The Energy News Digest: 06/24/10

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Energy News Digest for June 24, 2010

The energy news digest will be spending some special time Friday with old radio friends in Oregon. Read the headline now: “Vacuous Baritones Invade Seaside.”

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

High Court Sides With Enron's Skilling, Limits Anti-Fraud Law (

USA

Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2010-06-24-scotus-skilling_N.htm?csp=34money

Inspection Spurs Alarm About Lewis River Dams - Feds say there’s potential for catastrophic failure; PacifiCorp calls them safe (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jun/24/inspection-spurs-alarm-about-dams/

$525 Million Plan Aims To Protect Columbia, Snake River Fish (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/06/24/1239428/525-million-plan-aims-to-protect.html

Port of Shelton Commission Turns Down ADAGE Advisory Ballot (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/2504-port-of-shelton-commission-turns-down-adage-advisory-ballot

Environmental groups sue Puget Sound Regional Council – Says "Transportation 2040" plan fails to fight global warming (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012192606_climatesuit24m.html

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

· High Court Sides With Enron's Skilling, Limits Anti-Fraud Law

· Court Sides with Ex-Enron Exec, Rules on Washington State Gay Rights Case

· Skilling Ruling - Justices Limit Use of ‘Honest Services’ Law against Fraud

· Inspection Spurs Alarm About Lewis River Dams

· Editorial - How Much To Take This Power?

· Burying Power Lines May Cost City of Oak Harbor $2 Million

· Clark PUD Commissioners Set Special Meeting Friday - May sever long-standing membership with WPUDA

· $25M Veto Cuts into Alaska Clean Energy Plans

· Wyoming – Officials Say Energy Naïveté Threatens Coal

· California Utilities Relying More on Renewables

· CO2 Discharge Causes Alert at California Nuclear Plant

· Texas - NRG All-You-Can-Burn Electricity Plan A First for the Industry

· European & US Clean Energy Support under Threat

United Kingdom

- Surge in Hydropower Schemes Since 2000

· $525 Million Plan Aims To Protect Columbia, Snake River Fish

· Idaho Sockeye Running With Big Columbia Fish Surge

· Coho Ocean Season to Open Saturday

· State Settles With Shellfish Growers over Trespass

· Asian Carp Caught Near Lake Michigan: 'Carp Wars' Just Got Hotter

· Vancouver Island Sewage - CRD Approves Single Sewage Treatment Plant in Esquimalt

· Interactive Puget Sound Map – How Clean Is Your Water

· Port of Shelton Commission Turns Down ADAGE Advisory Ballot

· California – Modesto Irrigation District Wood-Burning Plant Questioned

· Colorado Expands Biomass under Renewable Portfolio Standard

· Michigan - Traverse City Tables Plans for Biomass Plant

· Environmental, Health Groups Back Alternative to Biomass Ballot Question

· Editorial – Wisconsin: Study Impact of Biomass

· Is Biomass Really A "Green" Energy Source?

· Radar Tracks Birds for Pacific County Wind Farm

· Alaska Utility Says Wind Farm Power Cheaper

· New Jersey Officials Say Off-Shore Windmills Will Cost Ratepayers $5 Billion

· California - California Alternative Energy Legislation Gets Broad Backing

· Idaho - Sun Shines on Micron Green Energy Venture

· Tennessee – Tennessee Valley Authority Reinstates Renewable Energy Program

· Is Timing Right For Washington Ballot Measure to "Green Up" Schools?

· Peak Project - Kootenai Electric Cooperative Hopes to Cool Peak Power Times

· Green Refrigerator Controller Helps Conserve Wasted Energy

· Sacramento Municipal Utility District Gets $20 Million for Home Energy Upgrades

· An LED That Mimics an Old Standby

· Environmental Groups Sue Puget Sound Regional Council

· Columnist - Environmental Groups Poised To Spend $11 Million on Climate Ads

· In Fertilizer, a Climatic Dividend

· Op/Ed - Smart Grid Technology Can Address Climate Change

· Biochar: A Panacea for Global Warming Issues

· Data Center to Open In Baker Tower

· Supreme Court Rules Petition Signatures Public; Ref. 71 Names Not Immediately Available

