Wednesday, December 15, 2021

The Energy News Digest for December 15, 2021

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

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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.

HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Gov. Inslee Proposes Redress of Dwindling Salmon Jeopardized by Rising Temperatures, Toxic Runoff (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

https://mynorthwest.com/3282596/inslee-salmon-recovery-action-plan/

Pacific Northwest Nuclear Power Plant Back Online after Turbine Vibrations Force Rebalancing (Tri-City Herald, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article256598356.html

Another Amazon Web Services Outage Disrupts Facebook, DoorDash, Hulu (Yahoo! News)

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amazon-services-outage-second-two-161016374.html

WA State: What Should We Expect from Gov. Inslee’s Climate Action Plans, Budget Proposal? (KNKX Radio, Tacoma, WA)

https://www.knkx.org/government/2021-12-14/what-should-we-expect-from-inslees-climate-action-plans-budget-proposal

Natural Gas Furnaces, Water Heaters in Crosshairs of Some Pacific Northwest Policymakers (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2021/12/15/natural-gas-furnaces-water-heaters-in-crosshairs-of-some-northwest-policymakers/

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (See Stories Below)

1.      Pacific Northwest Nuclear Power Plant Back Online after Turbine Vibrations Force Rebalancing

2.      Natural Gas Furnaces, Water Heaters in Crosshairs of Some Pacific Northwest Policymakers

3.      New York City Set to Ban Natural Gas in New Buildings

4.      NuScale Power Plans to Be the First Advanced Nuclear Reactor Company to Go Public

5.      US Officials Eye Fuel Supply for Advanced Nuclear Reactors

6.      Q&A with Bob Schuetz, Energy Northwest CEO

7.      Canada, U.S. Conclude Latest Round of Columbia River Treaty Negotiations

8.      Waterpower Receives Major Support in U.S. Senate Reconciliation Proposal

9.      What Do Pacific Northwest Rivers Have to Do with Your Holiday Season?

10.   Guest Essay: Success of Removing WA’s Condit Dam Shows Snake River Dams Should Go, Too

11.   Standard Solar Acquires 10-Megawatt Community Solar Portfolio in Oregon

12.   MyHydro is Increasing Access to Electricity in Africa with Its Cost-Effective Modular Hydropower Financing Solution

13.   WA State: Richland Improves Metering Efficiency, Renewable Energy Use

14.   Why Pittsburgh Is Dimming Its Streetlights

15.   Gov. Inslee Proposes Redress of Dwindling Salmon Jeopardized by Rising Temperatures, Toxic Runoff

16.   WA State Gov. Inslee Proposes $187 Million for Salmon

17.   ‘There Is No More Time When It Comes to Salmon’: WA State Gov. Inslee Announces Proposed Investments for Species Recovery

18.   Will a Shad Horde Take Over the Columbia River?

19.   Volunteers Raise Oyster Gardens to Help Restore Reefs

20.   States to Sign Voluntary Cutbacks of Colorado River Water

21.   WA State: What Should We Expect from Gov. Inslee’s Climate Action Plans, Budget Proposal?

22.   Lessons From a Year of Reporting on Climate Solutions in the Pacific Northwest

23.   Oregon Scientists Call for More Forest Protection to Fight Climate Change, Save Species

24.   UN Weather Agency Affirms 2020 Arctic Heat Record in Siberia

25.   A Washington PUD (Lewis County) Prioritizes Open Access Fiber After Pandemic

26.   How State Grants Support Broadband Deployment

27.   Another Amazon Web Services Outage Disrupts Facebook, DoorDash, Hulu

28.   Oregon: Facebook Parent Meta Looking to Boost Water Reserves in Crook County

29.   WA State: 2,000 & Growing: Navigating the Rise of Electric Vehicles in the Spokane Area

30.   NASA’s Tough Spacecraft Dives into the Sun’s Atmosphere, Captures Wild Footage

31.   California Lashed with Rain, Snow in Powerful Storm

32.   Alcoa Permanently Closing Wenatchee Works Site

33.   WA State: Push for Electric Fences in Tacoma to Counter Property Crime

34.   Meteorologists Watching for Signs of a White Christmas Across Puget Sound Region

WORD OF THE DAY

Mandarin \MAN-drin\ Adjective – 1: of, relating to, or typical of a public official in China 2: marked by polished ornate complexity of language.

