The Energy News Digest for January 27, 2021

The Energy News Digest is sponsored by the Northwest Public Power Association. 

The News Digest on Facebook and Twitter will bring you breaking news throughout the week.

Subscribe to The Energy News Digest.

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

1.      FirstEnergy, Duke Challenge Sierra Club Claims of ‘Greenwashing’ on Climate Goals

2.      Bye-Bye, Gas Heat? Proposals for Washington Seek to Phase Out Fossil Fuel Heating in Buildings

3.      California Regulators Express ‘Deep Concern’ over Southern California Edison 2020 Power Shutoff Practices

4.      SoCal Edison Reaches $2.2 Billion Settlement for Woolsey Fire

5.      Op/Ed: What the New Energy Act Will Bring to the Pacific Northwest

6.      Op/Ed: Hydropower Needs to Have a Place in Our Clean Energy Vision

7.      The Energy 202: Biden Under Pressure to Stop Utility Shutoffs during Pandemic

8.      WA State: Clark Public Utilities – Moody’s Announces Completion of a Periodic Review of Ratings

9.      Western Area Power Administration Announces Revised Mission & Vision

10.   Construction of Rock Island Dam on the Columbia River Begins on January 27, 1930

11.   Arizona Regulators OK’d Carbon-Free Energy Rules; Now the Legislature Could Strip Their Powers

12.   Can Pumped-Hydro Help Colorado Utilities Integrate More Renewables?

13.   Wyoming: New Studies Show Pronghorn Avoid Wind Turbines. But More Work Is Being Done to Determine the Exact Toll & Wind Development Expands

14.   Chelan PUD Offers Winery Energy Efficiency Program

15.   Empty Seas: Oceanic Shark Populations Dropped 71% Since 1970

16.   Op/Ed: Dams – Can’t Afford to ‘Breach First & Answer Questions Later’

17.   Op/Ed: Treaty Rights Demand Bold Action to Save Salmon

18.   Portland Mayor Seeks to Delay Proposed Carbon Tax after Businesses Complain

19.   FCC’S Acting Chair Says Agency Reviewing Reports of U.S. East Coast Internet Outages

20.   California: Wave Broadband Acquires Digital West

21.   How The Biden Administration Plans To Expand Broadband

22.   Cable, Internet Costs Are Heading Higher; Even Cord-Cutters Will Take a Hit as More Are Homebound

23.   WA State: Cryptocurrency Rates Subject of Grant PUD Commission Discussion

24.   Microsoft Profits Jump 33 Percent as Pandemic Continues Shift to Cloud Computing

25.   Biden Plan to Electrify Federal Fleet Will Boost EV Market, But Many Questions Remain, Experts Say

26.   Sacramento Municipal Utility District Accelerates Fleet Electrification with Five All-Electric Medium-Duty Work Trucks

27.   Wealthy Couple Chartered a Plane to the Yukon, Took Vaccines Meant for Indigenous Elders, Authorities Said

28.   Chatterjee Calls on Congress to Update Federal Energy Policy to Alleviate Burden on FERC

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (See Stories Below)

FirstEnergy, Duke Challenge Sierra Club Claims of ‘Greenwashing’ on Climate Goals (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/duke-other-utilities-challenge-sierra-club-claims-of-greenwashing-on-cli/593957/

Bye-Bye, Gas Heat? Proposals for Washington Seek to Phase Out Fossil Fuel Heating in Buildings (Northwest News Network)

https://www.nwpb.org/2021/01/25/bye-bye-gas-heat-proposals-for-washington-state-seek-to-phase-fossil-fuel-heating-in-buildings/

WA State: Cryptocurrency Rates Subject of Grant PUD Commission Discussion (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2021/jan/26/cryptocurrency-rates-subject-grant-pud-commission-/

Arizona Regulators OK’d Carbon-Free Energy Rules; Now the Legislature Could Strip Their Powers (Arizona Republic, Phoenix, AZ)

https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/energy/2021/01/26/arizona-legislature-advances-bills-block-carbon-free-energy-rules/4255009001/

Empty Seas: Oceanic Shark Populations Dropped 71% Since 1970 (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/sharks-oceanography-fish-oceans-environment-a16012e766bf0b64ea75a3014dfcd37a

WORD OF THE DAY

Penchant \PEN-chunt\ Noun - A strong and continued inclination; broadly: liking.

