The Energy News Digest for January 11, 2021

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

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HOT SHOTS – TODAY’S TOP FIVE STORIES

Soaring Bitcoin Prices Put Central Washington Electrical Utilities on Alert (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/sunday-buzz-soaring-bitcoin-prices-put-central-washington-electrical-utilities-on-alert/

Centralia, WA – TransAlta Retires One of Two Coal-Burning Units (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)

http://www.chronline.com/news/transalta-retires-one-of-two-coal-burning-units/article_bc31cad0-5214-11eb-8c58-1b2702e6bbd3.html

John Hairston Gets Top Job at Bonneville Power Administration (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2021/01/john-hairston-gets-top-job-at-bonneville-power-administration.html

Energy Northwest CEO Brad Sawatzke Announces Intention to Retire in June (Energy Northwest)

https://www.energy-northwest.com/whoweare/news-and-info/Pages/CEO-Brad-Sawatzke-announces-intention-to-retire-in-June-.aspx

Washington State Adopts Rules to Guide Utilities to Coal-Free Status by 2025, Carbon-Free By 2045 (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/washington-state-adopts-rules-to-guide-utilities-to-coal-free-status-by-202/592955/

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (See Stories Below)

1.      Soaring Bitcoin Prices Put Central Washington Electrical Utilities on Alert

2.      Centralia, WA – TransAlta Retires One of Two Coal-Burning Units

3.      John Hairston Gets Top Job at Bonneville Power Administration

4.      What Regional Leaders Are Saying About Hairston’s BPA Appointment

5.      Energy Northwest CEO Brad Sawatzke Announces Intention to Retire in June

6.      Utilities Execs Say Alaska Energy Authority’s Powerline Purchase to Promote Hydropower

7.      Avista (NYSE:AVA) Downgraded by Bank of America

8.      Arizona: Salt River Project Customers Experience Outage Due to Technical Issue

9.      Op/Ed: Montanans Should Not Be Forced to Pay Monopolies a Profit on COVID Losses

10.   Nuclear Power Backers Hopeful President-Elect Biden’s Climate Focus Will Boost Industry

11.   South Carolina: Fight Over Santee Cooper Starts Before 2021 Session Begins

12.   Wholesale U.S. Electricity Prices Were Generally Lower & Less Volatile in 2020 than 2019

13.   In 2020, U.S. Natural Gas Prices Were the Lowest in Decades

14.   The Power Is Out. Now What?

15.   Oregon: SunPower Shutting Down Former SolarWorld Plant in Hillsboro

16.   Chinese Solar Companies Tied to Use of Forced Labor

17.   Renewables Account for Most New U.S. Electricity Generating Capacity in 2021

18.   Seattle City Light Breaks Ground on New Solar Microgrid at Miller Community Center

19.   Kauai Island Utility Cooperative Proposes Hybrid Solar, Hydro Energy Facility to Help Reach Renewables Targets

20.   North Carolina Panel Moves to Weaken Building Energy Conservation Rules

21.   New Comfort Ready Home Program Will Help Homeowners

22.   We Already Have the Key to a Clean Energy Economy. We’re Just Not Using It – Smart Meters Can Optimize the Grid & Empower Customers

23.   Washington State Adopts Rules to Guide Utilities to Coal-Free Status by 2025, Carbon-Free By 2045

24.   Record Broken for Number of Billion-Dollar US Weather & Climate Disasters in 2020

25.   How Microsoft Plans to Eliminate All the Carbon It Ever Emitted

26.   The Cost of Using Poles

27.   Data Centers Are Energy Hogs. Could They Help Power the Grid?

28.   Umatilla Electric Cooperative Uses Apps, Calculators

29.   Albemarle to Boost Nevada Lithium Output as Electric Vehicle Demand Climbs

30.   An Employer’s Dilemma: To Mandate (or Not) the Covid-19 Vaccine?

31.   A Strong Atmosphere River Approaches

WORD OF THE DAY

Noetic ● \noh-ET-ik\ ● Adjective – Of, relating to, or based on the intellect.