Ferdinand took his responsibilities in the steno pool seriously. So much so, that his office came to resemble the mandarin elegance of a minor far-east potentate. Right down to the replacement of his desk chair with a huge, overstuffed pillow, and a noxious, continuously billowing incense burner near his tiny little zen garden on his desk. Biomass be damned….

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

1.      Pacific Northwest Nuclear Power Plant Back Online after Turbine Vibrations Force Rebalancing (Tri-City Herald, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article256598356.html

2.      Natural Gas Furnaces, Water Heaters in Crosshairs of Some Pacific Northwest Policymakers (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2021/12/15/natural-gas-furnaces-water-heaters-in-crosshairs-of-some-northwest-policymakers/

3.      New York City Set to Ban Natural Gas in New Buildings (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2021-12-15/new-york-city-set-to-ban-natural-gas-in-new-buildings

4.      NuScale Power Plans to Be the First Advanced Nuclear Reactor Company to Go Public (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nuscale-power-plans-to-be-the-first-advanced-nuclear-reactor-company-to-go/611548/

5.      US Officials Eye Fuel Supply for Advanced Nuclear Reactors (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2021-12-14/us-officials-eye-fuel-supply-for-advanced-nuclear-reactors

6.      Q&A with Bob Schuetz, Energy Northwest CEO (Tri-Cities Business News, WA)

https://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com/2021/12/bob-schuetz/

7.      Canada, U.S. Conclude Latest Round of Columbia River Treaty Negotiations (Boundary Creek Times, BC)

https://www.boundarycreektimes.com/news/eleventh-round-of-talks-were-completed-on-dec-9-both-sides-plan-to-meet-again-in-january/

8.      Waterpower Receives Major Support in U.S. Senate Reconciliation Proposal (National Hydropower Association)

https://www.hydro.org/powerhouse/article/breaking-news-waterpower-receives-major-support-in-senate-reconciliation-proposal/

SOAPBOX SERENADE – VOX POPULI

9.      What Do Pacific Northwest Rivers Have to Do with Your Holiday Season? (Bonneville Power Administration)

https://www.bpa.gov/news/newsroom/Pages/What-do-Northwest-rivers-have-to-do-with-your-holiday-season.aspx

10.   Guest Essay: Success of Removing WA’s Condit Dam Shows Snake River Dams Should Go, Too (Tri-City Herald, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.tri-cityherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article256559176.html

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE

11.   Standard Solar Acquires 10-Megawatt Community Solar Portfolio in Oregon (Business Wire)

https://www.bdtonline.com/news/nation_world/standard-solar-acquires-10-megawatt-community-solar-portfolio-in-oregon/article_835a44df-1ab6-5cdc-b2ce-7ad69dd536de.html

12.   MyHydro is Increasing Access to Electricity in Africa with Its Cost-Effective Modular Hydropower Financing Solution (Clean Technica)

https://cleantechnica-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cleantechnica.com/2021/12/08/myhydro-is-increasing-access-to-electricity-in-africa-with-its-cost-effective-modular-hydropower-financing-solution/amp/

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

13.   WA State: Richland Improves Metering Efficiency, Renewable Energy Use (Tri-Cities Business News, WA)

https://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com/2021/12/richland-energy/

14.   Why Pittsburgh Is Dimming Its Streetlights (Bloomberg News)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-14/pittsburgh-changes-lightbulbs-for-stars-in-a-dark-sky

FISH & WILDLIFE

15.   Gov. Inslee Proposes Redress of Dwindling Salmon Jeopardized by Rising Temperatures, Toxic Runoff (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

https://mynorthwest.com/3282596/inslee-salmon-recovery-action-plan/

16.   WA State Gov. Inslee Proposes $187 Million for Salmon (KPQ-Radio, Wenatchee, WA)

https://www.kpq.com/inlsee-proposes-187-million-for-salmon/

17.   ‘There Is No More Time When It Comes to Salmon’: WA State Gov. Inslee Announces Proposed Investments for Species Recovery (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/dec/15/there-is-no-more-time-when-it-comes-to-salmon-insl/

18.   Will a Shad Horde Take Over the Columbia River? (Northwest News Network)

https://www.nwnewsnetwork.org/2021-12-13/will-a-shad-horde-take-over-the-columbia-river

ENVIRONMENTAL AFFLATUS – CLEAN UP ON AISLE THREE

19.   Volunteers Raise Oyster Gardens to Help Restore Reefs (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2021-12-15/volunteers-raise-oyster-gardens-to-help-restore-reefs

WATER, WATER, ANYWHERE?