Fredo’s penchant for the nose-jolting flavor of wasabi almonds created a buzz throughout the cubicles. One enterprising secretary started a secret pool to guess how long it would take for flames to start shooting from the nostrils of the nut-obsessed gourmand.

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

1.      FirstEnergy, Duke Challenge Sierra Club Claims of ‘Greenwashing’ on Climate Goals (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/duke-other-utilities-challenge-sierra-club-claims-of-greenwashing-on-cli/593957/

2.      Bye-Bye, Gas Heat? Proposals for Washington Seek to Phase Out Fossil Fuel Heating in Buildings (Northwest News Network)

https://www.nwpb.org/2021/01/25/bye-bye-gas-heat-proposals-for-washington-state-seek-to-phase-fossil-fuel-heating-in-buildings/

3.      California Regulators Express ‘Deep Concern’ over Southern California Edison 2020 Power Shutoff Practices (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/california-regulators-express-deep-concern-over-sce-2020-power-shutoff-pr/594030/

4.      SoCal Edison Reaches $2.2 Billion Settlement for Woolsey Fire (Bloomberg News)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-25/socal-edison-reaches-2-2-billion-settlement-for-woolsey-fire

5.      Op/Ed: What the New Energy Act Will Bring to the Pacific Northwest (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/what-the-new-energy-act-will-bring-to-the-northwest/

6.      Op/Ed: Hydropower Needs to Have a Place in Our Clean Energy Vision (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

https://energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/2021/01/oped-hydropower-needs-to-have-place-in.html

7.      The Energy 202: Biden Under Pressure to Stop Utility Shutoffs during Pandemic (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/25/energy-202-biden-under-pressure-stop-utility-shutoffs-during-pandemic/

8.      WA State: Clark Public Utilities – Moody’s Announces Completion of a Periodic Review of Ratings (Moody’s Investor Service)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/clark-county-public-utility-district-203808261.html

9.      Western Area Power Administration Announces Revised Mission & Vision (Western Area Power Administration)

https://www.wapa.gov/newsroom/NewsReleases/2021/Pages/wapa-announces-revised-mission-and-vision.aspx

10.   Construction of Rock Island Dam on the Columbia River Begins on January 27, 1930 (HistoryLink)

https://www.historylink.org/File/21173

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE

11.   Arizona Regulators OK’d Carbon-Free Energy Rules; Now the Legislature Could Strip Their Powers (Arizona Republic, Phoenix, AZ)

https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/energy/2021/01/26/arizona-legislature-advances-bills-block-carbon-free-energy-rules/4255009001/

12.   Can Pumped-Hydro Help Colorado Utilities Integrate More Renewables? (Mountain Town News, Arvada, CO)

https://mountaintownnews.net/2021/01/26/pumped-storage-hydro/

13.   Wyoming: New Studies Show Pronghorn Avoid Wind Turbines. But More Work Is Being Done to Determine the Exact Toll & Wind Development Expands. (Casper Star-Tribune, WY)

https://trib.com/outdoors/new-studies-show-pronghorn-avoid-wind-turbines-but-more-work-is-being-done-to-determine/article_24c51e96-1aa5-521b-abd3-2aa2c21bc526.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

14.   Chelan PUD Offers Winery Energy Efficiency Program (KPQ Radio, Wenatchee, WA)

https://www.kpq.com/chelan-pud-offers-winery-energy-efficiency-program/

FISH & WILDLIFE

15.   Empty Seas: Oceanic Shark Populations Dropped 71% Since 1970 (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/sharks-oceanography-fish-oceans-environment-a16012e766bf0b64ea75a3014dfcd37a

