Wednesday, April 6, 2022

The Energy News Digest for April 6, 2022

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

Storms Batter Aging Power Grid as Climate Disasters Spread (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-04-05/storms-batter-aging-power-grid-as-climate-disasters-spread

A Wind Energy Company Has Pleaded Guilty After Killing at Least 150 Eagles in Multiple States (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2022/04/06/a-wind-energy-company-has-pleaded-guilty-after-killing-at-least-150-eagles/

Trident Winds files with BOEM for Washington State Floating Wind Farm (Marine Log)

https://www.marinelog.com/offshore/offshore-wind/trident-winds-files-with-boem-for-washington-state-floating-wind-farm/

U.S. Supreme Court Halts Ruling Against Trump Clean Water Act Rollback in 5-4 Decision (The Hill, Washington, DC)

https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/3260315-supreme-court-halts-ruling-against-trump-clean-water-act-rollback-in-5-4-decision/

Columnist: WA Governor Inslee Vetoes Funding for Research on Salmon & Electrical Grid Stability (Washington Policy Center)

https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/governor-inslee-vetoes-funding-for-research-on-salmon-and-electrical-grid-stability

 

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (See Stories Below)

1.      Storms Batter Aging Power Grid as Climate Disasters Spread

2.      It’s Not Just Glen Canyon—Dams Around the Southwest Are Taking a Hit

3.      Downed Power Poles in Seattle Have a ‘Huge Impact’ on Some Businesses

4.      WA State: Douglas County PUD – Wells Dam Sees First-Ever Remodels, Soil Drilling

5.      News Release: Modernizing Hydropower on the Snake River

6.      Canadian Coal Mine Ramps Up Efforts to Challenge Montana Water Quality Standard

7.      Crews Hang from Helicopter to Install New Power Lines Across Mississippi River

8.      Utility Officials Push for Safe Digging

9.      Columnist: WA Governor Inslee Vetoes Funding for Research on Salmon & Electrical Grid Stability

10.   A Wind Energy Company Has Pleaded Guilty After Killing at Least 150 Eagles in Multiple States

11.   Trident Winds files with BOEM for Washington State Floating Wind Farm

12.   Unalaska Tribe Gets Federal Money for Geothermal Project to Source Energy from Active Volcano

13.   Large Solar Projects on the Rise in Oregon

14.   ‘Brand New Problem’: California Grid Operator Considers Ways to Integrate Long-Duration Storage

15.   Idaho National Laboratory Looking for Partners for Small Hydro Field Demonstration

16.   Here’s How a $1.5 Million Grant Will Help Replace Diesel-Powered Generators at Port of Tacoma

17.   Nevada Toad Declared Endangered at Site of Geothermal Plant

18.   Indigenous Peoples of Southeast Alaska & British Columbia Calling for Protection of Wild Salmon

19.   Invading Sea Lions Take Over British Columbia Fish Farm

20.   U.S. Supreme Court Halts Ruling Against Trump Clean Water Act Rollback in 5-4 Decision

21.   Dry Conditions Expected in the Boise River System

22.   Klamath Irrigators Vote for Water Deliveries Even If It Puts Federal Drought Funding at Risk

23.   Montana: Drought Leads Power Company to Store More Water Behind Dam

24.   WA State to Preserve 10,000 Acres of Trees to Sell as Carbon Credits to Polluters

25.   Surging Electric Bills Threaten California Climate Goals

26.   Federal Probe of Battery Fires Ups Pressure on Electric Car Industry

27.   Twitter Is Working on That Edit Button You Begged For

28.   WA State: Snohomish PUD Invites You to Vote on Names for Its New Squirrel Mascots

29.   PepsiCo Unveils Cracker Jill to Celebrate Women in Sports

30.   No Poop for You: Manure Supplies Run Short as Fertilizer Prices Soar

31.   Hottest Temperatures So Far This Year Expected to Hit Western Washington Thursday

32.   British Columbia Oysters Now Linked to Dozens of Norovirus Cases in Several U.S. States

WORD OF THE DAY

Titanic \tye-TAN-ik\ Adjective – Having great magnitude, force, or power: colossal.