Smart people are fun

Noetic admiration

A beautiful mind

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

1.      Soaring Bitcoin Prices Put Central Washington Electrical Utilities on Alert (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/sunday-buzz-soaring-bitcoin-prices-put-central-washington-electrical-utilities-on-alert/

2.      Centralia, WA – TransAlta Retires One of Two Coal-Burning Units (The Chronicle, Centralia, WA)

http://www.chronline.com/news/transalta-retires-one-of-two-coal-burning-units/article_bc31cad0-5214-11eb-8c58-1b2702e6bbd3.html

 

3.      John Hairston Gets Top Job at Bonneville Power Administration (Oregonian, Portland, OR)

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2021/01/john-hairston-gets-top-job-at-bonneville-power-administration.html

4.      What Regional Leaders Are Saying About Hairston’s BPA Appointment (Bonneville Power Administration)

https://www.bpa.gov/news/newsroom/Pages/What-regional-leaders-are-saying-about-Hairstons-appointment.aspx

5.      Energy Northwest CEO Brad Sawatzke Announces Intention to Retire in June (Energy Northwest)

https://www.energy-northwest.com/whoweare/news-and-info/Pages/CEO-Brad-Sawatzke-announces-intention-to-retire-in-June-.aspx

6.      Utilities Execs Say Alaska Energy Authority’s Powerline Purchase to Promote Hydropower (KUAC Radio, Fairbanks, AK)

https://fm.kuac.org/post/utilities-execs-say-alaska-energy-authority-s-power-line-purchase-promote-hydropower

7.      Avista (NYSE:AVA) Downgraded by Bank of America (MarketBeat)

https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/nyse-ava-a-buy-or-sell-right-now-2021-01/

8.      Arizona: Salt River Project Customers Experience Outage Due to Technical Issue (KNXV-TV, Phoenix, AZ)

https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/srp-customers-experience-outage-due-to-technical-issue

9.      Op/Ed: Montanans Should Not Be Forced to Pay Monopolies a Profit on COVID Losses (Montana Standard, Butte, MT)

https://mtstandard.com/opinion/columnists/guest-view-montanans-should-not-be-forced-to-pay-monopolies-a-profit-on-covid-losses/article_eb206000-2c54-5d01-bedc-fac19bd537aa.html

10.   Nuclear Power Backers Hopeful President-Elect Biden’s Climate Focus Will Boost Industry (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclearpower-energy/nuclear-power-backers-hopeful-bidens-climate-focus-will-boost-industry-idUSKBN29G2AY

11.   South Carolina: Fight Over Santee Cooper Starts Before 2021 Session Begins (Associated Press)

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article248315150.html

12.   Wholesale U.S. Electricity Prices Were Generally Lower & Less Volatile in 2020 than 2019 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=46396

13.   In 2020, U.S. Natural Gas Prices Were the Lowest in Decades (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=46376

14.   The Power Is Out. Now What? (Aberdeen Daily World, WA)

https://www.thedailyworld.com/life/the-power-is-out-now-what/

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE

15.   Oregon: SunPower Shutting Down Former SolarWorld Plant in Hillsboro (Portland Business Journal, OR)

https://energynewsdigest.blogspot.com/2021/01/oregon-sunpower-shutting-down-former.html

16.   Chinese Solar Companies Tied to Use of Forced Labor (NY Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/business/economy/china-solar-companies-forced-labor-xinjiang.html

17.   Renewables Account for Most New U.S. Electricity Generating Capacity in 2021 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=46416

18.   Seattle City Light Breaks Ground on New Solar Microgrid at Miller Community Center (Seattle City Light, WA)

https://powerlines.seattle.gov/2021/01/06/seattle-city-light-breaks-ground-on-new-solar-microgrid-at-miller-community-center/

19.   Kauai Island Utility Cooperative Proposes Hybrid Solar, Hydro Energy Facility to Help Reach Renewables Targets (Pacific Business Journal, HI)

https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2021/01/07/kauai-proposes-hybrid-solar-facility.html

CONSERVATION & EFFICIENCY

20.   North Carolina Panel Moves to Weaken Building Energy Conservation Rules (Energy News Network)

https://energynews.us/2021/01/07/southeast/north-carolina-panel-moves-to-weaken-building-energy-conservation-rules/

21.   New Comfort Ready Home Program Will Help Homeowners (Bonneville Power Administration)

https://www.bpa.gov/news/newsroom/Pages/New%20Comfort%20Ready%20Home%20program%20will%20help%20homeowners.aspx

22.   We Already Have the Key to a Clean Energy Economy. We’re Just Not Using It – Smart Meters Can Optimize the Grid & Empower Customers (GreenTech Media)

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/we-already-have-the-key-to-a-clean-energy-economy-were-just-not-using-it

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

23.   Washington State Adopts Rules to Guide Utilities to Coal-Free Status by 2025, Carbon-Free By 2045 (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/washington-state-adopts-rules-to-guide-utilities-to-coal-free-status-by-202/592955/

24.   Record Broken for Number of Billion-Dollar US Weather & Climate Disasters in 2020 (The Hill, Washington, DC)

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/533366-record-broken-for-number-of-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate

25.   How Microsoft Plans to Eliminate All the Carbon It Ever Emitted (Forbes Magazine)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2021/01/11/how-microsoft-plans-to-eliminate-all-the-carbon-it-ever-generated/?sh=b73706e1d3c1

