The Energy News Digest: Energy News Digest for February 7, 2011

Monday, February 7, 2011

Energy News Digest for February 7, 2011

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.

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Freeze Knocked Out Coal Plants & Natural Gas Supplies, Leading to Blackouts (Dallas Morning News, TX)

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20110206-freeze-knocked-out-coal-plants-and-natural-gas-supplies-leading-to-blackouts.ece

Universal Service Fund - FCC to Propose Expanding Broadband Service to Underserved Areas (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/business/07fcc.html

Chelan PUD Fish Survival Hits Goals at Rock Island Dam (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/feb/05/fish-survival-hits-goals-at-rock-island-dam/

Olympia Federal LEEDs the Way of Green Building in Belfair – Mason PUD 3 LEED Building Coming Soon (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/feb/04/olympia-federal-leeds-way-green-building-belfair/

Clark County to Hold Open House on Proposed Vancouver Biomass Plant (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/clark-county/index.ssf/2011/02/clark_county_to_hold_open_house_on_proposed_vancouver_biomass_plant.html

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

· Freeze Knocked Out Coal Plants & Natural Gas Supplies, Leading to Blackouts

· Editorial - When the Lights Went Out in Texas, the Fingers Started Pointing

· Idaho Nuke Developer Back in Business

· Op/Ed - Coal-Burning Plants Defy Covenant with Creator

· California - Pacific Gas & Electric Spends More Than $4.1 Million to Fight Marin Clean Energy

· Chesapeake Energy Plans to Sell $5 Billion in Assets

· Okanogan PUD Views System Digitally, in Real Time

· Clallam County PUD Goes Viral

· Xcel Electricity Rates Up 21 Percent in Colorado; More Increases on the Way

· Natural Gas Prices Fall More Than 2 Percent

· Environmental Protection Agency Questions Air-Quality Permit for Kansas Coal Plant

· Renewable Canadian Hydroelectricity for New Hampshire - Should the Lines be Buried?

· Constellation Energy Fourth Quarter Profit Sinks 96 Percent

· Chelan PUD Fish Survival Hits Goals at Rock Island Dam

· Snake River Fall Chinook 2010 Redd Count Includes Records for Tributaries, Creeks

· Oregon Cuts Sturgeon Fishing over Sea Lions

· Inflammation in Columbia Sturgeon That Ate Slag in Upper River

· Study Will Find Out if Lake Crescent’s Kokanee Salmon One of a Kind

· Port of Olympia Moves Forward on Fixing Mission Creek for Salmon

· Northern California - Big Salmon Run Spawns Profits

· Make This Call in the Wild: Should Oregon Shoot Barred Owls to Save Spotted Owls?

· Small Belfair Water District in a Big Fight

· Idaho - Could the Teton Dam be Rebuilt?

· Clark County to Hold Open House on Proposed Vancouver Biomass Plant

· Op/Ed - We Need to Rethink Our Renewable Energy Policy

· Wyoming Power Line Developers Want Less Uncertainty, Better Wind Marketing

· Solar Power: US Tries to Cut Costs, Regain Edge

· Olympia Federal LEEDs the Way of Green Building in Belfair – Mason PUD 3 LEED Building Coming Soon

· Oregon Lawmakers to Consider School Energy Proposal

· Getting the Biggest Savings by Swapping Out Light Bulbs

· Poll Shows Americans Need New Incentives to Save Energy at Home

· A Three-Minute Bedtime Routine That Will Save You $3 a Night

· California Law to Curb Greenhouse Gases Faces a Legal Hurdle

· Wood-Burning Stoves ‘Can Cause Cancer & Heart Disease’

· Government Backs $1 Billion Plan to Make Gasoline from Wood

· Oregon Considers Statewide Ban on Plastic Bags

· Universal Service Fund - FCC to Propose Expanding Broadband Service to Underserved Areas

· Legislators Want to Know How State Data Center Got So Big

· Suit over Google Data Center Tax Breaks Rejected by North Carolina Supreme Court

· Survey Reveals Careless Use of Hot Spot Wi-Fi

· Dictator-Proofing the Internet

· McCaslin Blasts Shea as Possible Successor for Washington State Senate Seat

· Bills Introduced to Consolidate Natural Resource Agencies

· Weyerhaeuser Sells Timberland in Grays Harbor & Pacific Counties

· Lawsuit: State Illegally Giving Gas Tax Money to Tribes

· Crooks Hit Port Orchard House Being Built by Volunteers

· Divorces Skyrocket in Washington State’s Clark County

WORD OF THE DAY

Cantankerous • \kan-TANK-er-us\ • Adjective - Difficult or irritating to deal with.

The banging and popping sounds from the jury-rigged still made it sound like a cantankerous family member stumbling into the house after an all-night bender. “Oh, but what sweet music,” cackled the toothless caretaker of the nectar producing contraption.

