The Energy News Digest: 10/23/15

The Electricity Innovation So Controversial That It’s Now before the Supreme Court
Seattle City Light Plans Utility Meter Upgrade, But Safety Concerns Raised
Oregon: Will Millersburg Electric Utility Vote Mean Power to the People?
Wahkiakum PUD to Hike All Rates by 5 Percent
Little Used Montana Natural Gas Plant Being Dismantled
Critically Injured Priest Rapids Dam Employee Improves
Oregon: Columbia River PUD Manager Retires
Bear Cub's Risky Walk through Washington State Power Substation
Oregon: Central Lincoln PUD Celebrates with Contest, Food Drive
BC Hydro to Partner with Clean-Energy Industry to Find New Projects
California Utility Gets $400 Million Settlement Tied to Closed Nuclear Power Plant
Columbia River: Sea Lions Step Up Endangered Salmon Feast
Alaska’s 2015 Commercial Salmon Harvest Second Largest on Record: 263.5 Million Fish
Biologists Use Drone to Study Health of Pacific Northwest Orcas
Bonneville Power Administration Improves Hundreds of Acres of Habitat on Sauvie Island
Company Aims to Sell Groundwater from Mojave Desert
Cowlitz PUD Community Solar Buy-In Starts
California Solar Advocates Fight Proposed Utility Changes
California: Solar Panels Get Cool Reception from Homeowners Associations
Remote Alaskan Villages Move from Diesel to Wind Power
Wind Industry Installed over 1,600 MW of Capacity in Q3 2015
Washington Ranks 8th for Energy Efficiency in 2015 Scorecard Report
Oregon Businesses Switch to LED Lighting at a Record Pace
Everett Begins Replacing Street Lights with LEDs
Seattle City Light Proposes Higher Energy Savings Goal
Jennifer Light Will Lead Pacific Northwest Regional Technical Forum
Final Clean Power Plan Rule Published; 24 States Sue EPA
Groups Plan Ballot Initiatives to Battle Climate Change in Washington and Oregon
Point: State Senator Tim Sheldon – Opposing Inslee’s Climate Proposals is a Bipartisan Affair
Counterpoint: State Representative Joe Fitzgibbon – Tackling Climate Change Is a Moral & Economic Imperative
Climate Scientists Say 2015 on Track to be Warmest Year on Record
Climate Change (Rising Sea Levels) Could Be Bad News for Lower Columbia Restoration
FCC Offers Eye-Popping Initial Bids for Pacific Northwest TV Airwaves
CenturyLink Penalized for San Juan Islands Outage
Dig Once: This Simple Idea Could Make Internet Cheaper & Faster & It’s Gaining Steam on Capitol Hill
Co-Ops Tackle Broadband, Overcome State Network Restrictions
Huge Hack Hits 4 Million British Broadband Customers
Trillions of Facebook Posts Added to Search Results
ESPN is Cutting About 4 Percent of Staff
YouTube Hides Most ESPN Content – Network Failed To Negotiate Paid Subscription Service Deal
Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds
Email Scandal Uncovered a Culture of 'Delete, Delete, Delete' in British Columbia Government
Washington State’s 19th Legislative District Appoints JD Rossetti to Fill Takko’s Seat
Mexico Braces for Strongest Hurricane Recorded in Western Hemisphere
The Atmospheric Rain Switch Is About to Be Flipped
Latest El Nino Forecast Provides Warm Winter Outlook for Pacific Northwest
Cleared for takeoff: Sea-Tac flights to Moses Lake, Port Angeles
Every Big Oregon Coast Earthquake Since 7845 B.C., Charted. Hint: We're Due
Shelton to Conduct Hazardous Waste Study of Landfill
KMAS Uses New Frequency to Reach North Mason County

WORD OF THE DAY

Bohemian • \bo-HEE-mee-un\ • Noun – 1a: a native or inhabitant of Bohemia b: the group of Czech dialects used in Bohemia 2a: vagabond, wanderer; especially: gypsy b: a person (as a writer or an artist) living an unconventional life usually in a colony with others.

Barnabas thought he was living life to the Bohemian fullest: rooming with four guys; drinking Jagermeister each night with wild abandon; blogging incoherently about anything and everything that popped into his febrile mind; rolling out of bed, bleary-eyed the following morning to raise the dough for rent ant Top Ramen. His distraught mother put his it more succinctly: “My son? He’s living like a bum.”