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

26.   The Cost of Using Poles (Pots & Pans)

https://potsandpansbyccg.com/2021/01/11/the-cost-of-using-poles/

THE WIZARDING WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY

27.   Data Centers Are Energy Hogs. Could They Help Power the Grid? (Grist Online)

https://grist.org/energy/googles-data-centers-are-energy-hogs-could-they-help-power-the-grid/

28.   Umatilla Electric Cooperative Uses Apps, Calculators (Transmission & Distribution World)

https://www.tdworld.com/electric-utility-operations/tools-and-technologies/article/21150845/umatilla-electric-cooperative-uses-apps-calculators

I SING THE CAR ELECTRIC

29.   Albemarle to Boost Nevada Lithium Output as Electric Vehicle Demand Climbs (Utility Dive)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-albemarle-nevada/albemarle-to-boost-nevada-lithium-output-as-electric-vehicle-demand-climbs-idUSKBN29C1JC

GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

30.   An Employer’s Dilemma: To Mandate (or Not) the Covid-19 Vaccine? (Portland Business Journal, OR)

https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2021/01/11/an-employer-s-dilemma-to-mandate-or-not-the-cov.html

WITHER THE WEATHER?

31.   A Strong Atmosphere River Approaches (Cliff Mass Weather Blog)

https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2021/01/a-strong-atmosphere-river-approaches.html

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

Mayor of Houston Suburb Chosen by Pulling a Name from Hat

https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/weird_news/mayor-of-houston-suburb-chosen-by-pulling-a-name-from-hat/article_b52be9be-0fc3-5c0b-9493-57da2e135950.html

Woman Walking in Nanaimo, B.C., Is Showered with Cash: RCMP

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/01/07/woman-walking-in-nanaimo-b-c-is-showered-with-cash-rcmp/

Woman Swims 280 Feet Under Ice for Guinness World Record

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/01/11/Woman-swims-280-feet-under-ice-for-Guinness-World-Record/6941610393448/

Samosa Sent to ‘Space’ by British Eatery Crash-Lands in France

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/01/11/Samosa-sent-to-space-by-British-eatery-crash-lands-in-France/9301610403369/

SONG OF THE DAY

The Fifth Dimension – Up, Up & Away

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qdCuzjAGmA

LINKS & PAYWALL ADVISORY

Links in the news digest lead to current stories. Media organizations update their websites regularly, which may result in broken links. Possible Paywall restrictions are noted in the media attribution.

Oregon: SunPower Shutting Down Former SolarWorld Plant in Hillsboro (Portland Business Journal, OR)

SunPower is shutting down its solar panel factory in Hillsboro, a little over two years after the company bought the former SolarWorld plant.

The San Jose-based company said Thursday afternoon that it expects "to cease operations by March 2021 and complete the wind-down of the facility in early June."

Although SunPower said it was looking into "selling the plant, exploring a joint venture option or assessing potential partnerships," it didn’t sound at all hopeful for the 170 employees there.

"We made the difficult but necessary decision to close our plant after careful evaluation and the change in focus of our business over recent months," Tom Werner, CEO and chairman of the board of SunPower, said in a news release. "We recognize how hard this is for all the employees impacted and are dedicated to helping them through this transition."

The company attributed the decision to its spinoff of Maxeon Solar Technologies, which is focused on international panel production and sales. That left SunPower using Maxeon as a supplier for panels while concentrating on "innovative solar and battery storage systems sales," the company said.

SunPower paid $26 million for the Hillsboro plant in late 2018, in the wake of the collapse of SolarWorld’s German corporate parent and the Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs on most global solar imports into the U.S.

After announcing its plan to buy the plant, SunPower won a tariff exclusion from the Trump administration on certain types of high-efficiency solar cells and modules that it produces overseas. SunPower said at the time the exclusion would allow it to move forward with its investment in the Hillsboro operation and "will support U.S. solar technology leadership and preserve American jobs."

The company began production in Hillsboro in February 2019 with around 200 workers.

Just a few months later, SunPower put the property on the market and said it was auctioning off old cell-manufacturing equipment used by SolarWorld, which opened the plant in 2008. While SunPower said it would continue to make panels in leased space on the site, the move signaled a permanent downsizing of the factory from its SolarWorld heyday a decade ago, when around 1,000 people worked there.

About that time, as production peaked at the SolarWorld plant, cheap panels from a fast-growing, state-backed solar sector in China were beginning to flood the market, imperiling U.S. and European producers.

That led to two major rounds of tariff battles waged against China by SolarWorld and others. SolarWorld won some victories, but U.S.-based manufacturing continued to struggle to compete against massively scaled Asian plants.

Global technology company NTT Ltd. purchased the Hillsboro property for $63.5 million in September 2019, and early last year announced plans to build a data center there.