16.   Op/Ed: Dams – Can’t Afford to ‘Breach First & Answer Questions Later’ (Idaho County Free Press, Grangeville, ID)

https://www.idahocountyfreepress.com/opinion/guest-opinion-can-t-afford-to-breach-first-and-answer-questions-later/article_e99b5494-603f-11eb-b5b4-537f55e6e230.html

17.   Op/Ed: Treaty Rights Demand Bold Action to Save Salmon (Tri-City Herald, WA)

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article248760015.html

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

18.   Portland Mayor Seeks to Delay Proposed Carbon Tax after Businesses Complain (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2021/01/portland-mayor-seeks-to-delay-proposed-carbon-tax-after-businesses-complain.html

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

19.   FCC’S Acting Chair Says Agency Reviewing Reports of U.S. East Coast Internet Outages (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet-idUSKBN29V29T

20.   California: Wave Broadband Acquires Digital West (Telecompetitor)

https://www.telecompetitor.com/wave-broadband-acquires-digital-west/

21.   How The Biden Administration Plans To Expand Broadband (Forbes Magazine)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/waynerash/2021/01/27/how-the-biden-administration-plans-to-expand-broadband/?sh=73e881a66264

22.   Cable, Internet Costs Are Heading Higher; Even Cord-Cutters Will Take a Hit as More Are Homebound (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/cable-internet-costs-are-heading-higher-even-cord-cutters-will-take-a-hit-as-more-are-homebound/

THE WIZARDING WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY

23.   WA State: Cryptocurrency Rates Subject of Grant PUD Commission Discussion (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2021/jan/26/cryptocurrency-rates-subject-grant-pud-commission-/

24.   Microsoft Profits Jump 33 Percent as Pandemic Continues Shift to Cloud Computing (NY Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/business/microsoft-earnings.html

I SING THE CAR ELECTRIC

25.   Biden Plan to Electrify Federal Fleet Will Boost EV Market, But Many Questions Remain, Experts Say (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/biden-plan-to-electrify-federal-fleet-will-boost-ev-market-but-many-questi/594029/

26.   Sacramento Municipal Utility District Accelerates Fleet Electrification with Five All-Electric Medium-Duty Work Trucks (Green Car Congress)

https://www.greencarcongress.com/2021/01/20210127-smud.html

PUBLIC RELATIONS, MARKETING & MEDIA

27.   Wealthy Couple Chartered a Plane to the Yukon, Took Vaccines Meant for Indigenous Elders, Authorities Said (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/wealthy-couple-chartered-a-plane-to-the-yukon-took-vaccines-meant-for-indigenous-elders-authorities-said/

GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

28.   Chatterjee Calls on Congress to Update Federal Energy Policy to Alleviate Burden on FERC (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/chatterjee-calls-on-congress-to-update-federal-energy-policy-to-alleviate-b/594024/

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman to Perform at Super Bowl

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/super-bowl/2021/01/27/super-bowl-2021-inaugural-poet-amanda-gorman-perform-poem-game/4277020001/

Oklahoma Lawmaker Proposes ‘Bigfoot’ Hunting Season

https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/weird_news/oklahoma-lawmaker-proposes-bigfoot-hunting-season/article_6f831118-2c5b-51f0-b164-0c3c2c74eb64.html

The Inside of This Rock Looks Just Like Cookie Monster, And It’s Worth a Lot of Dough

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/the-inside-of-this-rock-looks-a-lot-like-cookie-monster-235245578.html

After 17 Years Underground, A Swarm of Cicadas Is Set to Descend on America

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/17-years-underground-swarm-of-cicadas_n_601053c6c5b6c5586aa45b47

SONG OF THE DAY

Les Crane – Desiderata

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

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

Links in The Energy News Digest lead to current stories. Media organizations update their websites regularly, which may result in broken links. Media attribution includes information about possible paywall restrictions.