Amber was horrified by her blind date’s performance on the cross-sound ferry. After blathering on about the comparative writings of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, he jumped up and down on the bow of the ferry, flapping his arms and shouting, “I’m King of the World!” It took a titanic effort by Amber not to slap him silly.

ENERGY & UTILITY ISSUES

1.      Storms Batter Aging Power Grid as Climate Disasters Spread (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-04-05/storms-batter-aging-power-grid-as-climate-disasters-spread

2.      It’s Not Just Glen Canyon—Dams Around the Southwest Are Taking a Hit (Ars Technica)

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/its-not-just-glen-canyon-dams-around-the-southwest-are-taking-a-hit/

3.      Downed Power Poles in Seattle Have a ‘Huge Impact’ on Some Businesses (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/seattle/downed-power-poles-seattle/281-222cd3fa-3cd0-4e0b-866c-5bf38b1257ea

4.      WA State: Douglas County PUD – Wells Dam Sees First-Ever Remodels, Soil Drilling (Wenatchee World, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/douglas-county-pud-wells-dam-sees-first-ever-remodels-soil-d

5.      News Release: Modernizing Hydropower on the Snake River (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Stories/Article/2991190/modernizing-hydropower-on-the-snake-river/

6.      Canadian Coal Mine Ramps Up Efforts to Challenge Montana Water Quality Standard (Flathead Beacon, Kalispell, MT)

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2022/04/04/canadian-coal-mine-ramps-up-efforts-to-challenge-montana-water-quality-standard/

7.      Crews Hang from Helicopter to Install New Power Lines Across Mississippi River (St Louis Business Journal, MO)

https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2022/04/05/crews-helicopter-string-power-lines-mississippi.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search

8.      Utility Officials Push for Safe Digging (Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA)

https://columbiabasinherald.com/news/2022/apr/06/utility-officials-push-safe-digging/

SOAPBOX SERENADE – VOX POPULI

9.      Columnist: WA Governor Inslee Vetoes Funding for Research on Salmon & Electrical Grid Stability (Washington Policy Center)

https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/governor-inslee-vetoes-funding-for-research-on-salmon-and-electrical-grid-stability

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SELF STORAGE

10.   A Wind Energy Company Has Pleaded Guilty After Killing at Least 150 Eagles in Multiple States (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2022/04/06/a-wind-energy-company-has-pleaded-guilty-after-killing-at-least-150-eagles/

11.   Trident Winds files with BOEM for Washington State Floating Wind Farm (Marine Log)

https://www.marinelog.com/offshore/offshore-wind/trident-winds-files-with-boem-for-washington-state-floating-wind-farm/

12.   Unalaska Tribe Gets Federal Money for Geothermal Project to Source Energy from Active Volcano (KTOO Radio, Juneau, AK)

https://www.ktoo.org/2022/04/04/makushin-volcano-geothermal-energy-for-unalaska/

13.   Large Solar Projects on the Rise in Oregon (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2022/04/05/industrial-solar-oregon-lake-county/

14.   ‘Brand New Problem’: California Grid Operator Considers Ways to Integrate Long-Duration Storage (Utility Dive)

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/brand-new-problem-california-grid-operator-long-duration-storage/621637/

15.   Idaho National Laboratory Looking for Partners for Small Hydro Field Demonstration (Waterpower Magazine)

https://www.waterpowermagazine.com/news/newsidaho-national-laboratory-looking-for-partners-for-small-hydro-field-demonstration-9603217

16.   Here’s How a $1.5 Million Grant Will Help Replace Diesel-Powered Generators at Port of Tacoma (Tacoma News Tribune, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article260109835.html

FISH & WILDLIFE

17.   Nevada Toad Declared Endangered at Site of Geothermal Plant (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/nevada/articles/2022-04-04/nevada-toad-declared-endangered-at-site-of-geothermal-plant

18.   Indigenous Peoples of Southeast Alaska & British Columbia Calling for Protection of Wild Salmon (KINY Radio, Juneau, AK)

https://www.kinyradio.com/news/news-of-the-north/indigenous-peoples-of-southeast-alaska-and-british-columbia-calling-for-protection-of-wild-salmon/

19.   Invading Sea Lions Take Over British Columbia Fish Farm (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sea-lions-take-over-bc-fish-farm-1.6407888

ENVIRONMENTAL AFFLATUS – CLEAN UP ON AISLE THREE

20.   U.S. Supreme Court Halts Ruling Against Trump Clean Water Act Rollback in 5-4 Decision (The Hill, Washington, DC)

https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/3260315-supreme-court-halts-ruling-against-trump-clean-water-act-rollback-in-5-4-decision/

WATER, WATER, ANYWHERE?