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

The Electricity Innovation So Controversial That It’s Now before the Supreme Court (Washington Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/10/20/the-electricity-innovation-so-controversial-that-its-now-before-the-supreme-court/

Seattle City Light Plans Utility Meter Upgrade, But Safety Concerns Raised (KOMO-TV, Seattle, WA)

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/City-Light-plans-utility-meter-upgrade-but-safety-concerns-raised-336172661.html

Oregon: Will Millersburg Electric Utility Vote Mean Power to the People? (Albany Herald Democrat, OR)

http://democratherald.com/news/local/will-electric-utility-vote-mean-power-to-the-people/article_352b73c6-77fd-5ce6-a763-e17315069cc3.html

Wahkiakum PUD to Hike All Rates by 5 Percent (Wahkiakum Eagle, WA)

http://www.waheagle.com/story/2015/10/22/news/pud-to-hike-all-rates-by-5-percent/10515.html

Little Used Montana Natural Gas Plant Being Dismantled (Associated Press)

https://bakken.com/news/id/246337/little-used-montana-natural-gas-plant-being-dismantled/

Critically Injured Priest Rapids Dam Employee Improves (Tri-City Herald, WA)

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article40947714.html

Oregon: Columbia River PUD Manager Retires (St Helens Chronicle OR)

http://www.thechronicleonline.com/news/crpud-manager-retires/article_f81b35de-78f0-11e5-9030-e33277d6d2c0.html

Bear Cub's Risky Walk through Washington State Power Substation (WMAZ-TV, Macon, GA)

http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/2015/10/21/bear-cubs-risky-walk-through-wash-power-substation/74354428/

Oregon: Central Lincoln PUD Celebrates with Contest, Food Drive (Umpquah Post, OR)

http://theworldlink.com/reedsport/news/central-lincoln-pud-celebrates-with-contest-food-drive/article_83a0cb14-d978-5cd9-8c96-9a28089aee49.html?comment_form=true

BC Hydro to Partner with Clean-Energy Industry to Find New Projects (Globe & Mail, Canada)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-hydro-to-partner-with-clean-energy-industry-to-find-new-projects/article26921687/?cmpid=rss1

California Utility Gets $400 Million Settlement Tied to Closed Nuclear Power Plant (Associated Press)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/22/california-utility-gets-400m-settlement-tied-to-cl/

FISH & WILDLIFE

Columbia River: Sea Lions Step Up Endangered Salmon Feast (Electric Co-Op Today)

http://www.ect.coop/editors-pick/sea-lions-step-up-feasts-on-endangered-salmon/85997

Alaska’s 2015 Commercial Salmon Harvest Second Largest on Record: 263.5 Million Fish (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/435358.aspx

Biologists Use Drone to Study Health of Pacific Northwest Orcas (Associated Press)

http://www.krem.com/story/news/local/northwest/2015/10/21/biologists-use-drone-to-study-health-of-northwest-orcas/74350516/

Bonneville Power Administration Improves Hundreds of Acres of Habitat on Sauvie Island (Bonneville Power Administration)

http://www.bpa.gov/news/newsroom/Pages/BPA-Improves-hundreds-of-acres-of-habitat-on-Sauvie-Island.aspx

WATER & THE ENVIRONMENT

Company Aims to Sell Groundwater from Mojave Desert (Desert Sun, Palm Desert, CA)

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2015/10/22/cadiz-mojave-water/74314906/

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Cowlitz PUD Community Solar Buy-In Starts (Longview Daily News, WA)

http://tdn.com/news/local/update-cowlitz-pud-community-solar-buy-in-starts/article_b3462a31-58cc-5903-bac4-8f51cc8e5b2c.html

California Solar Advocates Fight Proposed Utility Changes (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_28997862/solar-advocates-fight-proposed-utility-changes?source=rss

California: Solar Panels Get Cool Reception from Homeowners Associations (San Jose Mercury News, CA)

http://www.theheraldbusinessjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20151023/BIZ02/151029620

Remote Alaskan Villages Move from Diesel to Wind Power (Grist Online)

http://grist.org/article/remote-alaskan-villages-move-from-diesel-to-wind-power/

Wind Industry Installed over 1,600 MW of Capacity in Q3 2015 (Utility Dive)

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/wind-industry-installed-over-1600-mw-of-capacity-in-q3-2015/407850/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

Washington Ranks 8th for Energy Efficiency in 2015 Scorecard Report (Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA)

http://blog.seattlepi.com/energy/2015/10/21/washington-ranks-8th-for-energy-efficiency-in-2015-scorecard-report/

Oregon Businesses Switch to LED Lighting at a Record Pace (Portland Business Journal, OR)

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/sbo/2015/10/oregon-businesses-switch-to-led-lighting-at-a.html

Everett Begins Replacing Street Lights with LEDs (Everett Herald, WA)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20151022/NEWS01/151029597

Seattle City Light Proposes Higher Energy Savings Goal (American Public Power Association)

http://www.publicpower.org/Media/daily/ArticleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=44689

Jennifer Light Will Lead Pacific Northwest Regional Technical Forum (Northwest Power & Conservation Council)

http://www.nwcouncil.org/news/blog/light-elected-rtf-chair/

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

Final Clean Power Plan Rule Published; 24 States Sue EPA (Utility Dive)

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/final-clean-power-plan-rule-published-24-states-sue-epa/407869/

Groups Plan Ballot Initiatives to Battle Climate Change in Washington and Oregon (EcoWatch)

http://ecowatch.com/2015/10/23/climate-change-2016-ballot/

Point: State Senator Tim Sheldon – Opposing Inslee’s Climate Proposals is a Bipartisan Affair (Crosscut Seattle)

http://crosscut.com/2015/10/point-opposing-inslees-climate-proposals-is-a-bipartisan-affair/

