Energy in Need of More Support

· Ohio - Toledo Reinvents Itself as a Solar-Power Innovator

· Europe’s New Wind Power Rivals Gas

· Belkin Gear Makes Electronics Smarter About Power

· Scientists Develop Method to Detect, Track Carbon Dioxide

· Participants in Climate Reviews Suggest Changes

· Op/Ed - Don’t Believe the ‘Green Jobs’ Hype

· Electric Cars - Tesla Raises IPO Goal to $178 Million

· Highest Gas Mileage? List Shows Today’s Cars Can’t Match Old Ones

· U.S. Broadband Is Big but It Needs to be Better

· Sprint to More Tightly Restrict Roaming Laptop Data Users

· The Green File: No Shortage of Candidates This Year

· Contract to Demolish Old Shelton Wastewater Treatment Plant Awarded

· Shelton Extends Sewer Hook-Up Moratorium Six More Months

· Envelopes with White Powder Sent to Fed Buildings

· Forecast for Newspaper Revenue Points Lower

WORD OF THE DAY

Polyonymous • \pah-lee-AH-nuh-mus\ • adjective - Having or known by various names

Bill Saluga was known for about the length of a sneeze as the polyonymous Raymond J. Johnson Jr. If you called him Johnson, he was funny only once…and one time only…with the following bit:

“…Ahh, ya doesn’t has to call me Johnson! You can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or you can call me Johnny or you can call me Sonny, or you can call me RayJay, or you can call me RJ... but ya doesn’t hafta call me Johnson…”

For the strong of stomach, here’s the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoYsfbq3vMc

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

Pacific Power Wants 21 Percent Rate Hike – After 100^th Birthday Party! (Yakima Herald Republic, WA)

http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/06/14/pacific-power-wants-21-percent-rate-hike

Feds Award Governor Replacement Contract at Grand Coulee (Water Power Magazine)

http://www.waterpowermagazine.com/story.asp?sectioncode=130&storyCode=2056632

Energy Department Official Visits Hanford Project (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012117134_apwahanfordwasteplant.html?syndication=rss

Bill Gates-Backed Nuclear Startup TerraPower Piles on Investors (Earth2Tech)

http://earth2tech.com/2010/06/14/bill-gates-backed-nuclear-startup-terrapower-piles-on-investors/

N. Carolina - Rod Problem Shuts Duke Energy Nuclear Unit at McGuire Plant (Charlotte Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2010/06/14/daily10.html

Editorial – Yucca Mountain: Nuclear Wasteland (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/13/AR2010061304143.html?nav=rss_opinions

Electrical Arc May Have Caused Utah Oil Spill - Breached section of pipe lies underground, inches away from a metal fence post outside an electrical substation (Associated Press)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/15/BU1U1DV1A7.DTL&feed=rss.news

Tennessee Valley Authority Hit With $11.5M Penalty for 2008 Coal Ash Spill (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012117047_apuscoalashfine.html?syndication=rss

California State Sen. Mark Leno Takes Aim at Pacific Gas & Electric for Bankrolling Prop. 16 (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_15296152

Pickens Pushes Natural Gas after Oil Spill (Dallas Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2010/06/14/daily13.html

Gas Rally Boosts Coal’s Allure for Power Plants: Energy Markets (Bloomberg Businessweek)

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-14/gas-rally-boosts-coal-s-allure-for-power-plants-energy-markets.html

Shale Gas for Greener Energy on Obama’s Radar (SF Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/15/BUEC1DTESV.DTL&feed=rss.news

Siemens signs Natural Gas turbine deal with Florida Power & Light - Six gas turbine-generators for next-generation clean energy centers (Orlando Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2010/06/14/daily7.html

New Texas Rule Aims to Reduce the Pain of Power Outages - New rule requires electric utilities to file detailed plans for dealing with severe weather (Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX)

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06/14/2264611/new-texas-rule-aims-to-reduce.html

Alabama - Power Company’s Tree Cutting Angers Tuscaloosa Residents (Tuscaloosa News, AL)

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100614/NEWS/100619813/1007?Title=Power-company-s-tree-cutting-angers-residents&tc=ar

FISH & WILDLIFE

Fun with Fishes at the Refuge - Scientist-author details history of interaction between man, fish in Columbia River basin (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jun/14/fun-with-fishes-at-the-refuge/

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Methow Valley Irrigators Fined for Diverting Too Much Water (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/jun/15/irrigators-fined-for-diverting-too-much-water/

Editorial - Complex Water Rights Issues Smooth out When Cooperation Is Involved (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/06/15/1272415/complex-water-rights-issues-smooth.html

Phoenicians Sue Arizona for Clean Air (Courthouse News Service)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/06/15/28084.htm

Texas Asks Court to Intervene in Fight with EPA over Emissions (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012118084_aptxepavstexas.html?syndication=rss

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Roseburg Timber CEO: Lots of Ups & Downs in Industry over Next Year “…Roseburg Forest Products is workings towards more biomass opportunities, through the upgrade of its existing Dillard biomass facilities…” (KMTR-TV, Springfield, OR)

http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/Roseburg-Timber-CEO-lots-of-ups-downs-in-industry/CMHIlr8ALE6ODEKLCuTqQA.cspx

Op/Ed – Montana: Time Is Right for Clean Energy Act (Helena Independent Record, MT)

http://helenair.com/news/article_66aad200-7845-11df-9d1c-001cc4c03286.html

Is Texas Backing Away from a Hill Country Wind Transmission Line? (Austin Statesman, TX)

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/green/entries/2010/06/14/is_texas_backing_away_from_a_h.html?cxntfid=blogs_salsa_verde

Wesley Clark: Renewable Energy in Need of More Support (Bismarck Tribune, ND)

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/local/article_75a6f79e-7830-11df-af09-001cc4c002e0.html

Ohio - Toledo Reinvents Itself as a Solar-Power Innovator (

USA

Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2010-06-15-toledo15_CV_N.htm?csp=34money

Europe’s New Wind Power Rivals Gas (NY Times)