21.   Dry Conditions Expected in the Boise River System (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

https://www.nww.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/2990932/22-020-dry-conditions-expected-in-the-boise-river-system/fbclid/22-020-dry-conditions-expected-in-the-boise-river-system/

22.   Klamath Irrigators Vote for Water Deliveries Even If It Puts Federal Drought Funding at Risk (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

https://www.opb.org/article/2022/04/05/klamath-county-water-vote-drought-funding/

23.   Montana: Drought Leads Power Company to Store More Water Behind Dam (Associated Press)

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/montana/articles/2022-04-04/drought-leads-power-company-to-store-more-water-behind-dam

CLIMATE CHANGE SEQUESTRATION VAULT

24.   WA State to Preserve 10,000 Acres of Trees to Sell as Carbon Credits to Polluters (Seattle Times, WA – Paywall Advisory)

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/wa-to-preserve-10000-acres-of-trees-to-sell-as-carbon-credits-to-polluters/

25.   Surging Electric Bills Threaten California Climate Goals (E&E News)

https://www.eenews.net/articles/surging-electric-bills-threaten-calif-climate-goals/

I SING THE CAR ELECTRIC

26.   Federal Probe of Battery Fires Ups Pressure on Electric Car Industry (Courthouse News Service)

https://www.courthousenews.com/federal-probe-of-battery-fires-ups-pressure-on-electric-car-industry/

PUBLIC RELATIONS, MARKETING & MEDIA

27.   Twitter Is Working on That Edit Button You Begged For (Gizmodo)

https://gizmodo.com/twitter-edit-button-elon-musk-poll-1848754216

28.   WA State: Snohomish PUD Invites You to Vote on Names for Its New Squirrel Mascots (My Edmonds News, WA)

https://myedmondsnews.com/2022/04/pud-invites-you-to-vote-on-names-for-its-new-squirrel-mascots/

29.   PepsiCo Unveils Cracker Jill to Celebrate Women in Sports (Yahoo! News)

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pepsi-co-unveils-cracker-jill-recreation-of-the-classic-cracker-jack-163523412.html

BARREL O’ GREEN POTPOURRI – SEETHING STEW OF SCIENCE

30.   No Poop for You: Manure Supplies Run Short as Fertilizer Prices Soar (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-manure-is-hot-commodity-amid-commercial-fertilizer-shortage-2022-04-06/

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TODAY

31.   Hottest Temperatures So Far This Year Expected to Hit Western Washington Thursday (KING-TV, Seattle, WA)

https://www.king5.com/article/weather/first-70s-of-2021-expected-thursday-western-washington/281-df7bbe5c-3d4c-4be7-bc71-aacd4eccb5e5

32.   British Columbia Oysters Now Linked to Dozens of Norovirus Cases in Several U.S. States (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-oysters-us-cases-public-health-notice-1.6410281?cmp=rss

ALLIGATORS IN THE SEWER – DIVERSIONS

Mickey Mouse Can Start Hugging Again at Disney Parks

https://apnews.com/article/florida-lifestyle-arts-and-entertainment-2d1a7d312d29163b06b0a52b6b97f5d1

‘Stolen’ Charles Darwin Notebooks Left on Library Floor in Pink Gift Bag

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60980288

‘Fortnite’ Players Raised $144 Million for Ukraine Relief Efforts

https://www.engadget.com/fortnite-ukraine-relief-total-epic-games-xbox-150039827.html

Odd Job: Run Post Office, Monitor Penguins in Antarctica

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/04/06/Antartica-penguins-job-applications/6751649250615/

SONG OF THE DAY

The Beatles – Help!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKUex3fci5c