Op/Ed: Hydropower Needs to Have a Place in Our Clean Energy Vision (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)

Envision a clean energy future. Perhaps you see rolling hills lined with wind turbines and rooftops and buildings neatly lined with solar panels.

The push for clean, renewable energy and the electrification of nearly every aspect of our lives is happening in tandem, and that vision could become reality.

Electric vehicles are gaining in popularity. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has proposed retrofitting existing buildings to rid them of natural gas, and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is seeking to ban natural gas within the city. Throughout the Northwest, public transportation is being electrified. Many buses have shifted to battery power, and Washington ferries will be retrofitted with batteries.

Even private companies are going electric. Amazon’s delivery fleet is set to expand to 10,000 EVs by 2022 and 100,000 by 2030.

Inevitably, then, we will look to our electric grid to power many more of our daily needs.

This major shift to electrification could potentially double the Northwest’s electricity demand. To fulfill our carbon reduction goals, however, that new demand must be served with non-emitting forms of generation.

Fortunately, the Northwest already has a significant part of the solution — hydroelectricity.

The region receives roughly half of its electricity from hydropower, and dams lead the way producing 90% of our renewable energy.

However, hydropower won’t be able to tackle the increase in demand alone, so we expect many new wind and solar plants to populate our region.

Wind and solar power have shown their impressive capabilities, and they are improving and getting cheaper. But they depend on the presence of wind or sunshine and can fluctuate between over and underproducing power. This issue is known as intermittency.

These spikes and dips in a generation, if left unchecked, would damage the grid and lead to blackouts. That’s why they require backup. Batteries are often pointed to as the answer, but large-scale battery technology is still evolving, and their environmental impacts have raised eyebrows.

Again, hydropower provides a key solution. Hydroelectric dams can act like giant, clean batteries through the storage and release of water. When other renewables are producing surplus energy, water can be held back behind a dam and stored for later use. If those same renewables aren’t producing enough power, water can be released past hydroelectric turbines to generate power and meet demand.

In 2020, the Union of Concerned Scientists and other environmentally-minded organizations highlighted the importance of hydropower in adding other renewables to the grid.

It was an important reminder our region desperately needs. In the last two years, calls to remove highly productive dams in order to return rivers to a natural state have sharply grown. Currently, a process involving the governors of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington is set to examine solutions for salmon recovery, including breaching dams that are vital to our region.

That is a bad sign because new estimates predict our region’s peak energy needs may exceed supply in the next few years. The last time we saw similar forecasts was just ahead of the 2000-2001 Western Energy Crisis, which had disastrous socioeconomic consequences for many Pacific Northwest communities.

We are still in the process of removing coal plants from the energy portfolio — a gap yet to be adequately filled with renewable resources. Should our elected officials push for dam removal, we risk losing thousands of megawatts of clean energy and hindering our ability to add much-needed wind and solar resources.

To put it simply, we must include hydroelectricity in our clean energy vision. Otherwise, we risk that vision becoming a mere figment of our imagination.

 

The Energy News Digest for January 25, 2021

The Energy News Digest is sponsored by the Northwest Public Power Association. 

The News Digest on Facebook and Twitter will bring you breaking news throughout the week.

Subscribe to The Energy News Digest.

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

WA State Gov. Inslee’s Cap-And-Invest Proposal Draws Criticism from Environmentalists (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

https://mynorthwest.com/2486465/cap-and-invest-bill/

Outgoing Trump Administration Signs Off on Oregon Wave Energy Test Center Lease after Delay (Portland Business Journal, OR)

https://energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/2021/01/outgoing-trump-administration-signs-off.html

Upper Colorado River Drought Plan Triggered for First Time – Lake Powell in Utah Dropping Below a Critical Threshold (Arizona Public Media)

https://news.azpm.org/p/news-topical-nature/2021/1/21/187644-upper-colorado-river-drought-plan-triggered-for-first-time/