Counterpoint: State Representative Joe Fitzgibbon – Tackling Climate Change Is a Moral & Economic Imperative (Crosscut Seattle)

http://crosscut.com/2015/10/counterpoint-tackling-climate-change-a-moral-and-economic-imperative/

Climate Scientists Say 2015 on Track to be Warmest Year on Record (The Guardian, UK)

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/21/climate-scientists-say-2015-on-track-to-be-warmest-year-on-record

Climate Change (Rising Sea Levels) Could Be Bad News for Lower Columbia Restoration (Columbia Basin Bulletin)

http://www.cbbulletin.com/435363.aspx

TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FCC Offers Eye-Popping Initial Bids for Pacific Northwest TV Airwaves (Northwest Public Radio)

http://nwnewsnetwork.org/post/fcc-offers-eye-popping-initial-bids-northwest-tv-airwaves

CenturyLink Penalized for San Juan Islands Outage (Associated Press)

http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/oct/21/centurylink-penalized-for-san-juan-islands-outage/

Dig Once: This Simple Idea Could Make Internet Cheaper & Faster & It’s Gaining Steam on Capitol Hill (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/10/22/this-no-brainer-internet-policy-just-gained-some-momentum-in-congress/?wprss=rss_business

Co-Ops Tackle Broadband, Overcome State Network Restrictions (The Daily Yonder)

http://www.dailyyonder.com/co-ops-provide-broadband-solution-for-some-communities/2015/10/20/9230/

Huge Hack Hits 4 Million British Broadband Customers (Gizmodo)

http://gizmodo.com/huge-hack-hits-4-million-british-broadband-customers-1738227481

MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA

Trillions of Facebook Posts Added to Search Results (British Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34614244

ESPN is Cutting About 4 Percent of Staff (Associated Press)

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20151022/BIZ02/151029741

YouTube Hides Most ESPN Content – Network Failed To Negotiate Paid Subscription Service Deal (Consumerist)

http://consumerist.com/2015/10/23/youtube-hides-most-espn-content-after-network-failed-to-negotiate-paid-subscription-service-deal/

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds (Consumerist)

http://consumerist.com/2015/10/23/consumerist-friday-flickr-finds-309/

POLITICS & GOVERNANCE

Email Scandal Uncovered a Culture of 'Delete, Delete, Delete' in British Columbia Government (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/email-scandal-1.3284856?cmp=rss

Washington State’s 19th Legislative District Appoints JD Rossetti to Fill Takko’s Seat (KBKW Radio, Aberdeen, WA)

http://kbkw.com/19th-legislative-district-appoints-jd-rossetti-to-fill-takkos-seat/

GENERAL NEWS

Mexico Braces for Strongest Hurricane Recorded in Western Hemisphere (Associated Press)

http://www.katu.com/news/national/Mexico-braces-for-strongest-hurricane-in-Western-hemisphere-336236951.html

The Atmospheric Rain Switch Is About to Be Flipped (Cliff Mass Weather Blog)

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-atmospheric-rain-switch-is-about-be.html

Latest El Nino Forecast Provides Warm Winter Outlook for Pacific Northwest (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

http://mynorthwest.com/11/2831568/Latest-El-Nino-forecasts-provides-warm-winter-outlook-for-NW

Cleared for takeoff: Sea-Tac flights to Moses Lake, Port Angeles (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2015/10/cleared-for-takeoff-sea-tac-flights-to-moses-lake.html

Every Big Oregon Coast Earthquake Since 7845 B.C., Charted. Hint: We're Due (Oregonian, Portland)

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/10/core_sample_survey_shows_1_meg.html

Shelton to Conduct Hazardous Waste Study of Landfill (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://kmasnewsradio.com/news/local-state-news/25271-shelton-to-conduct-hazardous-waste-study-of-landfill

KMAS Uses New Frequency to Reach North Mason County (KMAS Radio, Shelton, WA)

http://kmasnewsradio.com/news/local-state-news/25285-kmas-uses-new-frequency-to-reach-northern-mason-county

DIVERSIONS

Watch These Parachuting Beavers Spread Across Idaho

http://gizmodo.com/watch-these-parachuting-beavers-spread-across-idaho-1738154810

Montana Cops Can't Shake Off Specter of Paranormal

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/10/22/montana-cops-paranormal/74426110/

Manchester United Footballer Suing Toymakers for Making Lookalike Nazi Doll with His Name

http://mashable.com/2015/10/23/bastian-schweinsteiger-nazi-doll/

Friendly Wager Leads to 41 Tons of Potatoes for Food Banks

http://m.ifiberone.com/news/friendly-wager-leads-to-tons-of-potatoes-for-food-banks/article_7ea69172-783b-11e5-bca1-bf7565680d31.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Jimmy Buffet – The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ZaGbZUDdk

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

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.

Note that as some newspapers migrate to a “paywall” system of access, some articles may not be available without forking over some cold hard credit card cash. However, some sites will allow a certain number of story accesses per month before holding out their hand. Sorry if this is an inconvenience.

The Energy News Digest

Friday, October 23, 2015

Energy News Digest for October 23, 2015

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