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

Freeze Knocked Out Coal Plants & Natural Gas Supplies, Leading to Blackouts (Dallas Morning News, TX)

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20110206-freeze-knocked-out-coal-plants-and-natural-gas-supplies-leading-to-blackouts.ece

Editorial - When the Lights Went Out in Texas, the Fingers Started Pointing (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, TX)

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/02/06/2827390/when-the-lights-went-out-in-texas.html

Idaho Nuke Developer Back in Business (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

http://news.opb.org/article/57769-idaho-nuke-developer-back-business/

Op/Ed - Coal-Burning Plants Defy Covenant with Creator (Vancouver Columbian, WA)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/feb/06/coal-burning-plants-defy-covenant-with-creator/

California - Pacific Gas & Electric Spends More Than $4.1 Million to Fight Marin Clean Energy (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_17298162

Chesapeake Energy Plans to Sell $5 Billion in Assets (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2014153438_apuschesapeakeenergyshalesale1stldwritethru.html

Okanogan PUD Views System Digitally, in Real Time (Omak Chronicle, WA)

http://www.omakchronicle.com/nws/n110204a.shtml

Clallam County PUD Goes Viral (Sequim Gazette, WA)

http://search.sequimgazette.com/news/article.exm/2011-02-03_pud_goes_viral

Xcel Electricity Rates Up 21 Percent in Colorado; More Increases on the Way (KDVR-TV, Denver, CO)

http://www.kdvr.com/news/sns-ap-co--electricitybills,0,1175206.story

Natural Gas Prices Fall More Than 2 Percent (Associated Press)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/02/02/national/a134910S15.DTL

Environmental Protection Agency Questions Air-Quality Permit for Kansas Coal Plant (Associated Press)

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/feb/06/epa-questions-air-quality-permit-kansas-coal-plant/

Renewable Canadian Hydroelectricity for New Hampshire - Should the Lines be Buried? (Reuters)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-07/nh-power-project-should-the-lines-be-buried-.html

Constellation Energy Fourth Quarter Profit Sinks 96 Percent (Bloomberg News)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-04/constellation-energy-4q-profit-sinks-96-percent.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

Chelan PUD Fish Survival Hits Goals at Rock Island Dam (Wenatchee World, WA)

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/feb/05/fish-survival-hits-goals-at-rock-island-dam/

Snake River Fall Chinook 2010 Redd Count Includes Records for Tributaries, Creeks (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/405123.aspx

Oregon Cuts Sturgeon Fishing over Sea Lions (Associated Press)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/115340089.html

Inflammation in Columbia Sturgeon That Ate Slag in Upper River (Associated Press)

http://www.kndu.com/Global/story.asp?S=13979428

Study Will Find Out if Lake Crescent’s Kokanee Salmon One of a Kind (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110207/news/302079993/study-will-find-out-if-lake-crescent-salmon-one-of-a-kind

Port of Olympia Moves Forward on Fixing Mission Creek for Salmon (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2011/02/05/1532327/missing-headline-for-05oports.html

Northern California - Big Salmon Run Spawns Profits (Wall Street Journal)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704124504576118462016940744.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_editorsPicks_2

Make This Call in the Wild: Should Oregon Shoot Barred Owls to Save Spotted Owls? (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/02/make_this_call_in_the_wild_sho.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Small Belfair Water District in a Big Fight (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/feb/06/small-belfair-water-district-in-a-big-fight/

Idaho - Could the Teton Dam be Rebuilt? (Idaho Statesman, Boise)

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/02/07/1517585/could-the-teton-dam-be-rebuilt.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Clark County to Hold Open House on Proposed Vancouver Biomass Plant (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/clark-county/index.ssf/2011/02/clark_county_to_hold_open_house_on_proposed_vancouver_biomass_plant.html

Op/Ed - We Need to Rethink Our Renewable Energy Policy (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal)

http://kpbj.com/business_weekly/2011-02-07/we_need_to_rethink_our_renewable_energy_policy

Wyoming Power Line Developers Want Less Uncertainty, Better Wind Marketing (Billings Gazette, MT)

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_c81846bb-1015-5288-874c-f3d60088ea7f.html

Solar Power: US Tries to Cut Costs, Regain Edge (SF Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F02%2F05%2FMND51HJ27H.DTL

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Olympia Federal LEEDs the Way of Green Building in Belfair – Mason PUD 3 LEED Building Coming Soon (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/feb/04/olympia-federal-leeds-way-green-building-belfair/

Oregon Lawmakers to Consider School Energy Proposal (Corvallis Gazette-Times, OR)

http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/state-and-regional/article_ea859290-9805-5769-be37-631fee69b71e.html

Getting the Biggest Savings by Swapping Out Light Bulbs (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110206/BIZ/702069950/-1/BIZ0-

Poll Shows Americans Need New Incentives to Save Energy at Home (Electric Light & Power)

http://www.elp.com/index/display/article-display.articles.electric-light-power.energy-efficiency.2011.02.Poll__Americans_need_new_incentives_to_save_energy_at_home.QP129867.dcmp=rss.page=1.html

A Three-Minute Bedtime Routine That Will Save You $3 a Night (Christian Science Monitor)

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Simple-Dollar/2011/0205/A-three-minute-bedtime-routine-that-will-save-you-3-a-night

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

California Law to Curb Greenhouse Gases Faces a Legal Hurdle (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/science/earth/05emit.html

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Wood-Burning Stoves ‘Can Cause Cancer & Heart Disease’ - Trendy wood-burning stoves produce invisible particles that can cause heart disease & cancer, scientists have warned (The Telegraph, UK)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8306792/Wood-burning-stoves-can-cause-cancer-and-heart-disease.html

Government Backs $1 Billion Plan to Make Gasoline from Wood (NY Times)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/government-backs-1-billion-plan-to-make-gas-from-wood-chips/

Oregon Considers Statewide Ban on Plastic Bags (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Oregon-considers-statewide-ban-on-plastic-bags-115379414.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Universal Service Fund - FCC to Propose Expanding Broadband Service to Underserved Areas (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/business/07fcc.html

Legislators Want to Know How State Data Center Got So Big (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/02/07/1534007/legislators-want-to-know-how-data.html

Suit over Google Data Center Tax Breaks Rejected by North Carolina Supreme Court (Associated Press)

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_17294641