The Energy News Digest: 08/13/10

Friday, August 13, 2010

Energy News Digest for August 13, 2010

The news digest will be on “Hiatus” (the wonder horse) for the next two weeks. It will return, fresh faced & dewy on August 30.

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

Proposed Biomass Power Plant near Shelton Finds Wood to Burn - Company signs with local timber company for 20 percent of its needs (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/08/13/1334735/biomass-power-plant-finds-wood.html

Kittitas County Approves Massive Solar Farm (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_cle_elum_solar_farm.html

Lightning Apparently Electrocutes Half the Fish in Idaho Hatchery Pond (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/394848.aspx

Lake Mead’s Water Level Plunges as 11-Year Drought Lingers (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/08/12/12greenwire-lake-meads-water-level-plunges-as-11-year-drou-29594.html

Rotten Egg Smell Added to Puget Sound Energy Bills (Northwest Cable News)

http://www.nwcn.com/news/Rotten-egg-smell-added-to-Puget-Sound-Energy-bills-100622774.html

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

· Rotten Egg Smell Added to Puget Sound Energy Bills

· Douglas County PUD Gets AA Credit Rating from Standard & Poor’s

· Rare Appearance by Metaline Falls, Hidden under Hydropower Reservoir

· Members Seek to Deny East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s Borrowing Authority for Coal-Fired Power Plant

· Lightning Apparently Electrocutes Half the Fish in Idaho Hatchery Pond

· Big Chinook Salmon Run Starts to Reach Columbia

· Lake Wenatchee Sockeye Season Could Run into Next Week

· Northwest Officials Step Up Projects to Help Columbia River Lamprey as Numbers Plummet

· California - Mystery Salmon Identified, Small Fry Not Native to Napa River

· Draft report recommends against renewable energy projects in Oregon’s key sage grouse habitat

· State Delays Implementation of New Southwest Washington Watershed Rules

· Red Tide Closes Pierce County Shellfish Harvest

· Lake Mead’s Water Level Plunges as 11-Year Drought Lingers

· Appeals Court Allows Logging Oregon Old Growth

· Proposed Biomass Power Plant near Shelton Finds Wood to Burn

· Green Diamond to Supply Fuel for Proposed Power Plant

· New York - For Biomass Project, Finish Line Heaves into View after Long Push

· Kittitas County Approves Massive Solar Farm

· California Desert on Pace to Become World’s Solar Capital

· Looking for Revenue after Wind Farms Are Built

· Wind Energy to be Stored in Home Water Heaters in Experiment

· BPA, Mason County PUD 3 Partner on Project to Use Wind Power More Effectively

· BPA Tests the Water Heater’s Role in the Smart Grid

· Idaho - Lawsuit Papers Served in Bingham Trash Conflict

· Prince of Tides: A Mammoth Tide Power Turbine

· To Cut Demand for Electricity, Some Customers Agree to Unplug

· Beetle-Kill Trees to Heat Homes - Timber Used to Make Wood Pellets

· Will Consumers Buy the Chevy Volt & Nissan Leaf?

· Broadband to Enhance Rural Healthcare

· Is Charter Missing the Boat on Opelika’s Muni Broadband Network? Look for the Mason PUD 3 Reference

· The FCC & the Bandwidth Wars

· Editorial - Net Neutrality Is a Technical, Not a Political Problem

· Gregoire Announces $51M in Cuts to State Welfare

· State Workers May be Asked to Take Health Care Cuts

· Some Expensive Contests in WA Statehouse Primary

· Six-Year-Old Mason County Boy Shot by Brother Dies

· NASA Tracks Pollution Flow from Russian Fires

WORD OF THE DAY

Capacious • \kuh-PAY-shuss\ • - Containing or capable of containing a great deal

Alison was stunned by the small man-purse being carried about by her hulking date. For such a tiny bag, it must have contained a capacious interior based on “clown-car” technology. He pulled a notebook computer, two boiled eggs, even a medium-sized Mastiff dog from the container…all with very little effort.

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

Rotten Egg Smell Added to Puget Sound Energy Bills (Northwest Cable News)

http://www.nwcn.com/news/Rotten-egg-smell-added-to-Puget-Sound-Energy-bills-100622774.html

Douglas County PUD Gets AA Credit Rating from Standard & Poor’s (Omak Chronicle, WA)

http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n100813c.shtml

Rare Appearance by Metaline Falls, Hidden under Hydropower Reservoir (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/archives/218032.asp

Kentucky - Co-Op Members Seek to Deny East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s Borrowing Authority for Coal-Fired Power Plant (Richmond Register, KY)

http://richmondregister.com/localnews/x370356121/Co-op-members-seek-to-deny-EKPC-borrowing-authority