Gray Whale Population Drops by Quarter off U.S. West Coast (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2021-01-20/gray-whale-population-drops-by-quarter-off-us-west-coast

Glick Named FERC Chair, Promises ‘Significant Progress’ on Energy Transition (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/glick-named-chair-of-ferc-promises-significant-progress-on-energy-transi/593721/

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (See Stories Below)

1.      Upper Colorado River Drought Plan Triggered for First Time – Lake Powell in Utah Dropping Below a Critical Threshold

2.      Many U.S. Utilities Plan to Hang on to Their Coal Plants for a Decade: Sierra Club

3.      What’s the Grade? The Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges

4.      Oregon: Willamette Falls Paper Co. Is Getting the Electricity Service It Wanted

5.      Anchorage Residents to See Reduced Electricity Rates

6.      Op/Ed: President Biden Must Focus on Affordable, Reliable Electricity

7.      Bonneville Power Administration – Moody’s Announces Completion of a Periodic Review of Ratings

8.      Seattle City Light – Moody’s Announces Completion of a Periodic Review of Ratings

9.      Klickitat PUD – Moody’s Announces Completion of a Periodic Review of Ratings

10.   Indiana Lawmakers to Vote on Bill to Ban Local Heating Electrification Initiatives

11.   Outgoing Trump Administration Signs Off on Oregon Wave Energy Test Center Lease after Delay

12.   More Wind Power Could Be Coming to Interior Alaska

13.   Kauai Island Co-Op & AES to Develop Solar-Pumped Hydro in Hawaii

14.   Two Administration Biden Priorities, Climate & Conservation, Collide in the California Desert

15.   ‘Not Slowing Down’: Solar Will Be Cheapest Power Resource in US by 2030: Woodmac

16.   With FERC Order 2222 Compliance Deadline 6 Months Away, Many Questions Loom, Analysts Find

17.   Rethinking the Utility Low-Income Approach – “Low-Income” Households Pay Up to Three Times More than the Average Household on Home Energy Costs

18.   Vertical Farming’s Success Depends on the Cheapest Lightbulb

19.   Demystifying Heat Pump Water Heaters

20.   Gray Whale Population Drops by Quarter off U.S. West Coast

21.   Canadian Coast Guard Throws Technology Behind Protecting Southern Resident Killer Whales

22.   WA State Gov. Inslee’s Cap-And-Invest Proposal Draws Criticism from Environmentalists

23.   California: Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s Board Adopts Building Decarbonization Joint Action Plan

24.   Puget Sound Energy Sets Net Zero Carbon Emissions Goal for 2045

25.   In Switch, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Backs Climate Action, Possible Carbon Tax

26.   Global Ice Loss Increasing at Record Rate

27.   Report: 70% of Americans Now Have Access to Low-Priced Wired Broadband Plans

28.   Q&A: WA State Rep. Alex Ybarra Breaks Down the “Public Broadband Act” – Public Utility District Opportunities

29.   More Than $38 Million Awarded for Idaho Broadband Expansion

30.   Op/Ed: Delivering Rural Broadband Across Montana

31.   Key Lessons for Policymakers and the Public About Expanding Broadband Access

32.   Alphabet Shuts Down Loon Internet Balloon Company

33.   Google Is Threatening to Pull Its Search Engine Out of Australia

34.   Glick Named FERC Chair, Promises ‘Significant Progress’ on Energy Transition

35.   President Biden Picks Jessica Rosenworcel as Acting FCC Chief

WORD OF THE DAY

Insouciance /in-SOO-see-unss/ Noun – Lighthearted unconcern: nonchalance.

What do I think about the “Word of the Day?” Meh.