· Washington State Tenth in Attracting Stimulus Funds

· Gregoire Wants to Intervene in Health-Care Lawsuit

· Four-Year-Old Girl Dies in Car Accident near Shelton

· Wrong-Way Driver Killed on Highway 3 near Gorst

· Franklin County Fire District Chief Killed at Wildfire

· North Mason Gets New School Board Member

· Unauthorized Use of PBX Telephone Runs Over $40,000 in Two Days

· To Lawyers, BP's Public Relations Strategy Isn't Puzzling (Associated Press)

WORD OF THE DAY

Egress • \EE-gress\ • noun - 1: the action or right of going or coming out 2: a place or means of going out: exit

Here’s a great story about how that famous huckster, PT Barnum, put his egress to good use:

Barnum's American Museum was so popular that people would spend the entire day there. This cut into profits, as the museum would be too full to squeeze another person in. In classic Barnum style, old P.T. put up signs that said "This Way to the Egress." Many customers followed the signs, not realizing that Egress was a fancy word for "Exit." They kept on looking for this strange new attraction, the "Egress". Many patrons followed the signs right out the door! Once they had exited the building, the door would lock behind them, and if they wanted to get back in, they had to pay another admission charge! Modern museums make sure that the last thing you see before you exit is the gift shop.

-- PTBarnum.org

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

High Court Sides With Enron's Skilling, Limits Anti-Fraud Law (

USA

Today)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2010-06-24-scotus-skilling_N.htm?csp=34money

Court Sides with Ex-Enron Exec, Rules on Washington State Gay Rights Case (Nat’l Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128080781&ft=1&f=3

Skilling Ruling - Justices Limit Use of ‘Honest Services’ Law against Fraud (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/business/25bizcourt.html

Inspection Spurs Alarm About Lewis River Dams - Feds say there’s potential for catastrophic failure; PacifiCorp calls them safe (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jun/24/inspection-spurs-alarm-about-dams/

Editorial - How Much To Take This Power? Last week the region’s utilities had to pay people to take all this electricity off their hands (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/jun/23/how-much-to-take-this-power/

Burying Power Lines May Cost City of Oak Harbor $2 Million – “…If the downtown merchants believe an underground utility is that critical for their businesses, they should pay for it…” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/sound/422328_sound96998619.html

Clark PUD Commissioners Set Special Meeting Friday - May sever long-standing membership with WPUDA (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/jun/24/pud-commissioners-set-special-meeting-friday/

$25M Veto Cuts into Alaska Clean Energy Plans (Associated Press)

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=12691792

Wyoming – Officials Say Energy Naivete Threatens Coal (Casper Star-Tribune, WY)

http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_ef2f1c51-8a3b-5d62-adef-f080b2c4d057.html

California Utilities Relying More on Renewables (Bloomberg Business Week)

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9GH07M00.htm

CO2 Discharge Causes Alert at California Nuclear Plant (Associated Press)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/06/23/national/a140131D15.DTL

Texas - NRG All-You-Can-Burn Electricity Plan a First for the Industry (Dallas Morning News, TX)

http://energyandenvironmentblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/06/nrg-all-you-can-burn-electrici.html

European & US Clean Energy Support Under Threat - Austerity measures may lead to “green” support retreat (Reuters)

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE65K11Y20100621

United Kingdom

- Surge in Hydropower Schemes Since 2000: The growing popularity for converting old water mills & weirs back to producing electricity has led to a six fold increase in hydropower (The Telegraph,

)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7846732/Surge-in-hydropower-schemes-since-2000.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

$525 Million Plan Aims To Protect Columbia, Snake River Fish (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/06/24/1239428/525-million-plan-aims-to-protect.html

Idaho Sockeye Running With Big Columbia Fish Surge - Near record sockeye numbers crossing Bonneville (Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/jun/23/idaho-sockeye-numbers-cause-hope/

Coho Ocean Season to Open Saturday - Charter operators report brisk business for weekend (Salem Statesman-Journal, OR)