FISH & WILDLIFE

Lightning Apparently Electrocutes Half the Fish in Idaho Hatchery Pond (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/394848.aspx

Big Chinook Salmon Run Starts to Reach Columbia (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/aug/13/big-chinook-run-starts-to-reach-columbia/

Lake Wenatchee Sockeye Season Could Run into Next Week (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/aug/13/for-the-taking-lake-wenatchee-sockeye-season/

Northwest Officials Step Up Projects to Help Columbia River Lamprey as Numbers Plummet (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/08/lamprey_population_drops_preci.html

California - Mystery Salmon Identified, Small Fry Not Native to Napa River (Napa Valley Register, CA)

http://napavalleyregister.com/sports/columnists/guy-carl/article_72889d40-a6a4-11df-9717-001cc4c03286.html

Draft report recommends against renewable energy projects in Oregon’s key sage grouse habitat (Associated Press)

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2010/08/draft_report_nixes_building_renewable_energy_projects_in_oregons_sage_grouse_habitat.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

State Delays Implementation of New Southwest Washington Watershed Rules (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/article_30b29b70-a698-11df-8f49-001cc4c03286.html

Red Tide Closes Pierce County Shellfish Harvest (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/08/13/1334745/pierce-county-red-tide-closes.html

Lake Mead’s Water Level Plunges as 11-Year Drought Lingers (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/08/12/12greenwire-lake-meads-water-level-plunges-as-11-year-drou-29594.html

Appeals Court Allows Logging Oregon Old Growth (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012614996_oldgrowth14m.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Proposed Biomass Power Plant near Shelton Finds Wood to Burn - Company signs with local timber company for 20 percent of its needs (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2010/08/13/1334735/biomass-power-plant-finds-wood.html

Green Diamond to Supply Fuel for Proposed Power Plant (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/aug/13/green-diamond-to-supply-fuel-for-proposed-power/

New York - For Biomass Project, Finish Line Heaves into View after Long Push (Times Herald Record, Middletown, NY)

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100812/BIZ/8120321/-1/SITEMAP

Kittitas County Approves Massive Solar Farm (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_cle_elum_solar_farm.html

California Desert on Pace to Become World’s Solar Capital (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/08/12/12greenwire-calif-desert-on-pace-to-become-worlds-solar-ca-32699.html

Looking for Revenue after Wind Farms Are Built (KNDU-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

http://www.kndu.com/global/story.asp?s=12972330

Wind Energy to be Stored in Home Water Heaters in Experiment (KPLU Radio, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1688049/KPLU.Local.News/Wind.Energy.To.Be.Stored.In.Home.Water.Heaters.In.Experiment

BPA, Mason County PUD 3 Partner on Project to Use Wind Power More Effectively (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/394845.aspx

BPA Tests the Water Heater’s Role in the Smart Grid (Sustainable Business Oregon)

http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2010/08/bpa_tests_the_water_heaters_role_in_the_smart_grid.html

Idaho - Lawsuit Papers Served in Bingham Trash Conflict – Company was to break down the trash into renewable energy (KIFI-TV, Idaho Falls, ID)

http://www.localnews8.com/news/24614282/detail.html

Prince of Tides: A Mammoth Tide Power Turbine (NY Times – But is it safe for fish?)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/the-prince-of-tides-a-mammoth-turbine/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

To Cut Demand for Electricity, Some Customers Agree to Unplug (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/nyregion/13peak.html

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Beetle-Kill Trees to Heat Homes - Timber Used to Make Wood Pellets (KMGH-TV, Denver, CO)

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/24613583/detail.html

Will Consumers Buy the Chevy Volt & Nissan Leaf? (Nat’l Public Radio)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129159569&ft=1&f=2

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Broadband to Enhance Rural Healthcare (Courthouse News Service)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/08/12/29556.htm

Is Charter Missing the Boat on Opelika’s Muni Broadband Network? “…Similar mixed use techniques have been adopted by the likes of Washington State’s Mason County PUD 3…Washington state law prohibits utilities from offering retail services…they provide wholesale capacity to a number of unnamed household name service providers that typically have been forced to leverage a competitor’s network…”

(Fierce Telecom)

http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/charter-missing-boat-opelikas-muni-broadband-network/2010-08-13

The FCC & the Bandwidth Wars (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/12/AR2010081206521.html

Editorial - Net Neutrality Is a Technical, Not a Political Problem (SF Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/13/EDED1ESGDK.DTL

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Gregoire Announces $51M in Cuts to State Welfare (KIRO-TV, Seattle)

http://www.kirotv.com/news/24610208/detail.html

State Workers May be Asked to Take Health Care Cuts (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics/2010/08/13/state-workers-may-be-asked-to-take-health-care-cuts/

Some Expensive Contests in WA Statehouse Primary (Olympian, WA)