Energy News Digest for February 2, 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

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http://twitter.com/energydigest

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Cowlitz PUD Lineman Seriously Injured by Falling Utility Pole (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/cowlitz-pud-lineman-seriously-injured-by-falling-utility-pole/article_50223b1e-4d36-11e1-8d73-0019bb2963f4.html

Puget Sound Energy Customers to Pay for Storm & More (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/PSE-Customers-to-pay-for-storm-and-more-138547439.html

Washington State Bills Would Tweak Renewable Energy Initiative Law (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)

http://www.thedailyworld.com/sections/news/local/bills-would-tweak-renewable-energy-initiative-law.html

Seattle's Green Jobs Program Still a Bust (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle)

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=621118

'Discover Ductless' Campaign Encouraged Homeowners to try Efficient Ductless Heating and Cooling Systems (MarketWatch)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/discover-ductless-campaign-encouraged-homeowners-to-try-efficient-ductless-heating-and-cooling-systems-2012-02-02

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (Details Below)

• Cowlitz PUD Lineman Seriously Injured by Falling Utility Pole
• Puget Sound Energy Customers to Pay for Storm & More
• California - Unsafe Poles Contributed to Windstorm Outages
• Editorial - Modest Snohomish PUD Rate Increase is Justified
• Oregon - People’s Utility District for Clatsop?
• What would a PUD cost?
• How to Form a PUD in Ten Steps
• Montana - Beartooth Electric Co-Op Manager Resigns
• California Regulators OK SmartMeter refusal - For a Price
• North Carolina - In Wake of Boy's Death, Duke Energy Stresses Safety Warnings
• Xcel Concerned Warm Winter Will Limit Profits
• Yakima Basin Water Report Issued, Costing a Cool $2.6 Million
• All Quiet at Mason County’s Belfair Water District
• Portland Seeks Delay to Complete All Reservoir Projects by 2026
• South Puget Sounders Get Creative, Harvest Rain
• Why We Should All be Drinking Toilet Water
• Washington State Bills Would Tweak Renewable Energy Initiative Law
• Iberdrola Renewables Agrees to Keep North American Headquarters in Portland at Least Seven Years for $1,155,000
• Sun Stroke: SoCal Edison & the Battle over Solar Power
• Halt to Wisconsin Energy Program Defended
• Bill Would Kill Ohio’s Renewable Energy Law
• Mid-Atlantic Wind Farms Take Step Forward
• Why Google Invests in Clean Energy
• 'Discover Ductless' Campaign Encouraged Homeowners to try Efficient Ductless Heating and Cooling Systems
• Campaign Uses Humor to Get Homeowners to Go Ductless
• Pacific Northwest Industrial Energy Program Surpasses Expectations
• Three States - California, New York and Washington - to Require Insurers to Disclose Climate-Change Response Plans
• Seattle's Green Jobs Program Still a Bust
• Seattle Program to Create 2,000 Green Jobs? Not Likely
• Snohomish County Green-Job Training Put on Hold after Program Produces Few Jobs
• Port Angeles Electric Vehicle Class for First Responders Fills Up
• Broadband Speeds in State Pick Up Pace
• Google's Plans for Kansas City Prompt Sale of Local Internet Company
• Will Clean Power & Microgrids Be the Future of Data Centers?
• Historic Senate Vote Clears Way for Gay Marriage in Washington State
• Mason County Customers Plugging in to Belfair Sewer
• Environmental Groups Propose Plan to Replace Federal Forest Payments to Oregon Counties
• Faulty Dishwashers, Fridges & Dryers Causing Fires, Says Consumer Reports

WORD OF THE DAY

Stiction • \STICK-shun\ • Noun - The force required to cause one body in contact with another to begin to move

“Gosh this guy is a load,” grumbled Wilt as he backed towards the basket slowly pushing his weighty defender into the key. “Stiction be darned,” he grunted, executing a textbook drop step move for his tenths field goal of the night; “this guy is hard to move.”

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

Cowlitz PUD Lineman Seriously Injured by Falling Utility Pole (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/cowlitz-pud-lineman-seriously-injured-by-falling-utility-pole/article_50223b1e-4d36-11e1-8d73-0019bb2963f4.html

Puget Sound Energy Customers to Pay for Storm & More (KING-TV, Seattle)

http://www.king5.com/news/local/PSE-Customers-to-pay-for-storm-and-more-138547439.html

California - Unsafe Poles Contributed to Windstorm Outages (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2017403214_apuscaliforniawindstorm.html

Editorial - Modest Snohomish PUD Rate Increase is Justified (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120202/OPINION01/702029955

Oregon - People’s Utility District for Clatsop? (Coast River Business Journal, Astoria, OR)

http://www.crbizjournal.com/news/article_3afa1662-4dae-11e1-9ff8-001871e3ce6c.html

What would a PUD cost? (Coast River Business Journal, Astoria, OR)

http://www.crbizjournal.com/news/article_754ff22a-4dca-11e1-ae00-001871e3ce6c.html

How to Form a PUD in Ten Steps (Coast River Business Journal, Astoria, OR)

http://www.crbizjournal.com/news/article_43a5fd28-4dac-11e1-a09d-001871e3ce6c.html

Montana - Beartooth Electric Co-Op Manager Resigns (Billings Gazette, MT)

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/beartooth-co-op-manager-resigns/article_a70736aa-ca1e-5d06-bc7a-b6dcced1854b.html

California Regulators OK SmartMeter refusal - For a Price (SF Chronicle)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/01/MNFV1N1STD.DTL