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100624/OUTDOORS/6240340/1034/SPORTS

State Settles With Shellfish Growers over Trespass - Taylor Shellfish, Seattle Shellfish, and Arcadia Point Seafood (Associated Press)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/06/23/1238463/state-settles-with-shellfish-growers.html

Asian Carp Caught Near Lake Michigan: 'Carp Wars' Just Got Hotter (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0624/Asian-carp-caught-near-Lake-Michigan-Carp-wars-just-got-hotter

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Vancouver Island Sewage - CRD Approves Single Sewage Treatment Plant in Esquimalt (Victoria Times Columnist, BC – as raw sewage continues to flow into the Strait; Calling Mr. Floatie…)

http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/approves+single+sewage+treatment+plant+Esquimalt/3192678/story.html

Interactive Puget Sound Map – How Clean Is Your Water (KPLU Radio, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1666870

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Port of Shelton Commission Turns Down ADAGE Advisory Ballot (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://masoncountydailynews.net/news/2504-port-of-shelton-commission-turns-down-adage-advisory-ballot

California – Modesto Irrigation District Wood-Burning Plant Questioned (Modesto Bee, CA)

http://www.modbee.com/2010/06/23/1223805/mid-wood-burning-plant-questioned.html

Colorado Expands Biomass under Renewable Portfolio Standard (Biomass Magazine)

http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=3917

Michigan - Traverse City Tables Plans for Biomass Plant - Opposition to biomass power and lowered costs for natural gas as the main reasons (Michigan Messenger)

http://michiganmessenger.com/39007/traverse-city-tables-plans-for-biomass-plant

Environmental, Health Groups Back Alternative to Biomass Ballot Question (Dedham Daily News Transcript, MA)

http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/news/x1353759614/Enviromental-health-groups-back-alternative-to-biomass-ballot-question

Editorial – Wisconsin: Study Impact of Biomass (Wausau Daily Herald, WI)

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20100624/WDH06/6240409/COLUMN-Study-impact-of-biomass

Is Biomass Really A "Green" Energy Source? (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/Green-Economics/2010/0624/Is-biomass-really-a-green-energy-source

Radar Tracks Birds for Pacific County Wind Farm (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012196772_apwawindfarmmurrelets1stldwritethru.html

Alaska Utility Says Wind Farm Power Cheaper (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2012187043_apakwindfarmhealy.html

New Jersey Officials Say Off-Shore Windmills Will Cost Ratepayers $5 Billion (Newark Star Ledger, NJ)

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/nj_officials_say_off-shore_win.html

California - California Alternative Energy Legislation Gets Broad Backing: Bill in would require privately and publicly owned electric utilities to generate a third of their power from wind, solar and other clean sources by 2020 (Los Angeles Times, CA)

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-renewable-power-20100624,0,1017566.story

Idaho - Sun Shines on Micron Green Energy Venture: Partnership could soon be making ultra-thin solar panels (Idaho Statesman, Boise, ID)

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/06/24/1243258/sun-shines-on-micron-green-energy.html

Tennessee – Tennessee Valley Authority Reinstates Renewable Energy Program - pays for electricity generated by customers through solar, wind and biomass technologies (Knoxville News Sentinel, TN)

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/jun/24/tva-reinstates-renewable-energy-program/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Is Timing Right For Washington Ballot Measure to "Green Up" Schools? (NW Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/07/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=7453

Peak Project - Kootenai Electric Cooperative Hopes to Cool Peak Power Times (Coeur d'Alene Press, ID)

http://www.cdapress.com/news/business/article_5d457145-bf5a-5ea6-9a7d-579854754028.html

Green Refrigerator Controller Helps Conserve Wasted Energy (R & D Magazine)

http://www.rdmag.com/New-To-Market/2010/06/Manufacturing-Thermal-Green-refrigerator-controller-helps-conserve-wasted-energy/

Sacramento Municipal Utility District Gets $20 Million for Home Energy Upgrades (Sacramento Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2010/06/21/daily39.html

An LED That Mimics an Old Standby (NY Times)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/an-l-e-d-that-mimics-an-old-standby/