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

1.      Upper Colorado River Drought Plan Triggered for First Time – Lake Powell in Utah Dropping Below a Critical Threshold (Arizona Public Media)

https://news.azpm.org/p/news-topical-nature/2021/1/21/187644-upper-colorado-river-drought-plan-triggered-for-first-time/

2.      Many U.S. Utilities Plan to Hang on to Their Coal Plants for a Decade: Sierra Club (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-utilities-coal-sierraclub/many-u-s-utilities-plan-to-hang-on-to-their-coal-plants-for-a-decade-sierra-club-idUSKBN29U19B

3.      What’s the Grade? The Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges (Sierra Club – No West Coast Public Utilities Listed)

https://coal.sierraclub.org/the-problem/dirty-truth-greenwashing-utilities

4.      Oregon: Willamette Falls Paper Co. Is Getting the Electricity Service It Wanted — And That It Needs to Survive, The Company Has Said — After Settling a Dispute with Portland General Electric (Portland Business Journal, OR)

https://energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/2021/01/oregon-willamette-falls-paper-co-is.html

5.      Anchorage Residents to See Reduced Electricity Rates (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/alaska/articles/2021-01-24/anchorage-residents-to-see-reduced-electricity-rates

6.      Op/Ed: President Biden Must Focus on Affordable, Reliable Electricity (Alaska Journal of Commerce)

https://www.alaskajournal.com/2021-01-20/guest-commentary-biden-must-focus-affordable-reliable-electricity

7.      Bonneville Power Administration – Moody’s Announces Completion of a Periodic Review of Ratings (Moody’s Investor Service)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bonneville-power-administration-moodys-announces-143906416.html

8.      Seattle City Light – Moody’s Announces Completion of a Periodic Review of Ratings (Moody’s Investor Service)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/seattle-city-wa-electric-enterprise-144306949.html

9.      Klickitat PUD – Moody’s Announces Completion of a Periodic Review of Ratings (Moody’s Investor Service)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/klickitat-county-public-utility-dist-145109646.html

10.   Indiana Lawmakers to Vote on Bill to Ban Local Heating Electrification Initiatives (Energy News Network)

https://energynews.us/2021/01/25/midwest/indiana-lawmakers-to-vote-on-bill-to-ban-local-heating-electrification-initiatives/

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE

11.   Outgoing Trump Administration Signs Off on Oregon Wave Energy Test Center Lease after Delay (Portland Business Journal, OR)

https://energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/2021/01/outgoing-trump-administration-signs-off.html

12.   More Wind Power Could Be Coming to Interior Alaska (KTOO Radio, Juneau, AK)

https://www.ktoo.org/2021/01/22/more-wind-power-could-be-coming-to-interior-alaska/

13.   Kauai Island Co-Op & AES to Develop Solar-Pumped Hydro in Hawaii (Power Engineering)

https://www.powerengineeringint.com/renewables/kauai-island-coop-and-aes-to-develop-solar-pumped-hydro-in-hawaii/

14.   Two Administration Biden Priorities, Climate & Conservation, Collide in the California Desert (Los Angeles Times, CA)

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-01-21/biden-priorities-climate-conservation-collide-california-desert

15.   ‘Not Slowing Down’: Solar Will Be Cheapest Power Resource in US by 2030: Woodmac (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/not-slowing-down-solar-will-be-cheapest-power-resource-in-us-by-2030-wo/593798/

16.   With FERC Order 2222 Compliance Deadline 6 Months Away, Many Questions Loom, Analysts Find (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/with-ferc-order-2222-compliance-deadline-6-months-away-many-questions-loom/593435/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

17.   Rethinking the Utility Low-Income Approach – “Low-Income” Households Pay Up to Three Times More than the Average Household on Home Energy Costs (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/spons/rethinking-the-utility-low-income-approach/593729/

18.   Vertical Farming’s Success Depends on the Cheapest Lightbulb (Financial Post)

https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/vertical-farmings-success-depends-on-the-cheapest-lightbulb

19.   Demystifying Heat Pump Water Heaters (Palo Alto Online, CA)

https://www.paloaltoonline.com/blogs/p/2021/01/17/demystifying-heat-pump-water-heaters

FISH & WILDLIFE

20.   Gray Whale Population Drops by Quarter off U.S. West Coast (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2021-01-20/gray-whale-population-drops-by-quarter-off-us-west-coast