20.   States to Sign Voluntary Cutbacks of Colorado River Water (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/news/articles/2021-12-15/states-to-sign-voluntary-cutbacks-of-colorado-river-water

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

21.   WA State: What Should We Expect from Gov. Inslee’s Climate Action Plans, Budget Proposal? (KNKX Radio, Tacoma, WA)

https://www.knkx.org/government/2021-12-14/what-should-we-expect-from-inslees-climate-action-plans-budget-proposal

22.   Lessons From a Year of Reporting on Climate Solutions in the Pacific Northwest (Crosscut Seattle)

https://crosscut.com/environment/2021/12/lessons-year-reporting-climate-solutions-pnw

23.   Oregon Scientists Call for More Forest Protection to Fight Climate Change, Save Species (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2021/12/14/oregon-scientists-urge-forest-protection-to-fight-climate-change/

24.   UN Weather Agency Affirms 2020 Arctic Heat Record in Siberia (Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-fires-united-nations-weather-heat-waves-db968e292f9581ef9caca0bab01267fd

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

25.   A Washington PUD (Lewis County) Prioritizes Open Access Fiber After Pandemic (Community Networks)

https://muninetworks.org/content/washington-pud-prioritizes-open-access-fiber-after-pandemic-episode-485-community-broadband

26.   How State Grants Support Broadband Deployment (Pew Charitable Trust)

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2021/12/how-state-grants-support-broadband-deployment

THE WIZARDING WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY

27.   Another Amazon Web Services Outage Disrupts Facebook, DoorDash, Hulu (Yahoo! News)

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amazon-services-outage-second-two-161016374.html

28.   Oregon: Facebook Parent Meta Looking to Boost Water Reserves in Crook County (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2021/12/facebook-parent-meta-looking-to-boost-water-reserves-in-crook-county.html

I SING THE CAR ELECTRIC

29.   WA State: 2,000 & Growing: Navigating the Rise of Electric Vehicles in the Spokane Area (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/dec/15/2000-and-growing-navigating-the-rise-of-electric-v/

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI – SEETHING STEW OF SCIENCE

30.   NASA’s Tough Spacecraft Dives into the Sun’s Atmosphere, Captures Wild Footage (Mashable)

https://mashable.com/article/nasa-spacecraft-enters-sun

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TODAY

31.   California Lashed with Rain, Snow in Powerful Storm (USA Today – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/nation/2021/12/15/california-storm-lashes-state-rain-snow-and-winds/8900059002/

32.   Alcoa Permanently Closing Wenatchee Works Site (KPQ-Radio, Wenatchee, WA)

https://www.kpq.com/alcoa-permanently-closing-wenatchee-works-site/

33.   WA State: Push for Electric Fences in Tacoma to Counter Property Crime (KOMO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

https://komonews.com/news/local/push-for-electric-fences-in-tacoma-to-counter-property-crime

34.   Meteorologists Watching for Signs of a White Christmas Across Puget Sound Region (KIRO Broadcasting, Seattle, WA)

https://mynorthwest.com/3282823/meteorologists-watching-signs-white-christmas/

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

Tumblegeddon Strikes Again: High Winds in Yakima & Tri-Cities Pile Tumbleweeds High & Topple Highway Travelers

https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/tumblegeddon-strikes-again-high-winds-in-yakima-and-tri-cities-pile-tumbleweeds-high-and-topple/article_4af50de5-96c9-57ad-8b27-936d25377a37.html

The Library of Congress Nerds Out

https://gizmodo.com/the-library-of-congress-nerds-out-1848213829

Granite Falls Man Leaves Winning $2 Million Lotto Ticket on Car Dashboard for a Month

https://www.kiro7.com/news/north-sound-news/granite-falls-man-leaves-winning-2-million-lotto-ticket-car-dashboard-month/MYWGDUMJ5ZCKLHXV5IVGGM4GQ4/

Forget About Gold: Study Says Investing in Lego Sets Will Earn You More Money

https://gizmodo.com/forget-about-gold-study-says-investing-in-lego-sets-wi-1848198385

SONG OF THE DAY

Sons of the Pioneers – Tumbling Tumbleweeds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-YLGUHIqhU