The Energy News Digest: Energy News Digest for December 14, 2012

Friday, December 14, 2012

Energy News Digest for December 14, 2012

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

THE NEWS DIGEST ON TWITTER

Follow the news digest on Twitter for breaking news & notices:

http://twitter.com/energydigest

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Seattle Coal-Export Hearing Packed, Mostly by Opponents (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019899522_coalhearing14m.html

Grays Harbor PUD Commissioner Tom Casey’s Farewell Message — “Choose to Fight” (Aberdeen World, WA)

http://thedailyworld.com/sections/news/local/casey%E2%80%99s-farewell-message-%E2%80%94-%E2%80%9Cchoose-fight%E2%80%9D.html

Federal Government Funds $4 Million Wind Project Off Coos Bay (Coos Bay World, OR)

http://theworldlink.com/news/local/government-funds-m-wind-project-off-coos-bay/article_39b38d80-44a5-11e2-865b-001a4bcf887a.html

Seattle Announces Fiber Partner, Broadband Test Project (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/technologybrierdudleysblog/2019895705_post_62.html

Port Angeles’ Citywide Wi-Fi Ahead of Schedule (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20121214/NEWS/312149986/port-angeles-citywide-wifi-ahead-of-schedule

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

Seattle Coal-Export Hearing Packed, Mostly by Opponents
Grays Harbor PUD Commissioner Tom Casey’s Farewell Message — “Choose to Fight”
BLM Makes Changes to Idaho Power Line after Tribes Balk
Clatskanie Ethanol Plant Will Serve As Temporary Crude Oil Exporter
California – Pacific Gas & Electric Says Workers Lied About Inspections
Church Copper Theft Attempt Ends Painfully for Suspect in NW Harris County Church
Push On to Protect Northeast U-S Electricity Grid from Floods
Citing Poor Storm Response, State Regulators Hit Massachusetts Utilities with Nearly $25 Million in Penalties
FERC Chairman Cites Slowing Load Growth, Smart Grid, Distributed Generation as ‘Disruptive’
Electricity Industry Restructuring Has Hurt the Economy, Review by CFA & APPA Finds
Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook Run Lowest in Six Years
Editorial - Advantage Sports Fishermen
Editorial - Pocket Gopher: Small Critter, Big Issue
Will the West Ever Solve Its Water Woes?
Reservoirs Can Make Local Flooding Worse, Says Study
California Sees Unusually High ‘King Tides’
Federal Government Funds $4 Million Wind Project Off Coos Bay
U-S Department of Energy to Underwrite Seven Wind Projects
As Deadline for Saving Wind Industry Nears, Wind Advocates Fold
Not Easy to Find Room for Ocean Energy
At $96 per MWh - Oregon Geothermal Pumping Power
REC Silicon Donation Boosts Big Bend Community College Computer Program
Drop This Underwater Turbine in Any River for Free Continuous Power
Idaho - Micron to Curtail LED Lighting Program
Energy Utility Tennessee Valley Authority Launches EnergySavvy Program
Landmark Climate Change Report Leaked Online
Tough Times for U-S Winter Tourism if Climate Change Goes Unaddressed
Energy Report Puts Colorado First in LEED Ranking
Seattle Announces Fiber Partner, Broadband Test Project
Seattle Is the Latest City to Go Around ISPs to Get a Gigabit Network
Port Angeles’ Citywide Wi-Fi Ahead of Schedule
Investigation Begins Into West Virginia’s Broadband
Google’s Schmidt Says Google Fiber a ‘Real Business’ for the Company
U-S Leads Western Snub of United Nations Telecommunications Treaty
Derek Kilmer Names Congressional Staff
State Representative-Elect Drew MacEwen Named to House Committees
Brief Window of Dryness Before an Active Weather Weekend
Obama Won’t Go After Washington over Marijuana
Construction Companies Deny Starting Taylor Bridge Fire near Ellensburg
Belfair, Tahuya Fire Districts Look at Forming Regional Fire Authority
Mason County Non-Profit Group Awarded Education Grant
Noisy Glaciers Are an Annoyance to Scientists Studying Mt. Rainier
Five Ways to Recover Faster from ‘The Big One’

WORD OF THE DAY

Turophile • \TURR-uh-file\ • Noun - A connoisseur of cheese: a cheese fancier

Brandy is an epicure of the highest order. Her one shortfall (which she readily admits her dismal failing) is how to determine what’s a good cheese…or a waste of mastication. “I really can’t tell,” she admitted in a widely distributed TV news interview with famed turophile Bandy McSquirrel, “if a limburger or sharp cheddar smells like good cheese, stinky feet, or bad meat. So going on a wine and cheese pairing with me is not a very good idea.”

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

Seattle Coal-Export Hearing Packed, Mostly by Opponents (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019899522_coalhearing14m.html

Grays Harbor PUD Commissioner Tom Casey’s Farewell Message — “Choose to Fight” (Aberdeen World, WA)

http://thedailyworld.com/sections/news/local/casey%E2%80%99s-farewell-message-%E2%80%94-%E2%80%9Cchoose-fight%E2%80%9D.html

BLM Makes Changes to Idaho Power Line after Tribes Balk (Associated Press)

http://www.theolympian.com/2012/12/08/2346411/blm-makes-changes-to-power-line.html

Clatskanie Ethanol Plant Will Serve As Temporary Crude Oil Exporter (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/clatskanie-ethanol-plant-will-serve-as-temporary-crude-oil-exporter/article_0e6ae34a-44cc-11e2-b1c1-001a4bcf887a.html

California – Pacific Gas & Electric Says Workers Lied About Inspections (SF Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/PG-amp-E-says-workers-lied-about-inspections-4117503.php