21.   Canadian Coast Guard Throws Technology Behind Protecting Southern Resident Killer Whales (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/coast-guard-marine-mammal-desk-southern-resident-killer-whales-1.5873072

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

22.   WA State Gov. Inslee’s Cap-And-Invest Proposal Draws Criticism from Environmentalists (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

https://mynorthwest.com/2486465/cap-and-invest-bill/

23.   California: Silicon Valley Clean Energy’s Board Adopts Building Decarbonization Joint Action Plan (American Public Power Association)

https://www.publicpower.org/periodical/article/silicon-valley-clean-energys-board-adopts-building-decarbonization-joint-action-plan

24.   Puget Sound Energy Sets Net Zero Carbon Emissions Goal for 2045 (Daily Energy Insider)

https://dailyenergyinsider.com/news/28819-puget-sound-energy-sets-net-zero-carbon-emissions-goal-for-2045/

25.   In Switch, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Backs Climate Action, Possible Carbon Tax (Bloomberg News)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-19/in-switch-chamber-endorses-climate-action-possible-carbon-tax

26.   Global Ice Loss Increasing at Record Rate (Courthouse News Service)

https://www.courthousenews.com/global-ice-loss-increasing-at-record-rate/

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

27.   Report: 70% of Americans Now Have Access to Low-Priced Wired Broadband Plans (Gizmodo)

https://gizmodo.com/report-70-of-americans-now-have-access-to-low-priced-1846104406

28.   Q&A: WA State Rep. Alex Ybarra Breaks Down the “Public Broadband Act” – Public Utility District Opportunities (Washington State Wire, Olympia, WA)

https://washingtonstatewire.com/qa-rep-alex-ybarra-breaks-down-the-public-broadband-act/

29.   More Than $38 Million Awarded for Idaho Broadband Expansion (KIFI-TV, Idaho Falls, ID)

https://localnews8.com/news/idaho/2021/01/21/more-than-38-million-awarded-for-broadband-expansion-in-idaho/

30.   Op/Ed: Delivering Rural Broadband Across Montana (Ravalli Republic, Hamilton, MT)

https://energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/2021/01/oped-delivering-rural-broadband-across.html

31.   Key Lessons for Policymakers and the Public About Expanding Broadband Access (The PEW Charitable Trust)

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2021/01/22/key-lessons-for-policymakers-and-the-public-about-expanding-broadband-access

32.   Alphabet Shuts Down Loon Internet Balloon Company (Tech Crunch)

https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/21/google-alphabet-is-shutting-down-loon-internet/

THE WIZARDING WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY

33.   Google Is Threatening to Pull Its Search Engine Out of Australia (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/22/google-australia-publishers/

GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

34.   Glick Named FERC Chair, Promises ‘Significant Progress’ on Energy Transition (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/glick-named-chair-of-ferc-promises-significant-progress-on-energy-transi/593721/

35.   President Biden Picks Jessica Rosenworcel as Acting FCC Chief (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/biden-picks-jessica-rosenworcel-run-fcc-n1255048

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

Right to Farm – French Roosters Now Crow with the Law Behind Them

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/world/europe/france-countryside-noises-smells-law.html

Loyal Dog Waits for Six Days Outside Hospital for Her Sick Owner

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/world/dog-hospital-scli-intl/index.html

Frenchwoman Ruled Dead in 2017 Fights to Be Declared Alive

https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/world_news/woman-ruled-dead-in-2017-fights-to-be-declared-alive/article_914ce4f3-794e-5fd9-bbe8-71a2ef60ca88.html

Dog & Goat Serving as Mayor Raise Money for a Playground

https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/weird_news/dog-and-goat-serving-as-mayor-raise-money-for-a-playground/article_5a438dd5-5641-552e-8de4-54545cce8881.html

SONG OF THE DAY

Neil Young – Harvest Moon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P5siCnNKnw

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

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