North Carolina - In Wake of Boy's Death, Duke Energy Stresses Safety Warnings (Raleigh News & Observer, NC)

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/02/02/1823988/in-wake-of-boys-death-duke-energy.html

Xcel Concerned Warm Winter Will Limit Profits (Minneapolis-St Paul Business Journal, MN)

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2012/02/02/xcel-q4-earnings.html

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Yakima Basin Water Report Issued, Costing a Cool $2.6 Million (KEPR-TV, Tri-Cities, WA)

http://www.keprtv.com/news/local/New-Yakima-Basin-water-report-issued-costing-a-cool-26-million-138574169.html

All Quiet at Mason County’s Belfair Water District (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/feb/01/all-quiet-at-belfairs-water-district/

Portland Seeks Delay to Complete All Reservoir Projects by 2026 (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/02/portland_seeks_delay_to_comple.html

South Puget Sounders Get Creative, Harvest Rain - With ever more rain, South Sounders are getting creative in how to deal with our wettest asset (Olympian, WA)

http://www.theolympian.com/2012/02/01/1972164/missing-headline-for-01rainyards1.html

Why We Should All be Drinking Toilet Water (Grist Online)

http://grist.org/list/why-we-should-all-be-drinking-toilet-water/

RENEWABLE/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Washington State Bills Would Tweak Renewable Energy Initiative Law (The Daily World, Aberdeen, WA)

http://www.thedailyworld.com/sections/news/local/bills-would-tweak-renewable-energy-initiative-law.html

Iberdrola Renewables Agrees to Keep North American Headquarters in Portland at Least Seven Years for $1,155,000 (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2012/02/post_70.html

Sun Stroke: SoCal Edison & the Battle over Solar Power (KCET-TV, Los Angeles, CA)

http://www.kcet.org/updaily/the_back_forty/commentary/golden-green/sun-stroke-socal-edison-and-the-battle-over-solar-power.html

Halt to Wisconsin Energy Program Defended (Associated Press)

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20120202/GPG0101/202020569

Bill Would Kill Ohio’s Renewable Energy Law (Columbus Dispatch, OH)

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2012/02/02/bill-would-kill-ohios-renewable-energy-law.html

Mid-Atlantic Wind Farms Take Step Forward (Associated Press)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2017403629_apusoffshorewind.html

Why Google Invests in Clean Energy (The Energy Collective)

http://theenergycollective.com/marcgunther/75629/why-google-invests-clean-energy

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

'Discover Ductless' Campaign Encouraged Homeowners to try Efficient Ductless Heating and Cooling Systems (MarketWatch)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/discover-ductless-campaign-encouraged-homeowners-to-try-efficient-ductless-heating-and-cooling-systems-2012-02-02

Campaign Uses Humor to Get Homeowners to Go Ductless (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/2012/02/02/campaign-used-humor-to-get-homeowners-to-go-ductless/

Pacific Northwest Industrial Energy Program Surpasses Expectations (Environmental Leader)

http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/02/02/industrial-energy-program-surpasses-expectations/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Three States - California, New York and Washington - to Require Insurers to Disclose Climate-Change Response Plans (NY Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/business/energy-environment/three-states-tell-insurers-to-disclose-responses-to-climate-change.html

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI

Seattle's Green Jobs Program Still a Bust (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle)

http://mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=621118

Seattle Program to Create 2,000 Green Jobs? Not Likely (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Seattle-program-to-create-2-000-green-jobs-Not-2936580.php

Snohomish County Green-Job Training Put on Hold after Program Produces Few Jobs (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120202/BIZ/702029905

Port Angeles Electric Vehicle Class for First Responders Fills Up (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA)

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120202/news/302029992/electric-vehicle-class-for-first-responders-fills-up

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Broadband Speeds in State Pick Up Pace (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2017398357_brier02.html

Google's Plans for Kansas City Prompt Sale of Local Internet Company (Kansas City Business Journal)

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2012/02/01/googles-plans-for-kansas-city-prompt.html

Will Clean Power & Microgrids Be the Future of Data Centers? (Gigaom)

http://gigaom.com/cleantech/will-clean-power-and-microgrids-be-the-future-of-data-centers/

GENERAL NEWS

Historic Senate Vote Clears Way for Gay Marriage in Washington State (Seattle Times)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017398387_gaymarriage02m.html

Mason County Customers Plugging in to Belfair Sewer (Kitsap Sun, Bremerton, WA)

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/feb/01/customers-plugging-in-to-belfair-sewer/

Environmental Groups Propose Plan to Replace Federal Forest Payments to Oregon Counties (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/02/environmental_groups_propose_p.html

Faulty Dishwashers, Fridges & Dryers Causing Fires, Says Consumer Reports (Northwest Cable News Network)

http://www.nwcn.com/news/Home-appliance-fires-caused-by-products-themselves-says-report-138568354.html

DIVERSIONS

Punxsutawney Phil Predicts Six More Weeks of Winter

http://www.q13fox.com/news/kcpq-punxsutawney-phil-predicts-six-more-weeks-of-winter-20120202,0,2858081.story

TV Station Using Puppets to Re-Enact Ohio Trial

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57362765/tv-station-using-puppets-to-re-enact-ohio-trial/

Woman Wins Small-Claims Suit over Honda Hybrid MPG

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Woman-wins-small-claims-suit-over-Honda-hybrid-mpg-2926944.php

Cardboard Cut Out Ayatollah Khomeini “Inspects” Iranian Military (This has GOT to be an “Onion” parody!)

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/cardboard-cut-ayatollah-khomeini-inspects-iranian-military-155653919.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Michael Bublé- Paper Doll

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYUUBgn3ptg