Church Copper Theft Attempt Ends Painfully for Suspect in NW Harris County Church (KTRK-TV, Houston, TX)

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8918289

Push On to Protect Northeast U-S Electricity Grid from Floods (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019888250_apussuperstormvulnerablegridsummarybox.html

Citing Poor Storm Response, State Regulators Hit Massachusetts Utilities with Nearly $25 Million in Penalties (American Public Power Association)

http://www.naylornetwork.com/app-ppd/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=200129&issueID=26911

FERC Chairman Cites Slowing Load Growth, Smart Grid, Distributed Generation as ‘Disruptive’ (SNL Financial)

http://www.snl.com/Interactivex/article.aspx?CdId=A-16614200-13367

Electricity Industry Restructuring Has Hurt the Economy, Review by CFA & APPA Finds (American Public Power Association)

http://www.naylornetwork.com/app-ppd/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=200325&issueID=26911

FISH & WILDLIFE

Upper Columbia River Spring Chinook Run Lowest in Six Years (The Missoulian, MT)

http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/recreation/regional/upper-columbia-river-spring-chinook-run-lowest-in-six-years/article_48e765d4-4580-11e2-9420-001a4bcf887a.html

Editorial - Advantage Sports Fishermen (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/opinion/advantage-sports-fishermen/article_94a94d98-44c2-11e2-bace-001a4bcf887a.html

Editorial - Pocket Gopher: Small Critter, Big Issue (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2012/12/13/2351933/small-critter-big-issue.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Will the West Ever Solve Its Water Woes? (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/13/can-we-adapt-to-climate-change-the-colorado-river-basin-may-soon-find-out/?wprss=rss_business

Reservoirs Can Make Local Flooding Worse, Says Study (British Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20663875

California Sees Unusually High ‘King Tides’ (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2019899035_apuscaliforniakingtides.html

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Federal Government Funds $4 Million Wind Project Off Coos Bay (Coos Bay World, OR)

http://theworldlink.com/news/local/government-funds-m-wind-project-off-coos-bay/article_39b38d80-44a5-11e2-865b-001a4bcf887a.html

U-S Department of Energy to Underwrite Seven Wind Projects (NY Times)

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/energy-dept-to-underwrite-7-wind-projects/?partner=rss&emc=rss

As Deadline for Saving Wind Industry Nears, Wind Advocates Fold (Grist Online)

http://grist.org/politics/as-deadline-for-saving-wind-industry-nears-wind-advocates-fold/

Not Easy to Find Room for Ocean Energy (Northwest Public Radio)

http://www.nwpr.org/post/not-easy-find-room-ocean-energy

At $96 per MWh - Oregon Geothermal Pumping Power (ReNews)

http://renews.biz/oregon-geothermal-pumping-power/

REC Silicon Donation Boosts Big Bend Community College Computer Program (Columbia Basin Bulletin, Moses Lake, WA)

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/school_news/article_f2cb671a-44a6-11e2-8317-001a4bcf887a.html

Drop This Underwater Turbine in Any River for Free Continuous Power (Gizmodo)

http://gizmodo.com/5967882/drop-this-underwater-turbine-in-any-river-for-free-continuous-power

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Idaho - Micron to Curtail LED Lighting Program (Associated Press)

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/dec/14/micron-to-curtail-led-lighting-program/

Energy Utility Tennessee Valley Authority Launches EnergySavvy Program (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, WA)

http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/2012/12/12/energy-utility-tva-launches-energysavvy-program/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Landmark Climate Change Report Leaked Online (The Guardian, UK)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/dec/14/ipcc-climate-change-report-leaked-online

Tough Times for U-S Winter Tourism if Climate Change Goes Unaddressed (Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, WA)

http://kpbj.com/business_daily/2012-12-10/tough_times_for_us_winter_tourism_if_climate_change_goes_unaddressed

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Energy Report Puts Colorado First in LEED Ranking (Denver Business Journal, CO)

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2012/12/13/energy-report-puts-colorado-first-in.html

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Seattle Announces Fiber Partner, Broadband Test Project (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.com/html/technologybrierdudleysblog/2019895705_post_62.html

Seattle Is the Latest City to Go Around ISPs to Get a Gigabit Network (GigaOM)

http://gigaom.com/2012/12/13/seattle-is-the-latest-city-to-go-around-isps-to-get-a-gigabit-network/

Port Angeles’ Citywide Wi-Fi Ahead of Schedule (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20121214/NEWS/312149986/port-angeles-citywide-wifi-ahead-of-schedule

Investigation Begins Into West Virginia’s Broadband Incompetence - Overpriced Routers, Overpaid Consultants, Verizon’s Fingerprints (Broadband Reports)

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Investigation-Begins-Into-West-Virginias-Broadband-Incompetence-122401

Google’s Schmidt Says Google Fiber a ‘Real Business’ for the Company (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/googles-schmidt-says-google-fiber-a-real-business-for-the-company-thecircuit/2012/12/12/a8fb3290-448e-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_blog.html?wprss=rss_technology

U-S Leads Western Snub of United Nations Telecommunications Treaty (Associated Press)

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/technology/article/US-leads-Western-snub-of-UN-telecoms-treaty-4113957.php

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Derek Kilmer Names Congressional Staff (News Tribune, Tacoma, WA)

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/12/12/2400349/derek-kilmer-names-congressional.html

State Representative-Elect Drew MacEwen Named to House Committees (Mason Web-TV, Shelton, WA)

http://masonwebtv.com/archives/8590

GENERAL NEWS

Brief Window of Dryness Before an Active Weather Weekend (KCPQ-TV, Seattle/Tacoma, WA)